I got a message on my answering machine about this, and thought it was some kind of joke/scam, but it appears to be legit. Not sure why Best Buy is doing this, but I certainly will not turn down $50…
Gift cards are apparently being mailed out automatically, and they are also pushing some kind of trade-in program as well, but that seems a bit more dubious…
Got the same automated call. Checked and I could get $60 in trade-in value.
Is that a flat $60, or based on model? Because the one I bought (got an email about the gift card) was the 360 drive, so I could return that and just rebuy it for a $10 profit!
That’ll teach me to buy stuff at Circuit City. Which I guess is the point – given that they most likely pocketed at least $50 for each player sold, paying it back out is a solid way to earn love from proven early adopters.
It is based on the model.
Amazon is doing the same thing now:
"Dear Amazon.com Customer,
As someone who purchased an HD DVD player from us before February 23, 2008, you might like to hear about a special offer available from Amazon.com.
New technologies don’t always work out as planned. We at Amazon.com value our customer relationships more than anything and would like to support customers who purchased these players by offering a credit good for $50 off any products sold by Amazon.com. Just use promotional code --**** when checking out. The code is valid through April 9, 2009, so you have plenty of time to use your credit. Purchases from third-party merchants on our site are not eligible."
Gah! Now i do sort of regret sending my HD-DVD player back…