Amazon offers $50 credit for those who purchased a HD DVD player
By Darren Murph 
posted Apr 9th 2008 11:55AM
posted Apr 9th 2008 11:55AM
Following the crowd, Amazon has decided to fire off emails to folks who purchased a HD DVD player from it before February 23, 2008 in order to bestow upon them a $50 credit for their trouble. Granted, it's not as good as cash per se, but at least you get to keep your perfectly functional HD DVD player / DVD upconverter, right? Oh, and before you start having a panic attack after seeing that "must use before April 9th" phrase, you may want to inspect the year a little closer (hint: you've got a full year to use the voucher). Check the email in full after the jump.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
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 XXXXXXXXXX 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.
* On February 23, 2008, the last manufacturer of HD DVD players announced it was ceasing production of those players.
** Offer cannot be used to pay for special-order titles, e-books or downloadable e-content, wireless service plans, gift certificates, gift-wrap, taxes, or shipping and handling charges. $50.00 promotional credit is per HD DVD player purchased prior to February 23, 2008--up to 10 units for a maximum credit of $500.00.
Sweet! I e-mailed Amazon yesterday to see if they were planning an HD-DVD refund or transition program. They replied back saying "While we may have a variety of special discounts and other promotional offers available to HD DVD owners in the future, I am unable to share any specific details with you at this time. I encourage you to check back on our website regularly as any special offers will be advertised there."
I certainly did not think it would be the very next day :). But I've yet to receive an e-mail from Amazon letting me know about the $50 gift certificate.
I haven't received one yet either.
Sweet! I got my certificate also! I purchased HD-DVD drive for my 360, and I am glad to hear they included us poor souls also!
Way to go Amazon.com ! Great that they are doing right by their customers!
I've received the e-mail, and I'm very pleased. When I purchased an HD DVD player, I was entirely aware of the possibility that I would come out on the losing end of the format war (and I was willing to take the risk). Still, it's nice to see that Amazon.com (like other retailers) is doing something to soften the blow. When it comes to customer service, Amazon has never let me down.
Hope this applies to the Xbox add-on...
I haven't received an e-mail either. I guess I'll just have to bookmark the article and possibly call them in a few days if I still don't receive it.
Great deal from Amazon. I've now got $100 credit to spend on more HD-DVD titles. HAHA My blu purchases will have to wait, especially since my Panasonic BDP-10 just went tits up.
Win
I just received two e-mail(s) for the A-20 and A-3 I purchased last year. $100 to spend - not bad.
I stand corrected - Amazon... Thanks for the $150, not $100...
I am happy to see Amazon do this and not a moment too soon. They have definitely won my continue business.
I bought my Xbox HD-DVD back in Nov 2006 from Amazon and when I went over my order history on their website the order has mysteriously disappeared even though I still have the confirmation e-mail (thank you gmail). I better get one of these offers!
Kyle - just got my email for $50 credit. Bought my 360 HD-DVD add on back in Sept.
keep hope alive!
I haven't received mine yet but hopefully I will. I think I purchased in October, and I got the 360 add-on with 7 free movies (5 + 2 from Amazon).
I did not get my player from Amazon, but I have bought a lot of HD DVD's from them.
I would love to see a retailer, or maybe the studios, offer something for the media we bought for our players. How about $5.00 off the Blu-Ray version of which ever title you bought. Then they get 2 sales out of me...
Wow...Another example of how America has turned into a weak, broken nation.
"You don't need to take risks here, because we'll reward you even if you lose!"
No wonder why everyone here expects things handed to them no matter what.
TommyT,
Wal*Mart, Circuit City, Best Buy, and Amazon all realize that purchasers of HD DVD players have a choice of which retailer to buy Blu-Ray Players (and Blu-Ray discs) from in the future. They are simply buying a little bit of goodwill from their customers who might feel scorned. These retailers probably feel (based on my own personal speculation -- I don't have anything to back this theory up) that it is better to assuage their customers' feelings rather than risk alientating their loyal customers and have them go to another retailer for their future Blu-Ray purchases. All of the above four retailers sold HD DVD players in 2007 (prior to Warner's defection and not counting Black Friday, which was somewhat of a let-down anyways) for under $150 or with a choice of 3 HD DVD's for $160, and it could easily be argued that all four were trying to push the HD DVD format (although the Best Buy and Circuit City low prices were mostly due to price-matching Wal-Mart's Secret Friday sale in early November).
When all these people bought their HD-DVD players, they didn't know that companies were going to be giving credits if the format lost...
even still I wouldn't consider buying a new form of technology that could become obsolete a "risk"
Any news on whether this will extend to other territories? It'll be nice if we get some love in the UK
Boo. I bought a 360 HD DVD player back in September, still haven't gotten this offer. Any ideas?