Why isnt everyone buying their new Canon through AMEX?

thomas molnar · Aug 7, 2002

People listen up. Why is everyone paying more than they should for their G2, S330, S200, etc.? Use your AMEX card and price match one of the grey market camera stores! Don’t know about AMEX’s Best Value Gurantee (BVG) Program? Let me explain.

The BVG program is available to Amex Gold Card members and Optima Platinum Card members. There may be other AMEX cards offering this program, but these are the two I am aware of. The process is as follows:

1) Purchase your digital camera from a reputable dealer selling it at the
lowest price. For example, us1camera.com is selling the G2 for
$614.
2) After your purchase has been authorized and shipped, call the BVG
hotline at 1-800-557-8317. Tell them you found the camera for a lower
price. They will want to know the date you purchased your camera,
the place advertising it for less, and the lower price. For example, as of
yesterday, amphotoworld was advertising the G2 for $407! You will
need a print out of the lower price web site because you will need to
fax it to AMEX. Ask AMEX for the back door fax number. The 1-800 fax
number seems to be busy all the time.

AMEX will cut you a check for $614 - $407 = $207! Congrats, you just purchased a G2 for $407!

The only limitations to the BVG program are the maximum refund amount for any given purchase is $250 and you can receive a total refund of $1000 in any given year. That’s it! So get out there and buy four G2s and sell them on ebay for $620 w/shipping. Not only will you get yours free, but you will have money left over for accessories!

lck0925 · Aug 7, 2002

People stopped doing it when they discoutinued this policy for the AMEX blue.. I, for one, could not get such a card... so I'm out of luck.

T

thomas molnar said:
People listen up. Why is everyone paying more than they should for
their G2, S330, S200, etc.? Use your AMEX card and price match one
of the grey market camera stores! Don’t know about AMEX’s Best
Value Gurantee (BVG) Program? Let me explain.

The BVG program is available to Amex Gold Card members and Optima
Platinum Card members. There may be other AMEX cards offering this
program, but these are the two I am aware of. The process is as
follows:

1) Purchase your digital camera from a reputable dealer selling it
at the
lowest price. For example, us1camera.com is selling the G2 for
$614.
2) After your purchase has been authorized and shipped, call the BVG
hotline at 1-800-557-8317. Tell them you found the camera for a lower
price. They will want to know the date you purchased your camera,
the place advertising it for less, and the lower price. For
example, as of
yesterday, amphotoworld was advertising the G2 for $407! You will
need a print out of the lower price web site because you will need to
fax it to AMEX. Ask AMEX for the back door fax number. The 1-800 fax
number seems to be busy all the time.

AMEX will cut you a check for $614 - $407 = $207! Congrats, you
just purchased a G2 for $407!

The only limitations to the BVG program are the maximum refund
amount for any given purchase is $250 and you can receive a total
refund of $1000 in any given year. That’s it! So get out there
and buy four G2s and sell them on ebay for $620 w/shipping. Not
only will you get yours free, but you will have money left over for
accessories!

s©tt · Aug 7, 2002

That's just abusing the system/service.

If you do it, it will result in AMEX killing the service, which was intended to help you be sure you got the best deal, not to get full local (in this case, camera) service at low internet prices and/or continue to scrape off the cream at the expense of 1) AMEX and 2) your buyers.

Geesh, how about a bit of responsibility?!? Or do you only act 'responsibly' when required by rules, regulation and law?

lck0925 · Aug 7, 2002

s©tt said:
That's just abusing the system/service.

U have a point Scott.

s©tt said:
If you do it, it will result in AMEX killing the service, which was
intended to help you be sure you got the best deal, not to get full
local (in this case, camera) service at low internet prices and/or
continue to scrape off the cream at the expense of 1) AMEX and 2)
your buyers.

I wouldn't really worry too much about AMEX because they have very skilled people (Actuarial science?) that are there to determine (mathematically) if the program would in turn lead to loss in profits. I'm pretty sure they've managed to average out that even in the worse case, where some ppl start abusing the program, the ppl that don't would still be the majority of the card holders. Hence, everything gets balanced out.

Their company made a mistake for the AMEX Blue card.. and I'm pretty sure they won't make the same mistake again.

s©tt said:
Geesh, how about a bit of responsibility?!? Or do you only act
'responsibly' when required by rules, regulation and law?

I'm pretty sure that the majority of the ppl in this world would want to get the best deal that's possible.. (besides ppl that are very very rich).. so his actions are understandable.

Happy shooting = )

T

Chane · Aug 7, 2002

thomas molnar said:
People listen up. Why is everyone paying more than they should for
their G2, S330, S200, etc.? Use your AMEX card and price match one
of the grey market camera stores! Don’t know about AMEX’s Best
Value Gurantee (BVG) Program? Let me explain.

The BVG program is available to Amex Gold Card members and Optima
Platinum Card members. There may be other AMEX cards offering this
program, but these are the two I am aware of. The process is as
follows:

1) Purchase your digital camera from a reputable dealer selling it
at the
lowest price. For example, us1camera.com is selling the G2 for
$614.
2) After your purchase has been authorized and shipped, call the BVG
hotline at 1-800-557-8317. Tell them you found the camera for a lower
price. They will want to know the date you purchased your camera,
the place advertising it for less, and the lower price. For
example, as of
yesterday, amphotoworld was advertising the G2 for $407! You will
need a print out of the lower price web site because you will need to
fax it to AMEX. Ask AMEX for the back door fax number. The 1-800 fax
number seems to be busy all the time.

AMEX will cut you a check for $614 - $407 = $207! Congrats, you
just purchased a G2 for $407!

The only limitations to the BVG program are the maximum refund
amount for any given purchase is $250 and you can receive a total
refund of $1000 in any given year. That’s it! So get out there
and buy four G2s and sell them on ebay for $620 w/shipping. Not
only will you get yours free, but you will have money left over for
accessories!

Good Post! I think my Blue card has that.

--
-Chane

Jojosung · Aug 7, 2002

As of may 2002, american express no longer offer BVP for blue, i guess too many people using blue for BVP, unfortunately I am one of them too.

Need to be Gold and I believed Optima Platnium - both cards have annual fee

-Pornchai

Chane said:
Good Post! I think my Blue card has that.

--
-Chane

Tarun Arya · Aug 7, 2002

Chane said:
Good Post! I think my Blue card has that.

FYI Blue stopped BVG sometime in April because of too many claims.

BTW! The money has to come from somewhere. If not from your pocket then someone elses pocket. We all set our own standards of morality.

--

Tarun

s©tt · Aug 7, 2002

lck0925 said:
I wouldn't really worry too much about AMEX because they have very
skilled people (Actuarial science?) that are there to determine
(mathematically) if the program would in turn lead to loss in
profits. I'm pretty sure they've managed to average out that even
in the worse case, where some ppl start abusing the program, the
ppl that don't would still be the majority of the card holders.
Hence, everything gets balanced out.

Everything gets balanced out, just like the honest store-customers pay for the shoplifters.

lck0925 said:
Their company made a mistake for the AMEX Blue card.. and I'm
pretty sure they won't make the same mistake again.

Shame that one thinks that AMEX made a mistake. Sort of like blaming the guy who leaves his car unlocked, for the stolen radio. We seem to forget that it's only the thief who's at fault. Funny how things get twisted around.

lck0925 said:
I'm pretty sure that the majority of the ppl in this world would
want to get the best deal that's possible.. (besides ppl that are
very very rich).. so his actions are understandable.

Just too bad it's not the best honest deal. And his actions are understandable in the same way they person who gets too much change doesn't give it back to the cashier. Unfortunately, all too many people find abusing services too hard to resist because, hey, 'everyone else does it'. At the same time, everyone complains about how 'everyone else' abuses the system.

What about some good, Christian respect and honesty in our business dealings?

--
Later is too late.
http://www.ScottOwen.org

Allen F · Aug 7, 2002

While I agree that the BVG is an excellent program, I wonder why you feel the need to make multiple posts about this topic?
--
Allen
(NYC)

I have no idea about that which I am writing.
Thus, I hereby retract everything I just wrote.

wje · Aug 7, 2002

Yes, the BVG policy might be a great policy. However, I have 2 credit cards, but don't want to carry any more. The savings is only $1,000 per year - assuming that you make enough purchases to match prices on. Even though we have 2 credit cards, we (myself and my wife) have an excellent credit rating. Applying for one more (e.g. AmEx) could potentially drop my credit rating - then, I wouldn't be able to qualify for those low-interest or 0% car financing loans - in which case, I would lose out on more than $1,000 in savings.

lck0925 · Aug 7, 2002

s©tt said:
Everything gets balanced out, just like the honest store-customers
pay for the shoplifters.

I totally agree with u scott.. someone eventually has to pay.. and sadly.. sometimes it's the honest people.

s©tt said:
Shame that one thinks that AMEX made a mistake. Sort of like
blaming the guy who leaves his car unlocked, for the stolen radio.
We seem to forget that it's only the thief who's at fault. Funny
how things get twisted around.

What I meant by "mistake" was that they didn't consider people that would abuse the system.. think about all the insurance companies out there.. they know that there will be ppl committing fraud.. so they factor in the possibility to protect themselves. Even if they knew people wouldn't scam them they'd still factor in the possiblity anyways. (Think about Swift's Gulliver's travels.. i find that his novel clearly portrays how humans are..)

s©tt said:
Just too bad it's not the best honest deal. And his actions are
understandable in the same way they person who gets too much change
doesn't give it back to the cashier. Unfortunately, all too many
people find abusing services too hard to resist because, hey,
'everyone else does it'. At the same time, everyone complains about
how 'everyone else' abuses the system.

I agree that we should all strive for an "honest" deal.. but, most often, this does not happen. This is the real world.. I want world peace.. I give money to people on the streets if they ask.

I got scammed once myself.. someone came into my uncle's shop telling me he needs 50 dollars for a cab to get home to his children cuz his car's tire blue out and his wife doesn't have keys to get into the house. It was snowing very hard outside.. so i gave it to him.. he told me he'll come back.. but he never did. Welcome to the real world..

I hope u haven't stereotyped me just yet cuz I do my good deeds and believe that ppl that do scam others would someday recieve what they deserve!

s©tt said:
What about some good, Christian respect and honesty in our business
dealings?

I'm not Christian but I do believe in "honesty is the best policy".

s©tt said:
--
Later is too late.
http://www.ScottOwen.org

Nothing is too late. U just have to be willing to go back.

T

Kristian Salo101843 · Aug 7, 2002

Are they?
-
---
IXUS V, S40 and G2 Galleries
http://www.iki.fi/steelduck

vk · Aug 7, 2002

OT = Off Topic
nt = no text

s©tt · Aug 8, 2002

lck0925 said:
I got scammed once myself.. someone came into my uncle's shop
telling me he needs 50 dollars for a cab to get home to his
children cuz his car's tire blue out and his wife doesn't have keys
to get into the house. It was snowing very hard outside.. so i gave
it to him.. he told me he'll come back.. but he never did. Welcome
to the real world..

I'm afraid that's a bit of a common scam, like the ones who claim their wallet got stolen, and they need just one more euro to buy a train ticket back home. I ask them how much the ticket costs (which they apparently know), and for them to show me what they have (should be a euro less than the cost). If that all fits, then I offer to go with them to the station to buy the ticket for them.

Or if people ask me for money for a bite to eat, I offer to go into a store or restaurant with them to buy them food. Some of them decline the offer, some accept.

lck0925 said:
I hope u haven't stereotyped me just yet cuz I do my good deeds and
believe that ppl that do scam others would someday recieve what
they deserve!

No, I hadn't 'stereotyped' you. You sound honest actually.

lck0925 said:
Nothing is too late. U just have to be willing to go back.

In a way, I'm glad I can't go back and redo things. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, and I'm afraid I'd get stuck in an infinite loop :-/ My 'tag line' is more about putting things off 'til later.

Anyway, it's time I put my soapbox away and got back to the serious issue of photography ;-)

--
Later is too late.
http://www.ScottOwen.org

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Why isnt everyone buying their new Canon through AMEX?

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