KathyMoore

Is the $5,000 Range Rover on "My Wishlist" harder to get than winning sweepstakes?

Should I even bother sitting at the computer trying to
get it at 12PM/3PM/7PM on Dec. 5?

Also, I assume it's $5000, plus taxes, right?

How about those fifty $750 Panasonic plasma TVs being
offered today?(Monday)

Thanks!

mbreuer

1) Look at the threads from the last "wishlist" event.
2) Look at the threads talking about the recently failed "exclusive's" event.
3) Don't try - you'll improve the odds for the rest of us masochists.

rain

I wonder if there are programmers writing macros or some bot program to help....I bet there are!

mbreuer

So I tried... had two windows open - ie & firefox... at 11:59:59, ie rolled to 11:59:00. Firefox's clocked stopped for about 15 seconds at 11:59:43. When I was able to submit (12:00:00) I had missed any chance.

FWIW, last time they did this the initial time was picked up from the local system. Judging by the time which came up when I first entered the site, they're not doing that anymore, and the time I end up with from Amex is at best about 10 seconds behind actual time (we have accurate clocks here).

Vulcan

Yup. Another failed promotion. You think they would learn. I started at about 11:55 and could not get to the site until after 12:10.

I got to the site early for the 3:00 PM show and despite both my wife and I sitting like jerks at our computers, all we got was a message that said esentially that the servers were full and to "Try Later". I kept hitting the Try again button for about 25 minutes and got nowhere.

Eventually I got a message that said all of the TVs were gone.

bocastephen

Not to sound like sour grapes, but these Wishlist promotions are borderline fraudulent in my opinion. At best, it is marketing 'spin-speak' at its worst.

This entire promotion is nothing more than a lottery...pure and simple. The only thing differentiating it from pulling a random entry from a spinning drum is the entries are coming in a sequence - but obviously at a rate the Amex systems (or whoever they contract with) are unable to handle.

I wonder if any authorities have demanded an audit of how the items are given out...there is no way to track who clicked at what time, except by IP address, making tracking virtually impossible. It's easy for Amex to claim that if 35 items are available and 50 people click at exactly the right time, that the items are 'first come first served', but in the case of identical click times, how do these systems determine who got there first? Another glaring omission is their refusing to state whether any of the items still exist after the first session of the day. If all the TVs were gone at 9:00:04am, why bother keeping peoples' expectations up at 12N and 3P?

As for the full servers/try later issue - that is just outright wrong and should be fixed. As far as I'm concerned, Amex does more damage to itself with these kitchy promotion schemes than it realizes.

At least with legitimate lotteries, contests and Visa's win-your-month-free promotion, 99.9% of the participants with common sense know the odds are decidedly against them and have little expectation (but perhaps lots of hope) of winning. With Amex' promotion, the marketing spin gives people an impression they have a realistic chance at getting these items, when in fact, they do not.

mbreuer

Tried for the Best Buy card at 2... gone at 2:00:01.

Vulcan

Tried for the TV from 6:59:52 on. Kept getting the Server busy message until 7:35 when it changed to "Missed. All products are currently in cardmembers shopping carts".

Joe1690

I got the best buy card today. I am really excited. Last year I got an ikea wish certificate, a borders wish certificate, and a sports authority wish certificate. They all went to great use and I am hoping that the amazon certificate comes back again in the coming days because I could use 25% of my upcoming christmas purchase with them. I agree though that these promotions are fustrating for the featured items but this year almost none of them interest me and therefore I will focus mainly on the certificates. I think it is great to give something back to loyal customers and enjoy these promotions.

vmrfsps

I had four windows opened and my partner was trying over at his house with two windows opened and we were getting "Try Again". It is now 11:05 P.M. Eastern Time and it still giving the same message.

My grandmother passed away yesterday and I had even told a co-worker that this might cheer me up, but it was a miserable experience.

anonplz

I'm sorry for your loss. :hugs:

patchan8984

Same here. Sorry for your loss

-------------------------------

These things are so hard to get, I cant beleive that the AMEX website will be able to hold up when people rush the sites.

Also I think the winners, 50 products or whatever is given out is distributed evenly over the 3 times, such as how the range rover is given away 3 times

DFW1972

I don't understand why people get all upset about this and the other Amex promotion. Just think about radio contests where they ask listeners to call and the 100th or whatever number is the winner. Most of the time, you get a busy signal. I've even heard some that offer the first "x" number of callers a prize. IMO, Amex's promotion is similar.

Too many people are getting all worked up about it. If this promotion upsets you so much, you should consider avoiding it. Give the rest of us that understand its just a contest a better chance at winning!!

iahphx

Out of curiosity, if you won the Range Rover for $5000, would you be liable for any taxes up to the fair value of the car? Like if you won it on a game show, you'd get hit with a nasty tax bill. Does the $5000 make it not a gift but a purchase? Any tax lawyers out there?

pranu

I wouldnt quite gloat about it if I were you. I did so in last year's thread and now I am getting emails from people asking me what my secret was!!

Folks as DFW1972 rightly pointed out - just like any Radio contest its about getting lucky and getting through the "busy" messages and perhaps winning something real good.

The Amazon cert was FANTASTIC! Could do with a couple more

As for the main offers - its true its practically impossible - but when you have something like the Ugly dolls come up - you will have a chance - I had the opportunity to pick it up last year - but I figured it wasnt worth it!