Good afternoon ladies and gents! I'm back, well rested, very relaxed and ready to get back into the grind.
Oh, I do have one thing that I think you'se will be entertained to hear. First day of my vacation, I pull into the hotel. Had my Bionic in my lap, but after an hour of so of not using it, I forgot about it. I get out of the car, and it happens. My Bionic falls to the ground. I didn't need to see it, I just knew. Cracked my screen a week after getting it. Nuts. Still works, and it's mostly not that bad, but it was not a great way to start my vacay.
Anyway, onward.
Have fun storming the castle.
It took a miracle, but it worked.
Online price of the Bionic is $249, Costco is $279. (local Verizon store $299) But you don't get $30 off the new every two at Costco. Though of course, the large accessory bundle worth $160 has useful stuff. Mainly the second charger, the car charger, and extra battery. The case Costco provided is blah; I paid $25 for a sleek Verizon belt case/holster. The bedside standard dock is handy but I could have done without it, and as to the navigation dock, I'll probably just use occasionally since it's there. The sticky mount won't stay on rough surfaces, only very smooth ones.
The phone is definitely a keeper. Just a little tinny earpiece sound quality but speakerphone sound is great, and sound through a wired headset is great for music. On 4G battery lasts 4 hours, but on 3G, one day, but...if I turn bluetooth off, GPS off, and only use Wifi on when I use it...the GPS and WiFi toggle Widgets are great.....I get 2 days and 2 nights of battery.
I suppose it's how much you value the accessories. And how you value your accessories will be directly related to how much you plan on tapping the potential of this device. I can say the accessory bundle has been worth it's weight in gold for me. I use the standard dock all the time for an alarm clock, media dock, the occasional digital picture frame, and most often to watch football. The navigation dock def came in handy while on my vacation, but I've also gotten use out of it to watch..er..listen to football when I'm still on the road. And the extra battery and dock, I doubt I have to explain why that comes in handy.
Picked up two bundles from Lakewood Ca. Costco on the 16th. Been using and loving the phones,but hadn't looked at the accessories until tonight (the 19th). Got everything I was supposed to get except extra battery's (both bundles were short)
Called the kiosk...the guy says that they don't come with extra batts. just extra charger...have to deal with it tomorrow I guess.
He's misinformed, and you need to return straightaway. You're supposed to get a mail-in-rebate for the extra battery. Ask to speak to the kiosk manager. If that doesn't work, ask for the number and/or email address for the district manager and regional manager.
Yeah, do deal with them - he lied straight off to you (and maybe is stealing the batteries to sell to customers who didn't get theirs and / or online....)
It's more likely he's misinformed. We won't get the batteries in store, they'll get mailed to the customer. I do suppose it's possible that he's using the mail-in-rebate himself and having them mailed to his location, but he would have had to made a copy of the receipt. Steel, are you aware of him doing so?
My Costco's experiencing a shortage as well, none in stock for the last 5 business days! Yikes! Here's to hoping I can grab one by Friday!
I was told the extra battery is a MIR because of the shortage (which caused shortage of phones, I was told) but that nonetheless it would eventually come.
I'm sorry to hear about those with nasty reps at their Costco's as mine have been nothing short of fantastic! It's not their fault the phone is out of stock, but they are trying to help me get one soonest possible
Yup, that's what I heard as well. I've also heard of a conspiracy theory that I won't embellish, even if it's what I thought was happening. lol
It looks like Costco has taken the Bionic off their website, as I wasn't able to find it online this morning. Maybe there's a big shortage of them, or maybe Costco isn't offering it anymore?
I believe the Bionic was offered on the website due to some stores not having it on launch. It's rare that a phone is offered online that you can get in-store. But this launch was anything but normal.
All stores recieved 9 in today. These did NOT come with any of the accessories. (you have to send in a mail-in-rebate form to receive the accessories.)
FYI!
That's very odd. I've been aware of the battery shortage, but have heard nothing about phones coming without the bundles. Did yours not come with accessories?
went to the costco in Enfield, CT today.
FWIW they had a BIG display and a TON of those little cardboard things you pick up and bring to the register to buy - so I'm guessing they actually had them in stock (that would suck to get to the register and pay and then when they go to get it out of the cage they say - "too bad").
The ad still said $279 including all accessories.
That's what I believe all Costcos should have had. Or course, ours was moved around a bunch of times as they went in-stock, out-of-stock, and Costco tried to advertise other items. Still, we know what we have in stock when you come up to us. We do an inventory check every morning.
