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Sparkfun FREE Product ($100) day, Jan 7th, 2010 — Parallax Forums

Sparkfun FREE Product ($100) day, Jan 7th, 2010

WBA ConsultingWBA Consulting Posts: 2,935
edited 2010-01-16 16:15 in General Discussion
Stumbled across an announcement on SparkFun's website today. They are giving away $100 worth of product to anyone that places an order on January 7th; just pay for shipping. That's not a typo!!!!

www.sparkfun.com/commerce/rss.php

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Andrew Williams
WBA Consulting
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Post Edited (WBA Consulting) : 1/8/2010 8:12:46 AM GMT
«1

Comments

  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2009-11-25 20:49
    Andrew,

    I believe that is $100.00 credit. You use it on parts. Your post makes it sound like $100.00 cash, which would be nice, but not likely. =) Take care.

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    Chris Savage

    Parallax Engineering
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    ·
  • sylvie369sylvie369 Posts: 1,622
    edited 2009-11-25 20:49
    The caveat is that it's limited to a certain number of orders, so only the quick-fingered are likely to get in on it. (not that I'm complaining)

    Maybe Parallax could do the same thing, but only announce it to me. tongue.gif
    They'd save $99,900 that way, you know. Not bad for one day.
  • WBA ConsultingWBA Consulting Posts: 2,935
    edited 2009-11-25 20:52
    Chris, you are right, I updated my verbage.

    Sylvie369, yes, they are limited it to $100k total. That's 1,000 orders.

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    Andrew Williams
    WBA Consulting
    WBA-TH1M Sensirion SHT11 Module
    Special Olympics Polar Bear Plunge, Mar 20, 2010
  • Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
    edited 2009-11-26 00:21
    Wish you guys would stop passing this one around... [noparse]:)[/noparse]

    Bad enough I'll have to have my order setup, ready to press go at 12:01am that day.

    OBC

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  • James LongJames Long Posts: 1,181
    edited 2009-11-26 00:32
    Oldbitcollector said...
    Wish you guys would stop passing this one around... [noparse]:)[/noparse]

    Bad enough I'll have to have my order setup, ready to press go at 12:01am that day.

    OBC

    Lucky for me it starts at 9:00 am and I'll take your spot. smile.gif

    I'll too have my order ready to be processed in the first few seconds of the freebie.

    James L

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  • Mike2545Mike2545 Posts: 433
    edited 2009-11-26 01:19
    I wonder how they will handle orders that come in after the giveaway ends, I mean, when they hit the $100k mark will you have to pay for your order in full or will they let you know they are out of freebies ?

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  • SRLMSRLM Posts: 5,045
    edited 2009-11-26 01:55
    You present me with a fundamental problem: I have eight o' clock classes next quarter, and the freebe opens up at eight am local. Do I miss the second lecture of the quarter or do I get the freebe? Of course, if we do the math we are paying something like $30 for the lecture (or $3,400 per quarter for 18 credits with 2 or 3 lectures a week). $100 vs $30... My future vs. immediate gratification... Come to think of it, class doesn't start until 8:10.
  • iDaveiDave Posts: 252
    edited 2009-11-26 05:55
    Folks...remember...just cause they are offering up to $100 per customer doesn't mean you have to take the whole thing. If we only really take what we NEED for a project and not what we MIGHT need for some far future project that may or may not ever be started...the more we can divy up the pie. I know thats easier said than done, but I will try to restrain myself! Of course, that's if I get a chance at all. Good luck young soldiers!

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  • UnknownUnknown
    edited 2009-11-26 18:25
    I wonder if their servers can handle all of the requests.· It will be great for those who get through but I'll pass.
    ·
  • schillschill Posts: 741
    edited 2009-11-29 17:35
    I think this is a nice thing for Sparkfun to do and it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

    As for myself, I will probably pass. I've spent plenty of money there so I could certainly take advantage of this. But, I expect there are many more people out there who can't afford to buy this stuff. I think I'll give them a chance.
  • skylightskylight Posts: 1,915
    edited 2009-11-29 19:11
    I'm so glad i'm in the UK and don't have to worry about this deal.

    No i'm not i'm dead jealous, you lucky so and so's tongue.gif
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,260
    edited 2009-11-30 03:01
    Good find, thanks!· Now definitely delete this post·before EVERYONE finds out! lol.gif

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  • Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
    edited 2009-11-30 22:21
    @erco,

    If you guys would just quit bumping this thread then it would get buried...


    oops.

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  • ercoerco Posts: 20,260
    edited 2009-12-01 02:24
    INGENIOUS, OBC!






    oops again.

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    ·"If you build it, they will come."
  • WBA ConsultingWBA Consulting Posts: 2,935
    edited 2009-12-01 21:31
    Sorry to bump it, but in case anyone needs help looking to complete their list, they do have a 5.4MB PDF "catalog" which is basically a list of thier items with a picture, description, price, and part number. Each item is hyperlinked too!

    http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/download/PDFs/catalog.pdf
    www.sparkfun.com/commerce/download/PDFs/catalog.pdf

    Made it real easy for me to finalize my list and trim it to $210, so $110 plus shipping out the door will be a sweet deal.

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    Andrew Williams
    WBA Consulting
    WBA-TH1M Sensirion SHT11 Module
    Special Olympics Polar Bear Plunge, Mar 20, 2010
  • WBA ConsultingWBA Consulting Posts: 2,935
    edited 2010-01-07 16:02
    Well, I think that Sparkfun is going to make out very well today. I say that because with the self-caused denial of service attack, there won't be 1,000 people that will be able to get an order processed for them to giveaway the $100,000 worth of free product. To make things even better for them, several people might end up doing what I did and really fine tune an expensive wish list down to be under the $100 thus making the decision to make a purchase out of pocket a little easier. So, even though I doubt I will be able to get through to their site today to place my $76 order for free, I may just go ahead and place the order anyways in the next few days.

    anyhow, that's my conspiracy theory..............

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    Andrew Williams
    WBA Consulting
    WBA-TH1M Sensirion SHT11 Module
    Special Olympics Polar Bear Plunge, Mar 20, 2010
    Propeller-Based Reverse Geo-Cache Birthday Present Project
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,260
    edited 2010-01-07 16:09
    Their servers are swamped, crashed, & smokin'...

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    ·"If you build it, they will come."
  • FlyingFishFingerFlyingFishFinger Posts: 461
    edited 2010-01-07 16:22
    There is no point trying I think...25 minutes into the offer, only 16 people have gotten it.
    I'll probably end up getting my order anyway later.
    Good luck if you do try!

    Raf

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  • LeonLeon Posts: 7,620
    edited 2010-01-07 16:36
    I tried to add a couple of items to my shopping cart three hours before it started, and gave up. I've got better things to do with my time than trying to save $100.

    Leon

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  • Roy ElthamRoy Eltham Posts: 3,000
    edited 2010-01-07 16:38
    I've managed to get to the select shipping page... then when you select continue from their if fails and when you refresh you end up back at the select shipping page. I've gotten this like 3 times now (after many many tries), it's frustrating getting close and then being stuck.

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  • Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
    edited 2010-01-07 16:40
    Sparkfun servers: i25.tinypic.com/2upv3t2.jpg

    Waste of time.. No server would have handled this... (Except maybe Google's)

    OBC

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  • sylvie369sylvie369 Posts: 1,622
    edited 2010-01-07 16:42
    I managed·a couple of times to get to a product page that said that I was logged in, but never past that. After about 1-1/4 hours of trying this, I'll be coming out behind compared to what I could make if I were working. I hope that the people getting through are folks whose hourly wages are low.
    =============
    And now it looks like they're done, though it'll probably be a couple of hours before their servers are accessible again.

    Post Edited (sylvie369) : 1/7/2010 5:52:25 PM GMT
  • Roy ElthamRoy Eltham Posts: 3,000
    edited 2010-01-07 17:51
    It's over. 1 hour 44 minutes and 50 seconds after it started all $100,000 was gone.

    I tried many many times to get through the select shipping and select payment pages with no luck... It was just random who got through and who didn't... /sigh

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  • WBA ConsultingWBA Consulting Posts: 2,935
    edited 2010-01-07 17:51
    Wow, $100k in 1hr 44 minutes.

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    Andrew Williams
    WBA Consulting
    WBA-TH1M Sensirion SHT11 Module
    Special Olympics Polar Bear Plunge, Mar 20, 2010
    Propeller-Based Reverse Geo-Cache Birthday Present Project
  • Jim FouchJim Fouch Posts: 395
    edited 2010-01-07 17:52
    yeah, I wasted 2 hours trying to log in and complete my order. I've lost over $100 in billiable time not to mention didn't get the free $100 of products. :-(

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  • James LongJames Long Posts: 1,181
    edited 2010-01-07 17:58
    I hate to say it....but I got through. It took 1 hour and 32 minutes to get through but I did.

    I probably could have been doing something better, but I felt it necessary to help others make Sparkfun think twice about doing that again. smilewinkgrin.gif

    I'm sure the data center which holds their servers is not happy.

    I didn't actually know I got the order through....I never really received a confirmation, but my cart become empty. I checked and there is an order in my order history.

    James L

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    Lil Brother SMT Assembly Services

    Are you addicted to technology or Micro-controllers..... then checkout the forums at Savage Circuits. Learn to build your own Gizmos!
  • Thomas FletcherThomas Fletcher Posts: 91
    edited 2010-01-07 18:21
    The site is STILL having problems. I removed some of the items from my shopping cart
    to bring it down to things I needed (or at least was willing to pay with my own cash right now)
    and still can't check out.

    I guess I might as well wait since it is going to be awhile before they can ship it out
    anyway.
  • James LongJames Long Posts: 1,181
    edited 2010-01-07 18:33
    Thomas Fletcher said...
    The site is STILL having problems. I removed some of the items from my shopping cart
    to bring it down to things I needed (or at least was willing to pay with my own cash right now)
    and still can't check out.

    I guess I might as well wait since it is going to be awhile before they can ship it out
    anyway.

    I would probably wait until tomorrow before even visiting the SparkFun site again. There are people just now realizing that today is the free day. They are all rushing to get on.......(those who thought the give away would last longer than 2 hours).

    James L

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    Partner/Designer
    Lil Brother SMT Assembly Services

    Are you addicted to technology or Micro-controllers..... then checkout the forums at Savage Circuits. Learn to build your own Gizmos!
  • kf4ixmkf4ixm Posts: 529
    edited 2010-01-07 18:38
    It was over in 1 hour 44 min and 47 seconds, surely didn't last long at all. congrats to all that did get in! (not me!)
  • sylvie369sylvie369 Posts: 1,622
    edited 2010-01-07 21:37
    I'd predicted 12 minutes and 36 seconds. I don't know much about servers, though, and so I assumed they'd hold up better to the traffic. I'm sure there were enough attempts to order within the first 5 to 10 minutes to finish out the deal in that time, but hardly any got through.

    It was fun to watch, though I'll bet the people who really thought they were going to get $100 worth of stuff in a few clicks terribly frustrated.
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