i was interested, but you said you closed the list :(

Dobber is your list still open ?

The bulk buy is still available. I will be finalizing in a couple of weeks (maybe closing May 7). Please email me your info ASAP. Serious buyers only please. Be prepared to cough up about $700 in the next 30 days or so. No layaway. No payments. No fancy brochures. No "I'm interested but want to think about it". Credit cards MAY be an option, but are not as of right now. This deal is for those who know what they want, want a good deal, and have the money. We will get to be one of the first to get a Color Pronto, and NOT pay full price. I do not have any detailed information about the product other than what has been made available on this site and other forums. I am not a retailer and am making no profit from this exercise. Again...thanx to all!

how can one be sure this isn't some kind of scam? no offense, i've just never particapated in a bulk-buy and i've also never sent so much money to somebody i don't know without it being a store of some kind.

I might be interested if payment by credit card were an option (then I would at least have some recourse for fraud, etc.)....

If you have issues with, are unfamiliar and uncomfortable, or don't believe in these types of "Bulk Buys", I suggest you not apply. If you are familiar...please let me know of your interest...you know the drill. Discretion is very important when it comes to legitimate sales channels and highly aggressive discounting.

i'm also interested, pls provide more info when you can.

Steve

With all due respect to "Dobber"...

whoever is getting involved should be sure to get complete information as to source, etc., and only pay by credit card where there is protection, recourse, and in many cases now-a-days, an extension of the manufacturer's warranty up to an additional year.

The pricing here is out of the "pocket money" catagory and one needs to exercise good sense in the emotion of the excitement of being first.

Also find out what the return/DOA policy will be with this bulk purchase. There probably is none. As Dobber has rightfully pointed that you should be familiar with (in my opinion the possible "downside") of this type of bulk purchase.

Last... and not just with this particular device, but any new product, all the testing in the world does not substitute for the "final testing" that takes place in the hands of an end user. Keep that in mind.

-Bruce
alpha2data

To: Alpha2Data

This is probably out of context of this particular thread. Anyway, in another thread, there was discussion on the possibility of trading up for those with Tsu1000 to something newer.

I remember in the thread that you were looking into it to see the feasibility. Just wondering what you came up with so far? I think the last I read was that you found that there is a good re-sale value for them.

Thanks and have a great day!

Bill

Alpha2Data obviously has no experience with these deals. I only work with Authorized dealers and all products come with the full backing of both the dealer and the Manufacturer. I don't resell anything on eBay and am not interested in making any profit. I just enjoy sharing in large quantity discounting. These arrangements are no different than walking into your neighborhood Hi-Fi shop, and getting dealer cost. You just can't do it buying only one. Small petty (and generally unauthorized) resellers jeopardize these arrangements because they put the original dealer at risk with the manufacturer and make dealers gun shy of who they sell to at a discount. That's why everyone in this group only gets to buy 1 unit, and discretion is critical.

If anyone is more comfortable...by all means go forth and check seller ratings...get references...try to find some history...then call Philips and ask for a warranty claim off an eBay sale. You might even save a couple of bucks. Trade-ins? Wow! Would I find Alpha2Data Corp. on Philips web site?

Dobber...

There is no reason to attack my credibility herein because I was advising people to exercise common sense caution. As for the "small petty", that is also highly uncalled for.

If you're upset by my recommendations, so be it. There is a LOT more to this than you represent.

What are the specs of the Pronto Pro??? What exactly is the cost and not just "about", and what about issues of brightness and screen readability???

Is the LCD tft, supertwist, etc et al. How much of the 8Mb memory is there to support screen what is the resolution of the 256 color screen, where are the independant reviews, how well tested was the new "it turns on when you pick it up feature"?, can it be defaulted to off so that a button needs to be pushed like the current TSU2k? etc etc...

I could come up with many more questions. Also keep in mind that the resale of both the TSU1000 & TSU2000 is still strong, so what is really lost my waiting for this thing to shake out a little???

If the only line up is the TSU2000 at $400.00 list and the TSU6000 at $999.00 listed, that can only positively impact the value of current TSU2000's due to the very wide apread there. It leaves quite a gapping hole.

Have you had one of these in your hands to make your own subjective evaluation?

BTW.. there is no such thing as an "authorized dealer" as far as I know. There are authorized distributors and perhaps lager dealers that buy direct, but this has no impact on the warranty of the product, and as for a warranty claim off an eBay sale I have helped more people out from here directly with Philips with the types of problems that even local dealers charging full retail plus wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole.

Additionally, the bill of sale could be on parchment from some remote isle and that would qualify as proper documentation for the Philips warranty. Read it and find out. There is NO MENTION of the words AUTHORIZED DEALER anywhere within it. The days of the manufacturer trying to control the channel from where the consumer buys are pretty much over. It doesn't work.

Even the gray market "Euro Prontos" are covered here any anywhere else in the world.

So, Dobber.. if you are trying to make an advance buy for a group of people, great. I wish you luck, and those people luck.. and I also wish you success. I have no axe to grind here. Only to tell you to stop attacking me for pointing out common sense to people.

If that bothers you, than I have a big problem with you, and so should others.

Obviously you are not doing this for love. You are probably getting your own TSU6000 for free for putting the deal together or some such thing. That is fine. A leader of a group of a charter gets a free airline ticket, etc, but I have learned from experience, the experience you try and diminish by inference that the best deals are the fully disclosed open deals where there is a reality that will mate with expectation.

Peace..

-Bruce
alpha2data



any local dealer

Bill...

I answered your question in the original thread on that subject.

I hope thia link to it works:

[Link: remotecentral.com]

-Bruce
alpha2data

alpha2data seems to be on the up-and-up. the bulk buy, while tempting, just leaves too many questions for me. i'm not the 'taking chances' type though so i think i'll wait and get it at my local a/v dealer. i'd feel more comfortable buying an initial version product from a brick and mortar due simple to possible bugs that must be corrected using a warranty that i feel would be easier to make good on through a physical store i can visit. i'd love to be the first on my block, but i'm not the impulsive type.

Dobbler-
I have participated in bulk buys before and I understand how they work. If you will be purchasing from an authorized dealer, it sure should be possible for us to purchase via credit card directly from that dealer as part of the power buy.

Typically the way this works is you would privately send us dealer information, and a short time frame in which we can contact that dealer to give him our credit card or other purchase info. Then, if the minimum number have particpated, the buy is executed. If the minimum is not reached, credit cards are never charged, or checks are returned. Simple, easy and the safe way to do power buys.

In this scenario, everyone knows who they bought from, they get a receipt from an authorized dealer, and they have a high comfort level. I would expect that you would have a private arrangement with the dealer for a finders fee or brokers fee, but that is up to you.

Tramahound... thank you for your comment.

I am currently in receipt of the emailed offering by Dobber. (Obviously at some point I would be.) First let me state that I was told that is was from Dobber.

Without specific header info etc, I cannot confirm that, so that anything contained herein is based solely upon the assumption of the vericity of the information I have received.

I can emphatically tell you that many of the representations made in that offering are not accurate in the sense that the conclusions drawn, statements made, and description of things like "trans-shipping", the market dynamic, the serial number control by Philips, and the general control by Philips in the marketplace etc... are, in my educated, experienced, opinion not accurate at all, and putting it that way is being polite.

I am going to go through the document detail by detail and I believe I will probably post a response to it.

Out of respect for the sysop, I have first asked for permission, or, more accurately to be told by the sysop that I shouldn't.

So, that is all I can comment on at this time.

However, it is my _personal opinion_ that there is too much wrong with this at this time. I am only saying that as a general consumer using a gauge I would use in making any purchasing decision with respect to what I feel would be right for my comfort level.

I consider myself a pretty sharp buyer, but I always err, on balance, in favor of protecting my $$. And I never risk my $$ in any deal where I may have no recourse or would have to give up the ultimate protection of my credit card... especially at these numbers here.

I would certainly not want to give up the one year manufacturer's warranty extension that most credit card companies offer their cardholders for free. That would make absolutely no sense.

So, again, that's my opinion, but everyone is different and I am not telling anyone what to do. That is a personal choice, and I cannot tell anyone that Dobber is mis-representing anything. He presents the market, he says, as he sees it. I am saying he does not see it correctly from the information that I have available to me. This is a difference of opinion, and not intended to attack.

-Bruce
alpha2data