I finally got my membership card yesterday but so far that's it. Funny how some people got everthing already and some just the card and some haven't received anything yet.
Yeah it really is poor business management. I was excited about the surprise gift and now I am already disappointed since I know what it is. Some coordination would have been nice especially for the memberships that were signed up on Day 1.
Ok ready for this I get home and find a tube waiting for me I said oh my D23 free gift. I go to open the tube and it's empty :mad: The one end of the tube is gone and neither end was taped. I guess the membership doesn't include packing tape. I call the number on Disneyshopping.com and guess what? They have no clue what to do about the problem :bang: After waiting on hold for several minutes the girl comes back on and says "Well I have to send a message internally to D23 and then call you back at a later time. lease understand this is all brand new to us":blowup: So let's see no membership card, no magazine or certificate yet and empty tube not a bad deal for almost $80 :mad:
I am seriously thinking of cancelling my membership and getting my money back at this point.
Disney should be thrown under the bus, but this is also an example of what so many businesses in this country do. They had an infinite amount of time, in theory, to work out all the backoffice concerns and make that work efficiently. Instead, they came up with a great viral campaign backed by a system that was nowhere close to ready.
They reward the early adopters, who are (were?) their biggest fans, with the opportunity to beta test their new offering...for the same fee they will charge everybody else.
I guess 4 hours from the time I called until they close wasn't enough time to figure out they need to send me a new one and call me back :rolleyes:
I am not defending this D23 thing, but:
1. The magazine is being likened to a coffee table book. I personally haven't seen one yet so I cannot say for myself. But, if this is how people are describing it, then it is worth $16.00 an issue.
2. If you think about it, the magazine, at $16 an issue, totals $64 a year. That leaves $11 as membership fees. Divide that by 12 months, and it is only 91 cents a month. If you take the full $75, then it is $6.25 a month, not what I call a bank breaker.
3. I cannot argue with the cheap gifts. A lithograph as the special gift is cheap and completely tacky.
Wow! Are you serious?? The free gift is a lithograph??
Oh my ... talk about disappointed!! Sheesh, I mean they give away FOUR lithos just for pre-sale of a lousy DVD, for heaven's sake! You mean my $80 membership fee got me one little litho and that's it??
That's really lame, man. I haven't gotten anything from them yet, but seriously ... if this turns out to be some kind of shady D23 litho that's going to do nothing but languish in one of my closets somewhere I'm going to be really :mad:.
I seriously think I'll call and demand my money back.
You guys have me laughing.....
How can anyone be disappointed with whatever comes of this thing?
it's a moneygrab.....we all know it.....if you get minor amusement out of it....then count yourselves lucky...
come on, now....this is an old play from the book...you know what's gonna come of this....it will hang around for a few years and then probably go away quietly...
the sad part is just how many of their "big" announcements and unveiling in recent years have been bad....really bad.
I hope this is at least respectable and provides some enjoyment.....but have no faith that this be the case
I will pick up the mag....can anyone tell me what a "barnes and noble" is?:secret:
Yeah, I guess shame on me for falling for this stunt. I really should have known better. This is prototypical Disney.
I actually feel bad that they made Marty Sklar pimp himself out in support of this sham, though. His presence at the kickoff was actually one of the reasons I decided to buy. What a dumb-dumb. ;)
Just FYI, Disney Stores have the mags, too.
I am skeptical about everything these days. I let the early adopters buy in, read the reviews, and even if I want in I usually wait for all the bugs to be worked out of the system before buying in. If it is a for the computer, or an electronics item, I wait for the inevitable price drop. 9 times out of 10, it just doesn't pay to be an early adopter of much these days.
Which would be fine if it was presented that way...It doesn't seem to happen very often ;), but I completely agree. If you want to spend money on a mystery gift, well, you're playing the lottery. You bought 80 dollar tickets and one of them gave you a free ticket.Quote:
from lockedoutlogic You guys have me laughing.....
How can anyone be disappointed with whatever comes of this thing?
it's a moneygrab.....we all know it.....if you get minor amusement out of it....then count yourselves lucky...
The four mags a year are around $60. Unless they come up with something spectacular, or lower the price below the price of the four mags, this Disney fanatic will go nowhere near it.
:sulley:
All I got was an empty cardboard tube :(
So I called the wonderfully knowlegable Disneyshopping.com again today and they informed I have to wait until the 27th to call back since I need to allow 10-12 business days from time of order :mad: And again "Please forgive us this is all new to us"