Looks like it’s time to stockpile.
They are sold out, and listed that the BOGO offer on the cases of 450 Lumen bulbs is now over.:ahh:
I ordered a case of 800 lumen bulbs on 10/19/12. No where in the FIRST e-mail blast or on the FIRST E-watt Resources Page nor the ordering site did it say that the promotion applied only to the 450 lumen bulbs. I did not receive a second case of bulbs.
Now today, I learn that the cost of the bulbs has been reduced by 40%, a week after receiving the case we paid full price for.
Needless to say, I’m not too happy about this first case that we still have 23 of sitting here. I’ll give FIRST and their bulb folks the chance to make right on it.
Our team is a little miffed at FIRST right now too. We went in last Sunday to order our BOGO bulbs. (I am pretty sure the email did say only 450L bulbs). We got the unfortunate message that the offer was sold out in just one week. We have a couple of fundraiser activities coming up in November, so we went ahead and ordered two cases of 800 Lumen bulbs to have bulbs on hand. Those bulbs are on the way to us and then FIRST releases the email today that they are 40% off. We hope that they will refund us a portion since the only reason we ordered 800 bulbs is that they were completely sold out of the 450.
We are guessing that there must be a new version of the bulbs coming out after the first of the year and they are trying to get rid of their old inventory.
Sharon
I’m in the same boat, except for three cases. I double checked the email and it did not specify only the 40W replacement bulb for the BOGO free offer. I sent an email stating my frustrations to FIRST and have not received a reply yet.
Just got this reply from FIRST this morning:
Kenton, thank you for contacting FIRST regarding the recent price change to the e-watt saver light bulbs.
While we understand that you purchased bulbs prior to the recent price reduction, we are not able to make price adjustments or accept returns.
The bulbs you purchased were existing inventory for which FIRST also paid a significantly higher price to purchase.
The new lower bulb pricing to teams is a direct result of additional stock that we were able to secure after existing inventories were depleted.
FIRST does not make any money from the sale of light bulbs, but rather passes all savings we are able to negotiate on to teams.
While FIRST offers a suggested retail price, teams may set their own pricing based on local market conditions and their team fundraising strategy.
We appreciate your support of the e-watt program.
Mark Critz - Project Manager
FIRST Green e-watt saver Program
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology)
Email: e-watt@usfirst.org