How is a guy selling $399 lifetime memberships

[DawnW]

for $329 on ebay?

He says if you buy the Tivo he will activate it with lifetime. How can he do this? Is he putting it in his name?

Dawn

[SleepyBob]

for $329 on ebay?

He says if you buy the Tivo he will activate it with lifetime. How can he do this? Is he putting it in his name?

Dawn

Probably. He activates on his own account for $299, pockets $30 and eventually transfers ownership to you.

And then TiVo decides to make it $399 for everybody to shut him down.

[scandia101]

WTF is a lifetime membership?
I only ask because I have paid for several lifetime TiVo subscriptions and have not yet become a member of anything because of it.

[DawnW]

Lifetime subscription.....sorry, just wrong term....you really couldn't figure that out?

Dawn

WTF is a lifetime membership?
I only ask because I have paid for several lifetime TiVo subscriptions and have not yet become a member of anything because of it.

[Mindflux]

Probably. He activates on his own account for $299, pockets $30 and eventually transfers ownership to you.

And then TiVo decides to make it $399 for everybody to shut him down.

After fees, he pockets more like $12 bucks.

[bicker]

And then TiVo decides to make it $399 for everybody to shut him down.I wouldn't doubt it. And then folks will get on TiVo's back for doing so, even though the real blame rests solely on the consumers who do it.

[ZeoTiVo]

I wouldn't doubt it. And then folks will get on TiVo's back for doing so, even though the real blame rests solely on the consumers who do it.

it would be wiser for TiVo to just limit the number of Lifetimes you can get in some period of time. Most would not even notice such a limit and it would take cause the resellers to move on to other pastures.

[bicker]

it would be wiser for TiVo to just limit the number of Lifetimes you can get in some period of time.And then folks will get on TiVo's back for doing so... Also, think about what you're suggesting. You're putting the imposition of a numerical, time-limited restriction up as an alternative to simply doing away with a discount. I'm sure you see how your suggestion would actually make the discount even more costly to TiVo. Cannot you come up with an alternative that costs TiVo less money to implement than what they're doing now, instead of one that costs more?

[lew]

I wouldn't doubt it. And then folks will get on TiVo's back for doing so, even though the real blame rests solely on the consumers who do it.

I'm not sure if it's the same guy but there was an ebay seller who was selling LS last year, when only existing subscribers could purchase LS. He was also getting the rewards credits. Some posters blamed him (and others) when tivo stopped the rewards program.

Tivo could just restrict transfer of LS service accounts. Charge $100 if a unit with LS is transferred during the first 12 months. My guess is tivo has bigger problems than a few people getting an unearned discount on LS.

I've read about some people purchasing two tivos. Activate one as monthly, the second with LS. The first unit is cancelled during the first month. I suspect this action is a lot more costly to tivo then ebay sellers.

[fallingwater]

...He activates on his own account for $299, pockets $30 and eventually transfers ownership to you.

And then TiVo decides to make it $399 for everybody to shut him down.

...And then folks will get on TiVo's back for doing so, even though the real blame rests solely on the consumers who do it.

Actually TiVo's accounting system deserves the 'real blame'. Until TiVo spells out definitively each and every requirement for transferring Lifetime Service and then identifies and disqualifies individuals who abuse and violate its stated policies, all's fair.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92HjH1GG3ro

Imagine if TiVo did sell a Lifetime Account 'Membership' (for, say, $500) which entitled TiVo Service to any one TiVo on an account and was transferrable between TiVos on an account for the life of the account but couldn't be transferred to another account?

[DawnW]

I think you are right.

I wonder if Tivo is aware?

Dawn

it would be wiser for TiVo to just limit the number of Lifetimes you can get in some period of time. Most would not even notice such a limit and it would take cause the resellers to move on to other pastures.

[DawnW]

Thanks. I honestly didn't think I posted something that would take that turn....it threw me. These aren't the sorts I choose to be around IRL, so I just need to move on and ignore.

Thnaks,

Dawn

Just ignore him, there are a few members that like to be jerks like that. Just don't respond and the helpful members will chime in

[ZeoTiVo]

I'm sure you see how your suggestion would actually make the discount even more costly to TiVo. Cannot you come up with an alternative that costs TiVo less money to implement than what they're doing now, instead of one that costs more?

you need to do a full ROI though
factors include
loss of some % of MSD sub sales if they all go to 399$
cost of implementing, enforcing the limit
added revenue when TiVo gets a 399$ sale versus 299$
loss of some first time subs when cost goes back to 399$ veruss resell price of 329$

I personally do not have a spreadsheet loaded up with the needed data so I will stop at "a simple limit like no more than 3 lifetime subs on one account per 3 months or whatever floats a little above normal volume just seems easy enough to do and is not in the public eye of bad PR like rasing MSD lifetime to 399$ would be. Bear in mind that this would be a few exceptional cases that get blocked from more Lifetimes for a while versus it happening to all kinds of people.

[ZeoTiVo]

I think you are right.

I wonder if Tivo is aware?

Dawn

BTW - this forum has the tendency to reply under the quote versus over top the quote. No idea as to why exactly but that is just the style everybody ends up using here.

[ZeoTiVo]

Imagine if TiVo did sell a Lifetime Account 'Membership' (for, say, $500) which entitled TiVo Service to any one TiVo on an account and was transferrable between TiVos on an account for the life of the account but couldn't be transferred to another account?
that would be a cool deal :up: worth 500$ to me and would motivate more people to keep up with newer hardware and get off legacy models

[lew]

Imagine if TiVo did sell a Lifetime Account 'Membership' (for, say, $500) which entitled TiVo Service to any one TiVo on an account and was transferrable between TiVos on an account for the life of the account but couldn't be transferred to another account?

LS is $399 for the life of the product. I'd think tivo would charge a lot more then an extra $100 for service that's basically tied to the lifetime of the subscriber. I think the occasional promotion that allows us to transfer LS to a new model is about all we can expect.

[bicker]

I personally do not have a spreadsheet loaded up with the needed data so I will stop at...... your preferred approach. Okay... understandable... just as long as we all recognize that it probably isn't the best approach for the business.

[ZeoTiVo]

... your preferred approach. Okay... understandable... just as long as we all recognize that it probably isn't the best approach for the business.

so what marketing research data were you using for your ROI on your idea of raising the MSD lifetime to 399$!?

once you lay all that out, then feel as if you have backed up your approach and disproven mine. Till then - this is all just forum idea toss out anyway - was not aware I had contract with you for more specific deliverables - please advise...

[stujac]

Spoken like a true A-hole. I hope your real life personality is nothing like this one. Or else I truly feel sorry for your family and friends (if you have any).

Why would he be any different in real life? I doubt none of us is different in real life. We'd all be phonies if we had a separate personality for the boards and for "real life."

[ZeoTiVo]

Why would he be any different in real life? I doubt none of us is different in real life. We'd all be phonies if we had a separate personality for the boards and for "real life."
I probably sound harsher in postings than you would think me in real life - the medium does lend a flavor to postings and without body language the words come across more starkly than in direct interaction. For all we know scandia may be a jolly guy who laughs all the time, especially as he reads replies to his postings here :p

[bicker]

so what marketing research data were you using for your ROI on your idea of raising the MSD lifetime to 399$!?It wasn't my idea.

My perspective is that whatever TiVo is doing is probably supported by the best data available.

[bicker]

I probably sound harsher in postings than you would think me in real life - the medium does lend a flavor to postings and without body language the words come across more starkly than in direct interaction. For all we know scandia may be a jolly guy who laughs all the time, especially as he reads replies to his postings here :pCould be. I know that, over 25 years, bicker has almost become this "character" I play on the Internet. I simply don't care about things as much as it may seem like I do, by what I post (though I do believe those things just as much).

[ZeoTiVo]

It wasn't my idea. true
My perspective is that whatever TiVo is doing is probably supported by the best data available.
sure, and all I was saying it would be wiser if..
not that TiVo had to absolutely do this right now or I would picket Best Buy TiVo aisle or something ;)

[ciper]

BTW - this forum has the tendency to reply under the quote versus over top the quote. No idea as to why exactly but that is just the style everybody ends up using here.
Since we are on the forum tendencies, its this forums tendency to use the edit button rather than post three times in a row. :cool:

[Mindflux]

BTW - this forum has the tendency to reply under the quote versus over top the quote. No idea as to why exactly but that is just the style everybody ends up using here.

As far as I'm concerned top quoting is how it should be. Someone unfamiliar with the thread is going to read downward, in which they'll read the post you are quoting before the reply. Makes sense to me.

[bicker]

Since we are on the forum tendencies, its this forums tendency to use the edit button rather than post three times in a row. :cool:That is not the case.

[ciper]

That is not the case.
It is the case on this forum and most any other vbulletin, FusionBB, or phbb. On other forums you will quickly get the moderators negative attention by artificially inflating your post count when not combining replies into a single post.

[bicker]

If anyone is doing it to inflate their post count, you'd have a point. As it is, anyone who actually cares about post count is an idiot.

Regardless, you don't get the unilaterally declare rules for "most any ... vBulletin" forum. You get to determine how you post, not anyone else. If you want the rules here to more closely match your own personal preferences, get the moderators to change the rules: http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/faq.php?faq=vb_faq#faq_vb_read_and_post

[steve614]

Why would he be any different in real life? I doubt none of us is different in real life. We'd all be phonies if we had a separate personality for the boards and for "real life."

I would bet because of internet anonymity, people tend to be their raw self.
In real life, you put up a facade in order to get along with people except for when you want to be an a-hole.

[ZeoTiVo]

It is the case on this forum and most any other vbulletin, FusionBB, or phbb. On other forums you will quickly get the moderators negative attention by artificially inflating your post count when not combining replies into a single post.

and yet to date - no moderator has given me one whiff of negativity about that, and I am not the one who brought up post counts as I do not care about that. I tend to look at join date to get a feel for how familiar a person might be with this forum.

but hey lets combine posts so you are happy and don't report me ;)

I set the threads to load backwards* to deal with bottom quoting here. I was just pointing out to dawn that is indeed different here, not that she was wrong, just that this forum did it the opposite of most.

* eg the first post is at the end of the last page - the settings are in the user control panel somehere.

[mattack]

BTW - this forum has the tendency to reply under the quote versus over top the quote. No idea as to why exactly but that is just the style everybody ends up using here.

Top-posting is wrong, REGARDLESS of medium.

[bicker]

Top-posting is wrong, REGARDLESS of medium.Cuz it sez so here, right?

http://www.fellowshipchurch.ca/FCKeditor/UserFiles/image/Bible.jpg


:)

[pdhenry]

Back on topic, in the other thread talking about this guy selling Lifetime for $329 I mentioned that I emailed the seller and he said he puts lifetime on the box under his account (his cost = $299) and transfers ownership (back) to you when that's done.

[ZeoTiVo]

Back on topic, in the other thread talking about this guy selling Lifetime for $329 I mentioned that I emailed the seller and he said he puts lifetime on the box under his account (his cost = $299) and transfers ownership (back) to you when that's done.

yep, assuming he is honest and wants to give you a good product it is a very feasible way to save some bucks on your first Sub. There seem to be no TOS rules against it.