Starting tomorrow, Verizon Palm devices to go mail-in-rebateless?

One of our Verizon Wireless connects just handed us some pretty interesting info: starting tomorrow, Palm devices on Verizon Wireless will not require a mail-in-rebate.

Our source said that this is a pretty telltale sign of the devices not performing well on Big Red as, “we make a ton of money off people not sending those rebates in.” We’d agree. So, if this all pans out, starting tomorrow, you’ll be able to pick up a Palm Pre Plus or Palm Pixi Plus on Verizon for $149.99 and $79.99 respectively, with instant rebates out the door.

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31 Responses to “Starting tomorrow, Verizon Palm devices to go mail-in-rebateless?”

  1. 1
    Ron Smood says:

    This comment has been seriously disliked. Click here to see.

    Disliked. Thumb up Thumb down -48

  2. 2
    peter cuevas says:

    that’s actually a good thing imo

    Liked. Thumb up Thumb down +14

  3. 3
    Kal-El says:

    Yea… I actually think this is the first step in the process Palm and Verizon talked about a week ago in getting better product movement for the Pre / Pixi

    Liked. Thumb up Thumb down +8

  4. 4
    Laz says:

    VZW should use this practise on all their phones!

    Liked. Thumb up Thumb down +7

    • 4.1
      Coffy says:

      Rebates are there for the reason that the account where all the rebate money is generates interest that interest pays for the store to be there. Also it pays those employees at that store. If you don’t want a rebate don’t go to a store do it all your self online. Less overhead means better pricing for you.

      Thumb up Thumb down 0

  5. 5
    OGHowie says:

    Too little too late? Makes me sad since I want Palm to succeed.

    Thumb up Thumb down -1

  6. 6
    Don Louie Cantone says:

    I hope all the carriers follow this but don’t limit it to Palm or smartphones

    Thumb up Thumb down -3

  7. 7
    joe cool says:

    This comment has been seriously disliked. Click here to see.

    Disliked. Thumb up Thumb down -8

  8. 8
    fr4nk1yn says:

    Dear Palm,

    Not a week after I “camped” for my Pre I saw forum posts about the “Pre 2″. I flamed those people mercilessly.

    Were you listening though? ’cause I’ve come full circle.
    I’m a BIG fan of WebOS but not so much the Pre.
    Yeah, your “not concentrating on releasing new device releases [but] getting the current devices on as many carriers as possible”. A good thing certainly but with the new “sexy” Android and soon WM7 phones, with OSs not near as polished as WebOS, you better have a SnapDragon, 4.x inch AMOLED, 5(+!)mp auto-focusing camera, 1gb of RAM, 16gb storage w/ MicroSDHC slot and a killer onscreen keyboard ready to be announced and ready to release in a few months.

    We all have phone A.D.D. and the bar is being set high.
    The Pre isn’t going to cut it this year. Besides new phones = new sales.
    Customers, bloggers, analysts and inverstors will like that. A lot.

    I have my one year upgrade waiting on you. Don’t disappoint.

    Liked. Thumb up Thumb down +5

  9. 9
    zanzabar says:

    and not just that but 4 some odd reason, palm factories are going at it again, with the pre and the resource-wasting-afterthought device called pixi. NO MORE PRE and PIXI please palm. unleash the power of webOS on a different device, with a large screen and better specs. all that webOS needs is a larger device.

    Thumb up Thumb down -3

  10. 10
    capt says:

    seriously, people still buy phones with mail in rebates, didn’t we all learn how much of a screw job this was years ago. poor bastards.

    Posted from BGR Mobile (iPhone).

    Thumb up Thumb down -3

  11. 11
    chad says:

    verizon seems to be kicking ass and not slowing down. I used to hate verizon, but they are making some really good business decisions.

    Thumb up Thumb down +4

    • 11.1
      majic07 says:

      I’ll bet you that this was not VZ idea. Basically VZ still wants their money and they probably told Palm that if you want your phone to sell you guys need to do somthing about it. By doing an instant rebate it cuts into their sales margins and there is no way VZ was going to stand for that. So basically Palm is eating this not VZ. It’s not some new space age idea to do instant rebates, when I worked at at&t we had been doing this for the past 2 years on a store level in the market I worked in. It did work very well. The process was the customer had to purchse ($80) in accessories in order to get the instant rebate which would be items they needed for their phones anyway. This way when they walked out they had everything they needed for their new phone.

      Thumb up Thumb down -1

  12. 12
    I'll just enter any username because I don't have to verify it says:

    I hope Palm sticks around long enough to develop WebOS.

    Thumb up Thumb down 0

  13. 13
    Boy Geniu5 says:

    Palm = greatest phone company in the world!

    Thumb up Thumb down 0

  14. 14
    Dallas says:

    that’s not bad.

    Posted from BGR Mobile (iPhone) at: North Cleveland United States

    Thumb up Thumb down 0

  15. 15
    Mackdaddymay May says:

    File this under the who gives a crap folder.
    But serious, it would be nice if WebOS was available on some decent handsets…like maybe some HTC hardware. The Pre is just a piece of crap.

    Thumb up Thumb down -4

  16. 16
    Zorro says:

    Fatastic

    Thumb up Thumb down +1

  17. 17
    Blackberry Bold says:

    Great, but most of people could have gotten palm pre from Bestbuy or other online websites without having to do with mail and rebates. I guess if you have a brain to use a smart phone, then you would at least go to online and see which retailers are selling it for cheaper price.
    Palm should have released this phone on all carriers from the beginning. Too little too late.

    Thumb up Thumb down -1

  18. 18
    Rikki Steele says:

    So I use a pre. I generally sell android. As I see it, people are not hugely worried about rebates especially with all of the hot bogo action that is going off right now. The webOS platform is quite a bit more polished than android but with google nav, “free tethering”, and a comparatively huge app selection the android platform is easier to sell. People want the endless supply of fart apps like what you get on iphone. That just isn’t available on webOS. I agree that palm really need to add some developer incentives, come with sexier hardware and better advertising. There is just no need for palm in the current marketplace.

    Thumb up Thumb down +1

  19. 19
    Dale McNamee says:

    I was never a fan of mail-in rebates. I prefer an upfront discount on the phone,

    Thumb up Thumb down +1

  20. 20
    jk says:

    If I have to pay full retail for a pre plus, where can I get the best price on one?

    Thumb up Thumb down -1

  21. 21
    Gte219v says:

    If Palm wants to increase their sell and if Verizon wants to save Palm, one way I believe will boost consumer buying is to allow customer buying palm phones without required to purchase data package (& allow to put a block on it). I know I will buy one immediately!

    Thumb up Thumb down -1

  22. 22
    yoyo says:

    @Jake: a double tard.

    Thumb up Thumb down -2

  23. 23
    Nicki says:

    Dang it! I just BOGO’d the Pre on Monday! LOL If I would have had patience – I could have gotten out of the rebate! (It’s a very cool phone btw!)

    Thumb up Thumb down 0

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