TV Converter Box Coupons are plastic cards that look like gift cards. They will be:Coupons cannot be printed or downloaded from the Program Website and are not available to pick up at retail locations.
- mailed to households with approved applications, starting in late February.
- sent based on the date of application, in the order in which the applications were received.
- mailed on a staggered basis – not all at once.
- delivered by the U.S. Postal Service.
Remember to call ahead to confirm availability of coupon-eligible converter boxes at the store on the day you plan to shop.
I'd read that the coupons were going to begin being mailed as of tuesday of last week. My application was submitted and approved a week or two before that, so I thought my coupons would then be among those mailed in one gigantic initial batch. (In retrospect, I probably should have realized that it will take time to mail millions of coupon cards.) Apparently the phrase "...will begin sending out coupons Tuesday..." just didn't register in my brain even though I actually put it in bold in my prior post on this subject. Yet another instance where I display just how Duh!-ly oblivious I can be. :-)
So I just entered my coupon reference number now to check my status and was told...
Coupon Status Found
Your application was recently approved and we are currently preparing to mail your coupons.
Of course, their idea of "preparing to mail" the coupons could mean almost anything. I'll just have to check back once in a while, perhaps weekly, so long as they remain undelivered.
I'm not complaining or anything like that—wouldn't do any good anyway—just reporting on my apparent slight misunderstanding of the process. Nothing to do but patiently wait. Besides, I haven't actually seen any converter boxes available in my local electronics and department stores yet. At least the 90 day period for using the coupons doesn't start until they are actually placed in the mail.
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3 comments:
The converter boxes are beginning to show up. I was in my local Wal-Mart thursday and saw they had one model in stock, a Magnavox TB100MW9 for $49.87.
I want to get to a Best Buy or Circuit City at some point just to see if they have any yet and, if so, what their selection is like. I'm assuming that a basic (i.e. cheap) model will be sufficient for my modest needs, but on the other hand I want to try to understand what features (or lack thereof) separate one model from another.
I can probably assume that more expensive models have better features/functionality, but then again chances are I might not need or want extra features (depending on what they are, of course).
With a selection of one model so far it's hard to figure out anything. I did some Googling on the specific model number of the unit, but didn't find much in the way of useful reviews or comments anywhere about that particular model or others used for comparison.
I'm thinking that when I receive my coupons it may be useful to purchase only one unit initially to bring home and test out. Then I'll see for myself how it works and if there are any hidden pitfalls for my particular setup. And if there are any issues I assume it will be slighlty easier to exchange one unit rather than two.
Digital T.V. bah humbug.
500 channels and there is still nothing good to watcth.
Well, I kind of agree, but come next year antenna users with older analog TVs (like me) will be completely shut out if they don't at least get a converter box or bite the bullet and go for one of the more expensive options.
I find enough shows of interest on regular old-fashioned over-the-air broadcast TV that I feel it will be worthwhile to get the boxes (especially at $40 off). And there's always evening news and special reports when something significantly eventful occurs. I prefer to at least retain the option of free regular limited channel network TV over nothing at all.
As for the hundreds of channels scenario... I've been to friends' homes and seen what's on and there really isn't much more in the way of programs or channels I would find myself craving. Besides, I can only watch one channel at a time really. Well, three I guess if you count my two VCRs in the mix, but most times one suffices and that's usually just as a backup in case I get called away from whatever I'm watching.
Tonight I ventured into a Circuit City and saw they are carrying one converter box model, a Zenith DTT900 for $60. I popped into Best Buy too, but they didn't seem to have any in stock at the moment. Unless inventories expand in the next few weeks it looks like converter box options in my area will be somewhat limited. I believe coupon use is limited to in-store purchases, so trying to find better selection online is not really an option unless you're willing to pay full price out-of-pocket. I'm reasonably sure that a basic model will probably suffice for my modest needs, though.
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