Costco - Black Friday Sale - Samsung Galaxy S3 - All Carriers - $29

Quote from jiggaman : I got the same basic answer when I called but the math still isn't right. Even with a list price of $549.99 I got charged more tax than I should have, around 10%. I got an email saying mine will ship out this Friday, 11/30.

I also got a email earlier today about the phone being shipped Friday.

For those that bought online in CA.. they are going to issue a check 30-40 days after shipment for the difference. They insisted that they are right and told me to call my local board of equalization. I did and even the BoE said it was wrong. Although it is for a few bucks the principle and the fact that they keep insisting it is California Law is what got to me. My shipment is now backordered till Dec 3 when I got the original Ship date of 11/30.

I can't believe they are even affiliated with Costco.

Something fishy with them. I received the phone today, but sales invoice said Wireless Advocates - Staples, not mention about Costco. At the bottom said, thank you for shopping Staples. No refer to order id or order date 11/23/12, and the invoice date is 11/27/12.

Quote from mylight : Something fishy with them. I received the phone today, but sales invoice said Wireless Advocates - Staples, not mention about Costco. At the bottom said, thank you for shopping Staples. No refer to order id or order date 11/23/12, and the invoice date is 11/27/12.

Same exact deal here - Invoice says Staples and has the wrong date. I wonder if that would screw up the rebate application, too, since the rebate form says the purchase date must be Nov 23.

I talked to them today and they told me that CA law says online cell phone purchases are subject to 18% - 20% tax on the full retail amount. 20% on $500 would be $100, so none of the numbers add up. I asked if he could tell me what tax rate and what retail price they used to get to $57.38, and he couldn't. He told me to talk to the State Board of Equalization, which I haven't done yet.

Either way, I ain't activating the phone till this get straightened out.

What does the online invoice say? I have not received my phone yet, but my online invoice has 11/23 and Costco on it. Maybe you can send that in?

On the rebate form, it asks for Item #. What is that?

Got my AT&T Galaxy SIII phone. Printed invoice says Costco.com and shows $55.xx tax (I am in Califonia)

What is the item # on the rebate form? Is it the IMEI #?

Quote from Jbh98 : For those that bought online in CA.. they are going to issue a check 30-40 days after shipment for the difference. They insisted that they are right and told me to call my local board of equalization. I did and even the BoE said it was wrong. Although it is for a few bucks the principle and the fact that they keep insisting it is California Law is what got to me. My shipment is now backordered till Dec 3 when I got the original Ship date of 11/30. I can't believe they are even affiliated with Costco.

Mine was supposed to ship out on 11/30, still haven't received any notifications of it shipping out. They did however charge my credit card on 11/26 which I believe violates my credit cards rules for charging before shipment.

Did they admit the tax issue for everyone automatically or do you need to call again and ask for it?

Also anyone figure out the invoice issues with it being labeled Staples? Mine hasn't even shipped yet but am anticipating more problems.

I called Costco Customer Service on Friday to basically tattle on Wireless Advocates and the way they have handled the CA tax issue for online purchases. They said they’d look into it and get back to me. Yeah, sure, right?

Well, today I got a call, followed by an email, from Wireless Advocates confirming that they are going to adjust the tax based on the in-store rate at my local warehouse. In my case, it's 8.25% tax on the $279 Costco price, making total tax $20.62 instead of the $57.38 I was originally charged.

She said and the email confirmed that I will receive a refund check a few weeks after my 14-day buyer's remorse period with Verizon is over.

So my advice at this point is to call Wireless Advocates and ask to speak to a supervisor. If that doesn't work, then go through Costco and get them to put the pressure on their contractor.

Interesting that they gave you tax on $279. They sure didn't give that to me even though I called. I am definitely going to go to Costco.

I got an UPS tracking number today and my card was charged on 12/1. On my invoice it says paid with Visa when I paid with Discover. This has got to be the most bizarre company ever.

Quote from Jbh98 : Interesting that they gave you tax on $279. They sure didn't give that to me even though I called. I am definitely going to go to Costco.

I spoke to Wireless Advocates twice before today and got nowhere with them. Like others here have reported, they couldn't even tell me how they calculated the $57.38 tax. It took a call to Costco (1-800-955-2292) to get things rolling.

Quote from greenbird65 : I called Costco Customer Service on Friday to basically tattle on Wireless Advocates and the way they have handled the CA tax issue for online purchases. They said they’d look into it and get back to me. Yeah, sure, right? Well, today I got a call, followed by an email, from Wireless Advocates confirming that they are going to adjust the tax based on the in-store rate at my local warehouse. In my case, it's 8.25% tax on the $279 Costco price, making total tax $20.62 instead of the $57.38 I was originally charged. She said and the email confirmed that I will receive a refund check a few weeks after my 14-day buyer's remorse period with Verizon is over. So my advice at this point is to call Wireless Advocates and ask to speak to a supervisor. If that doesn't work, then go through Costco and get them to put the pressure on their contractor.

So do you ask about the invoice with Staples thing? they have affiliate with Staples, too

Here's a question..

Do I need to submit 3 seperate rebate forms or just a single one if I have three phones I'm trying to get the rebate for?
Never done this before so please forgive the novice question..

Quote from Jbh98 : Interesting that they gave you tax on $279. They sure didn't give that to me even though I called. I am definitely going to go to Costco. I got an UPS tracking number today and my card was charged on 12/1. On my invoice it says paid with Visa when I paid with Discover. This has got to be the most bizarre company ever.

Any luck? I called and the rep at costco.com said there was nothing they could do. I was hoping costco.com would fix it for all CA orders if enough people called in but my rep didn't sound like she was able to do anything or knew what to do and kept referring me to wireless advocates.

Anyone have better luck?

Quote from greenbird65 : I spoke to Wireless Advocates twice before today and got nowhere with them. Like others here have reported, they couldn't even tell me how they calculated the $57.38 tax. It took a call to Costco (1-800-955-2292) to get things rolling.

Did you ask for anyone or any dept in particular?