Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums banner

Has Starchoice ever done Reciever trade in's

10K views 36 replies 16 participants last post by  EmmEff 
#1 ·
We have a 505 and lately we have been thinking about getting the HD PVR but dropping $599.00 is a little hard to swallow. I dont think I have ever seen them on sale. Has starchoice ever done a trade in offer. I know Shaw has and Bell right now has great deals on the PVR's. I just can see spending all that money and just having my hd Receiver sitting around.
 
#2 ·
Try giving Star Choice a call and tell them you are interested in HD but the price is ridiculous and that ExpressVu has a great deal etc.

If you've been a good customer for a while, they may offer you a deal.
 
#6 ·
Just to clarify, are you saying that is a refurb'd 530 for $199?

That doesn't sound bad. The problem, as I see it, with getting into the higher $100's of dollars is that it effectlively locks you in longer as a customer because amortization over a longer period of time is how most people probably justify the purchase.

At $199, if you don't like it you could probably resell it in eBay for what you paid for it...

Can anyone comment on the reliability of these machines?
 
#4 ·
Two years ago (in October 2006) I was on the phone many times with Star Choice regarding the 530. We didn't have HD at the time, but wanted the dual LNB system as a way of eliminating the multi-receiver charge (at that point, it didn't work as a warranty as well). And we wanted a PVR. We had (and still have) two receivers side-by-side and were a bit frustrated that we had to pay a multi-receiver charge when what we did served the same purpose as the 530 (from the point of view of two receivers side-by-side), but that the 530 was *way* too expensive at $699 (I think it was) to rationalize it, even with the PVR. Anyway, we were threatening to go to Expressvu as their dual-LNB PVR was way cheaper. We didn't want to do that really, as we were very happy with Star Choice overall. So, ultimately, we asked one final person there to *please* give us a reason to stay. He said we could have the 530 for $469. That was two years ago. As far as I know, those things are imported from the States and I know (as we get paid in U.S. dollars and have to keep track of this) that the U.S. dollar was worth about 8-cents more than it is today. Meaning that what was worth $469 two years ago is worth less now.

I also want to say that we offered to exchange one of our other receivers, but they didn't do that. At least not two years ago. As an aside, we didn't get the 530 then, as we didn't have an HD TV, so it didn't seem like a great idea. And we bought a separate PVR, which is great. What the Star Choice guy *did* do for us to get us to stay was to give us a $5 per month credit for two years to make up for the multi-receiver fee.

Coincidentally, that's ending next month. And we just bought an HD TV. So I guess we'll be talking to Star Choice yet again about the 530. :)

The Hans
 
#5 ·
I did call once and ask about trading in the 505 and my interest in the 530. I asked about trade ins and refurbs but just got told they dont have anything going on right now. I did not push it to much maybe maybe next time I am on the phone I will push a bit harder
 
#7 ·
They're just returned 530's that were noted as defective by a TSR (doesn't mean they actually were, but they were deemed as such). They have to be in working condition to be sent back out though (same as any refurb item from anywhere).

So I don't see why they wouldn't be reliable...and if you have the MRF, just replace it =)
 
#8 ·
I don't have the MRF but I was thinking that I could pick up the 530 and when I get the basement re-finished, go to 2 receivers and the MRF and that would act as an insurance policy.

I think I'll read the fine print of the MRF before pulling the trigger, but thanks for the suggestion.
 
#9 ·
I don't have the MRF but I was thinking that I could pick up the 530 and when I get the basement re-finished, go to 2 receivers and the MRF and that would act as an insurance policy.

I think I'll read the fine print of the MRF before pulling the trigger, but thanks for the suggestion.
The $4.99/month MRF will give you lifetime warranty on all receivers on your account. If you only have one receiver you can get a Single Receiver Fee, which is $2.49/month and it will give you the lifetime warranty as well. You can actually wait til the one receiver dies and then call Star Choice to purchase the SRF and they will charge you $2.49/month for a minimum of 12 months. After 12 months you can remove that fee.

With regards to the re-furbished DVR530's, your best bet would be to send an email using the Ask Jim feature on the Star Choice web site. I have a refurb myself. What Star Choice does is test every receiver that gets returned and replaces any defective components. These receivers go through a bunch of tests before they are shipped out.

I have seen the amount that Motorola charges Star Choice for the DVR530 and Star Choice actually pays more than $699 for each receiver. Star Choice is the only company using that receiver so the cost to Motorola to manufacture each receiver is very high since they don't produce a lot of the DVR530's. If you compare that with Bell, they use the same receiver as Dish Network. Therefore, the company that manufactures those receivers is mass producing them so the cost per unit goes down substantially.
 
#10 ·
The $4.99/month MRF will give you lifetime warranty on all receivers on your account. If you only have one receiver you can get a Single Receiver Fee, which is $2.49/month and it will give you the lifetime warranty as well. You can actually wait til the one receiver dies and then call Star Choice to purchase the SRF and they will charge you $2.49/month for a minimum of 12 months. After 12 months you can remove that fee.
It's very interesting about the $199 for the refurbished 530. As I said in an earlier post, we will be wanting to go to an HD receiver in short order. Is it so then that we can get the SRF immediately upon purchase of the refurbished unit and that the warranty would apply? Or is it so that the SRF warranty *wouldn't* apply because it's refurbished? I imagine the refurbished unit has some sort of warranty of its own from the beginning anyway, but I doubt it's a year like a new unit. But I could be wrong. :) Could you clarify this, since you seem to have the skinny on this...

The Hans
 
#13 ·
If I understood a previous post correctly, one must pay the SRF for 12 months to be eligible to utilize it in the case of a 530 breakdown. If in fact the refurbished 530 has a three month warranty (on the high side) and one took the SRF at the time of purchase, then that would mean one would have to wait seven months (while continuing to pay the SRF) before it would be possible to have the unit replaced. Unless I misunderstood what I read earlier about having to pay the SRF for a minumum of 12 months?

Plus, at replacement, what if another refurbished unit wasn't available? Would Star Choice replace a refurbished unit with a new one? Hmmm...I must admit I wonder about these things. Certainly any clarifications on these points would be helpful and really appreciated...

The Hans
 
#14 ·
I will give you an example. Suppose you buy a refurb unit today and it has a 3 month warranty. You can wait till the original 3 month warranty is over and then call Star Choice to add the SRF. There's no point paying the SRF for 3 months while the receiver already comes with the warranty. Now let's assume the receiver breaks down after 4 months. They would send you a replacement receiver right away (either another refurb or a new one if they run out). You just have to continue to pay the SRF for the rest of the year.

The SRF is actually a yearly extended warranty that you can buy, but they just break down into monthly payments. So after the one year you can cancel it or keep it for at least another year and so forth.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Refurbs at $199

The way I got my refurbished 530 for $199 was by sending a question to "Ask Jim" about wanting to sub to Starchoice but didn't want to pay $600 for a HDPVR. The next day I was emailed back stating a rep from Starchoice would contact me with an offer. That same day I was contacte by a CSR and the deal was struck for $199. I guess there are a few different ways to approach the matter. In my case I was a cable sub at the time I made my inquiry so it made it easier...maybe?
 
#21 ·
You got more than I did as an existing customer, from Ask Jim, a while back.

Anyway regarding the 12 month perod for the fee, it simply means you are committed to 12 months not that you need to pay 12 months before a claim.
I have received a refurb in place of a new 530 in the last year. I was disappointed at how old it was compared to what I bought but it was a free replacement. I've since bought a used 530 additional and now several months after purchase from another SC customer in another city, it has gone TU but again because of the MRF they are replacing it. They did try the $13+ shipping fee but I did not go for that. :p

I did like it better when a warranty meant a brand new replacement but I guess when it's lifetime you take what's offered and refurb makes sense.

Much better than hard drive manufacturers that send you a refurb replacement and warranty it for the remaining 5 months or whatever, when they used to replace with new.
 
#30 ·
A 10 second email gets this response:
We certainly understand your concerns. For being a great long time customer with Star Choice, we would like to offer you the DVR 530 at a cost of $699 with a $300 credit. Please reply to this post if you would like to accept this offer. Hope this helps!

Sincerely,

Jasmine
Ask Jim Team
 
#24 ·
Followup: I sent a polite letter to "Ask Jim" only to be told that *NO* discount or rebate was available (just the pathetic $50 PPV credit which one CSR told me that nobody uses).

Does *C not want to sell the DSR-530? It's never been put on any sort of promo that I can recall. $700 for a STB is a little excessive, IMHO.
 
#26 · (Edited)
I also wanted this $199 refurbished 530 deal and contacted Star Choice about it. I was also told this deal didn't exist, but I *did* receive two great alternative offers.

They offered us a brand new 530 for $349 *and* a $50 pay per view credit plus free shipping. We actually didn't end up taking them up on this great offer, because as I was speaking to them on the phone, I realized that the 530 couldn't do something we needed it to do that we presumed it could do. So once I realized the 530 didn't quite do what we wanted, I bargained for a similarly good deal for the 505. And we were offered (and I availed myself of this today) two 505 receivers for $99 each plus free shipping plus the $50 pay per view credit.

I feel both of these were really great deals and I'm very satisfied. So if I can get these offers, any of you should be able to as well.

The Hans
 
#28 ·
I also wanted this $199 refurbished 530 deal and contacted Star Choice about it. I was also told this deal didn't exist, but I *did* receive two great alternative offers.

They offered us a brand new 530 for $349 *and* a $50 pay per view credit plus free shipping. We actually didn't end up taking them up on this great offer, because as I was speaking to them on the phone, I realized that the 530 couldn't do something we needed it to do that we presumed it could do.
So did you ask specifically for the $199 refurb deal? I certainly wish I'd been offered a $349 530.

I ended up purchasing a 505 from BB, but at least I talked SC into installing the line for free. :D
 
#27 ·
starchoice said:
Yes, ther have been two promos in the past for these - both offering about $200 off. I got mine this way. It was probably two years ago but ran the full month of December. The last promo was fairly recent.
I can get $200 off now (it's a note on my account) in the form of a programming rebate amortized over 10 months. I was hoping to do better...
 
#32 ·
As I said in an earlier post, we were offered half-price ($350) for the 550 and free shipping. This was a straight $350, no progamming credit involved. I believe the team leader's name was Raj. We ended up with that plus a $50 PPV credit as an offer. Though Raj didn't offer us the programming credit and I don't remember the name of the man who did. But we went for 505s instead. You should tell them this and try and get this offer. Which is basically the same as Bell's price if you include the PPV credit. If you're a long-time customer and pay on time, you should be able to get this too.

The Hans
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top