Hi all! I recently used some of my makerworld points to get a “99% off coupon” for the LED Lamp Kit 001. This is the first time I have done this, so I was curious how it all worked. I was surprised to see the dollar values that it produced, which didn’t feel like 99% off to me. So I grabbed my calculator to double check, and sure enough, it doesn’t seem to be.
The kit cost $20, at full price. 1% of this is $0.20, twenty cents. That is what I expected to pay, with local tax (10% GST, in Australia) added. That should have made it $0.22. Shipping was added extra, $8 which is OK, I guess. But the price I was given was $1.19 (before shipping). This looks to me closer to 90% off, not 99%. Am I right or am I missing something?
Do I really care about the $1 or so difference here? No, not really. What bothers me is that this is just wrong. At best it is a mistake, at worst it is theft. In Australia, such things can attract a sizable fine if not corrected and compensation given. Bambu Labs are potentially in trouble here. It might seem trivial, but anything involving money is potentially pretty serious.
So, I went back to my confirmation email to see if this would shed any light on this discount. If anything, it is even worse. We have a 10% tax, called “GST” in Australia. I have no idea how they can come up with $0.84 tax, and it doesn’t even seem to be included the total? Oh my. Can someone explain this to me, because I really do not understand it.
Here is what I think it should be – $20 price is discounted 99% to $0.20. Shipping is $8, so a total of $8.20. GST is 10%, and yes it can go on shipping, so that is adding $0.82. The grand total should be $9.02. Pretty close, actually, to what I was charged ($9.19), but still not right. So the numbers Bambu Labs show are really hard to explain. I am the first to admit I don’t get it.
If the taxes are in the subtotal, which they appear to be, then the cost of the kit is now $0.35. This is close to the $0.20 but still isn’t right. Anyone?
My assumption is, they apply the 99% to the net value of the item but keep the taxes as if the net value is undiscounted. Then they use the discounted net value + original tax value as the new net item value.
true, not sure how my math was supposed to work out. But I know companies like to handle it that way, so maybe it is part of the solution.
BL did something similar with their boost tokens which they advertise as $1 in gift cards but it is actually ~$0.89. When you look into the fine print they say its a $1 equivalent minus taxes.
I think they just calculated the coupon wrong. The coupon deducts 18,81$ – so whoever created it in Shopify probably thought that the kit’s original price was 19,00$. If you care, you should open a ticket with them.
Sorry this is somewhat unrelated but I was wondering about people’s opinion.
I know even with this error it’s still only $9.19; but do you guys recommend getting these kits?
I like the idea of making remixes of them but also I’m aware that some of them have very little electronics, which makes me question the value of buying them directly. the also just remind me of the crunch labs type of kit in general (which are for kids).
@CianosGeos Well, yes, this is quite a different subject so I suggest you start a new thread for it. On saying that, I don’t know, this is my first one and I just got it the mail earlier today. I’m looking forward to playing with it, so in terms of entertainment value per dollar, I think it is probably a good investment?
Probably because the real cost of the parts in that box doesn’t align with the regular gift card exchange rate, so they offer a slight discount if you exchange for the coupon.
