Wise2u,
Thanks for the follow up post - you make some compelling points.
Here's the deal - the program costs money to deliver Windows 7 upgrades to individuals. We have to pay for the media and COAs, we had to develop the driver disks, we have to pay to produce those, we had to pay to develop the registration site, we have to pay Mentor Media to administrate this - process entitlement, collect proof of purchase when needed, process payment, reconcile the information, kit up the proper contents, and finally ship it.
Understandably, many people focus on the shipping itself as the only tangible element of the cost and wonder why it should be $17. Reasonably, something might be shipped for half that or less... but when you think about all the other elements that have to be amortized, you begin to see why "handling" really pays for more than stuffing it in the box.
It's not a money making deal I assure you. There are four Mentor Media distribution centers working on this, one serving each region (China being a 4th region). Certainly not a case of "Supply it out of China for $1".
Some companies appear to have elected to internalize the costs associated with shipping for some countries. Reading other OEM forums, there is evidence to suggest that some may offer the upgrades for free to some customers in some countries, but not all. Customers are generally paying something for it one way or another. In some cases, the cost is itemized. In other cases, it's just absorbed in the cost of the product.
It seems that we could have minimized some of the ill will if our marketing / sales site had communicated the Win7 itself as being free, but noted that there was a cost associated with shipping it. We clearly noted this on the registration site, but many customers have indicated that they felt that was after the fact.
Probably the delays and the communication / status issues are the biggest detractor. As some have said, $17 might have caused some grumbling if we shipped it fast, but this has been drawn out. While Think started on time, we've been late with Idea. (and Valueline - G530 / G550 is included within the Idea numbers in my post above) We were over a month late starting the shipments for Idea and Valueline.
So, do you have a right to be frustrated and upset? I think so.
Does complaining here help? Yes, especially when it's constructive criticism. More helpful complaints include specifics - when ordered, what communication (or lack) you have received, whether you were charged, what product you are waiting on,etc. Seeing the number of individual customers that feel a certain way about things is helpful to effect change. Some examples have been changes being made to the registration site to include the model as a pull down, and to note value line along with idea. Also, a change in position on the K230, increases in resources at Mentor Media, and more internal focus on our fulfillment progress. The discussion on this thread has helped make that happen.
Best regards,
Mark