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#314962 - 14/10/2008 00:08 Name your price ?
msaeger
carpal tunnel

Registered: 23/09/2000
Posts: 3608
Loc: Minnetonka, MN
Has anyone tried the Priceline name your price option ? It sounds like it would be good if you don't care about departure and arrival times much.

The question I have is how long do you have to wait to see if your offer is accepted ? If I am reading their FAQ correctly it sounds like you get the answer immediately. Am I right ?
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Matt

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#314974 - 14/10/2008 12:22 Re: Name your price ? [Re: msaeger]
matthew_k
pooh-bah

Registered: 12/02/2002
Posts: 2298
Loc: Berkeley, California
I've never used it, as I've never seen the possible savings worth giving up all control over airlines and times. You also are much worse off if you miss your flight and you're on a priceline ticket, as they're going to assume you just wanted to take a later flight.

That being said, if I had a lot of time and a little money, it could be worth it.

There was a good discussion board out there where people posted what they were bidding and what was being getting, I mainly looked at it for the hotels option, but I assume they did flights also. I can try and find it if you're interested.

Matthew

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#314977 - 14/10/2008 13:22 Re: Name your price ? [Re: msaeger]
wfaulk
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
I've done it once. The response is immediate. You'll get booked on Joe-Bob's Fly By Night Airline And Roadkill Removal Service.

Keep that in mind. Bid really, really, low.
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Bitt Faulk

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#314981 - 14/10/2008 14:21 Re: Name your price ? [Re: msaeger]
JBjorgen
carpal tunnel

Registered: 19/01/2002
Posts: 3584
Loc: Columbus, OH
I use it for hotels all the time. If you know the areas of town with the nicer hotels, you can specify both the area and the minimum number of "stars." I've stayed at Hyatts and DoubleTrees and such for $50-$70 quite often. Beats paying the same price for Motel 6 by a long shot.

One hint...try areas around convention centers. If there's no major convention in town, there's a zillion empty rooms and they want to fill them at pretty much any price.
_________________________
~ John

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#314985 - 14/10/2008 14:59 Re: Name your price ? [Re: JBjorgen]
msaeger
carpal tunnel

Registered: 23/09/2000
Posts: 3608
Loc: Minnetonka, MN
Yeah I figure I would get a really bad departure and arrival time but if it's cheap enough it might be worth it.
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Matt

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#314993 - 14/10/2008 17:35 Re: Name your price ? [Re: msaeger]
oliver
addict

Registered: 02/04/2002
Posts: 691
I've used it once for plane tickets, however without noticing I selected the return date 1 week after my mom needed to be back. That caused quite a bit of problems. She didn't notice until the day she was suppose to return home.
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Oliver mk1 30gb: 129 | mk2a 30gb: 040104126

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#315018 - 14/10/2008 20:03 Re: Name your price ? [Re: oliver]
siberia37
old hand

Registered: 09/01/2002
Posts: 702
Loc: Tacoma,WA
I tried putting in a price about $100 less than other airlines were offering on a $500 flight. I got denied. I don't think it's worth it based on that experience.

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#315062 - 15/10/2008 15:12 Re: Name your price ? [Re: siberia37]
canuckInOR
carpal tunnel

Registered: 13/02/2002
Posts: 3212
Loc: Portland, OR
Originally Posted By: siberia37
I tried putting in a price about $100 less than other airlines were offering on a $500 flight. I got denied. I don't think it's worth it based on that experience.

That's been my experience, too, when looking at flights. It won't accept anything with a discount large enough to make the gamble worth it.

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#315077 - 15/10/2008 18:56 Re: Name your price ? [Re: canuckInOR]
JBjorgen
carpal tunnel

Registered: 19/01/2002
Posts: 3584
Loc: Columbus, OH
I fell down the first time I tried to ride a bike. Therefore, I decided that all bike rides would undoubtedly end the same and I never tried again. It's not worth the gamble.
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~ John

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#315081 - 15/10/2008 19:49 Re: Name your price ? [Re: JBjorgen]
canuckInOR
carpal tunnel

Registered: 13/02/2002
Posts: 3212
Loc: Portland, OR
I get what you're saying, but you're coming across with a pretty condescending tone. I've tried name-your-price multiple times, over the span of multiple years, for both on- and off-peak seasons, with both high, and low demand flights. Each time, I'd start with a huge discount, and work my way higher, and higher. By the time something was accepted, there was usually little, to no difference in the price from what I could get directly from discount airline websites.

It's a different story for hotels. Care to guess where I got my hotel, the last time I went to Vegas?

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#315084 - 15/10/2008 20:18 Re: Name your price ? [Re: canuckInOR]
JBjorgen
carpal tunnel

Registered: 19/01/2002
Posts: 3584
Loc: Columbus, OH
Sorry if it came off as condescending. I was just attempting to point out the silliness of trying something once and then calling it bad if it didn't work out. Obviously that is not the case for you. Please disregard smile
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~ John

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#315104 - 16/10/2008 03:14 Re: Name your price ? [Re: canuckInOR]
lectric
pooh-bah

Registered: 20/01/2002
Posts: 2085
Loc: New Orleans, LA
I have NEVER paid ANYTHING for a hotel in Vegas. Well, not directly, anyway. wink


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#315149 - 16/10/2008 20:46 Re: Name your price ? [Re: lectric]
tanstaafl.
carpal tunnel

Registered: 08/07/1999
Posts: 5546
Loc: Ajijic, Mexico
Quote:
I have NEVER paid ANYTHING for a hotel in Vegas. Well, not directly, anyway.


Reminds me of the last (actually, first, last, and only) time I stayed in Las Vegas. I was there for a bicycle shop convention (I was part owner of a bike shop in Fairbanks, Alaska) and the room deal was something like $400 for the stay but included $800 worth of "house chips" which couldn't be cashed in but had to be used for gambling. However, anything I won with those chips was real money so I took my $800 play money to the roulette table, put $400 on black and at the same time $400 on red, spun once and pocketed my $800 winnings. That is the sum total of all the gambling I have ever done in my life.

tanstaafl.
_________________________
"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"

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#315165 - 17/10/2008 05:12 Re: Name your price ? [Re: tanstaafl.]
mlord
carpal tunnel

Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14491
Loc: Canada
Mmm... except you would have received half of your original chips back from that transaction, minus 2/38 of them -- ISTR there are a pair of green 0,00 locations on the wheel, so odds are not 50/50 on red/black. Or perhaps I just remember incorrectly.. it's been a while!

Cheers

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#315181 - 17/10/2008 14:21 Re: Name your price ? [Re: mlord]
wfaulk
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
No Red and Black pay 2:1, but the odds of getting red or black are less than 1:2 because of those green slots. He still ran the risk of losing all of the chips if the ball landed on green, which is where the casino makes its money.
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Bitt Faulk

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#315188 - 17/10/2008 15:05 Re: Name your price ? [Re: wfaulk]
tanstaafl.
carpal tunnel

Registered: 08/07/1999
Posts: 5546
Loc: Ajijic, Mexico
Quote:
No Red and Black pay 2:1, but the odds of getting red or black are less than 1:2 because of those green slots.


Right on, Bitt. I had two chances in 38 of losing it all... but odds of nearly 20:1 in my favor left me feeling pretty sanguine.

tanstaafl.

[Dammit, Hogan, I thought I had another first use word, but you beat me to it nine months ago!]
_________________________
"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"

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#315194 - 17/10/2008 15:35 Re: Name your price ? [Re: tanstaafl.]
peter
carpal tunnel

Registered: 13/07/2000
Posts: 4180
Loc: Cambridge, England
Originally Posted By: tanstaafl.
I thought I had another first use word

I suppose it wouldn't be rocket science to take the BBS database and go through every message, stripping out all the quotations, compiling a master word list, finding all the words only used by one poster, and sorting the list of posters by "BBS-whack" count. But I wouldn't assume you'd win -- I think Bitt and I both have good game.

Peter

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#315198 - 17/10/2008 16:14 Re: Name your price ? [Re: peter]
wfaulk
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
Indubitably.

Edit: Dammit! Dan! *shakes fist*


Edited by wfaulk (17/10/2008 16:16)
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Bitt Faulk

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#315202 - 17/10/2008 16:24 Re: Name your price ? [Re: wfaulk]
drakino
carpal tunnel

Registered: 08/06/1999
Posts: 7868
*starts inserting random words into ancient posts*

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