Mark Downer

After (nicely) expressing my views, I've had two responses from IK on Wednesday - 

• "Since this is a discounted purchase from Audio Plugin deals it does not qualify for the MEGA bogo Promotion. "
• "Unfortunately, Audio Plugin Deals did not have the disclaimer but it does not change how the promotion works on our end."

A follow up email stating how their promotion is not working to their terms and conditions unsurprisingly got no response at all. No explanation, no talk of refunds. Just it's working as intended. Has anyone got anything useful from them at all?

Also opened a support ticket on Wednesday for the Drums 1.5 SE update not working (has trashed my 1.0 install, and is now demanding i reinstall the factory sounds - which i have as part of my saved1.0 install, but that's no good. I've got some drum sounds in the sounds section which are telling me they need to be updated, but the download links have expired - prob due to an unused 1.5 CS install) - and I have yet to hear anything from them. Probably just resetting the downloads would solve the issue, so I'm not expecting it to be a huge support issue, but for reasons it's taken a long time. 

In the meantime I keep getting "Wake me up before you BOGO" spam from them, so at least I know their email system hasn't imploded.

With that, and the comments from Peter here (particularly the one that got edited), I don't think I'll be buying anything IK in the future.

Oh - and AudioPluginDeals. You on the other hand know how to look after your customers. I complained to them. In literally a couple of minutes I got a credit note for the full price for my troubles, and got to keep the non-working Drum SE.  See IK - that's how you treat customers. It's not rocket science.

Just got my response...

Since this is a discounted purchase from Audio Plugin deals it does not qualify for the MEGA bogo Promotion.

So... whether APD were slow with the update on the website or not , the faq on the IK website did not state this VERY specific term at all. If it had done, I wouldn't have made the purchase (and just to annoy further, my modo drum no longer works due to the reasons mentioned in the other thread). Would happily have a refund for that instead. 

Have sent my thoughts back to IK on this one. And sure, they can reserve the right to change the terms of the promotion, but they have to tell people they're doing so! That's why you have a terms and conditions page which can be updated. It comes across as unprofessional and a little shady to say we can change the terms whenever we want without actually telling anyone what you have changed.

Even the new talk of the value of the qualifying product now has to be equal to what was originally paid for the product is changing the goal posts again, and is not what is set out in the terms of the promotion. Modo drum SE has a specifc value, and the terms do not stop you from registering a discounted item. So why isn't that honoured?  And historically it has never been an issue before when using a discounted product in one of the group buys, so why is it now?

Pretty disappointing tactics really. In my line of work, when promos aren't set up correctly from the start, the company takes the hit. Not the customer.

23 minutes ago, pseudopop said:

My understanding is that a dealer is someone who gets their product straight from the manufacturer, whereas a reseller is basically anyone (besides the manufacturer) who sells the product. Since Audio Plugin Deals most likely get their keys from IK and not from some unauthorized sources, I'd say they qualify as dealer. Some dude on KVR on the other hand, probably not.

But what do I know.

I'd agree with that - I read the faq, and thought it works this way (and have seen others buy IK products on other site deals and use them as qualifying products).  Audioplugindeals have done a number of offers and freebies with IK, so presumed they are seen as an official dealer of IK software. So I was a little surprised when it didn't work, and I wouldn't have bought them otherwise (didn't need the extra kits over Modo 1), but guess I've been caught out on a selling technicality that was beyond my understanding! Will report back if I get a support reply.

1 hour ago, telecode 101 said:

Oh come on!! Don't say this is what they are doing. !!!

 

It clearly states

"From August 2 through August 31, 2022, simply purchase and register any of the qualifying products from our online store, the Custom Shop or any authorized IK dealer and get your choice of 3 other qualifying products of equal or lesser value."

 

Yeah - my mistake (it was early and before my coffee!). Dealer rather than reseller. Presume audioplugindeals is seen as a reseller in this context, so likely doesn't count. 

Noticed previous promos like the group buys in their faq's have stated " register any of the qualifying products from our  online store, IK authorized resellers or from the Custom Shop " so this is a subtle change.

Thought this was a good deal, so I've just purchased and registered Modo Drum 1.5 SE from Audio Plugin Deals (FAQ does state purchases from authorised resellers do count for the promo). Doesn't seem to have qualified though, so I've raised a ticket with IK.