10% Off Amazon Gaming Purchases and Other Perks with ECA Membership

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CheapyD update - (The discount codes are presently unique one-time use coupons. Members should download one coupon per game, one game per cart. Multi-time use individually-assigned codes are coming soon.)


[img-l=5198]6006[/img-l]Get 10% off all your Amazon gaming purchases for a year and receive other special benefits by joining the ECA, a non-profit advocacy organization which is dedicated to defending and advancing the interests of gamers.

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Join the ECA $14.99 (college students & military), others $19.99


Complete list of discounts/benfits [hiddenlist]
Discounted games sales/rental offerings from:

  • Amazon.com - download a code from the Benefits section to use at Amazon.com towards 10% off your games purchases. If you buy three or more games a year, this benefit alone makes being a member worth it.
  • Direct2Drive.com - download your code from the ECA's exclusive member benefits section to use at Direct2Drive.com towards 10% off your game purchases.Direct2Drive's easy and secure system lets you download full pc games, arcade games, anime, game guides, and comics from home instead of dealing with waiting time and inventory stock-outs. Check out thier site for the best way to buy!
  • GameFly - is offering ECA members a 30-day free trial to their video game rental service.
  • Good Old Games - a leading destination for download-to-own DRM-free classic PC games, is offering members 20% off of new game purchases.
  • Newegg/Patriot Gaming - get $10 off when you buy select memory sticks.
Discounted admission/access offerings from:

  • NYComiCon - is offering members a discount on the price of admission.
  • Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) - members receive 10% off the price of admission to the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle, Washington for pre-registrants.
  • TooManyGames - get $1 off entry to gaming community events.
  • VGXPO - America's Video Game Expo is offering 10% discounted admission.
Discounted/Free Trial offerings from:

  • GameJobs - ECA members receive free resume uploads at GameJobs.com, the leading job board and career site serving the games business.
  • Hyatt Hotels - members receive a 5-10% discount on room rates at Hyatt Hotels throughout the US and Canada.
  • Prima Publishing - get 10% off of over 500 hint book and strategy guides.
  • Warcry - ECA members are invited to take advantage of a 30-day free trial membership in the Warcry Network's "Choice" program.
[/hiddenlist]
 
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I'll have to hold off on this until they sort out the multiple use issues w/amazon. The main page linked in the OP still has a disclaimer about it not working more than once.
 
[quote name='CheapyD']I pre-ordered Rock Band: Beatles Special Edition.

I heard from the ECA President. They currently have a bunch of these one-time use codes. Apparently some users have problems using more than one of these on the same account. Once they burn through these codes, Amazon is going to provide each ECA member with a single unique code that will stick to their account and provide the 10% off discount.[/QUOTE]

Did you apply that on an existing pre-order or a new one?
 
[quote name='ducci']So maybe a clarification - but how does Amazon know you are the proper owner of the code? By that I mean, what is preventing someone from getting a free 10% off code and giving it away, then just getting a new one?[/quote]

Nothing.

Once they use up all of these codes, you will get a single code that will be locked to your account. At least that is my understanding.

And Prateeko, that was a new order.
 
[quote name='bojay1997']California doesn't have to pass anything. Under California law, you are required to pay a use tax on any item you buy from an out-of-state retailer and use in California. There is a section on the California tax forms already for this tax. I know that some people ignore it, but it doesn't change the fact that it's already the law here.[/quote]

A lot of states are in the same boat. I know both Michigan and Ohio require you to pony up the taxes you avoided by shopping online when you submit your yearly tax forms. A lot of people just lie about it, but I paid tax on $1000 in online purchases from last year. It's not that big of a deal when you just take it out of your refund. Besides, lying about it is illegal and will get you in big trouble if you get audited. And don't forget that the money is going towards improving the state you live in, so it behooves you to pay up.

[quote name='IvanHood']I can generate multiple codes, but Amazon says that they are invalid when I try to enter them at checkout. I used my initial code a week ago with no problems, but none of these are working.[/quote]

I'm having the same problem. It appears they're working on it, but no solution has been presented yet.
 
[quote name='sliknik27']A lot of states are in the same boat. I know both Michigan and Ohio require you to pony up the taxes you avoided by shopping online when you submit your yearly tax forms. A lot of people just lie about it, but I paid tax on $1000 in online purchases from last year. It's not that big of a deal when you just take it out of your refund. Besides, lying about it is illegal and will get you in big trouble if you get audited. And don't forget that the money is going towards improving the state you live in, so it behooves you to pay up.[/QUOTE]

However, taxing interstate purchases really shouldn't be legal. People shouldn't let their states pull that crap.
 
[quote name='CheapyD']Nothing.

Once they use up all of these codes, you will get a single code that will be locked to your account. At least that is my understanding.

And Prateeko, that was a new order.[/QUOTE]

Did they verify that they already have an agreement with Amazon that they will provide single codes good for multiple uses? Last I saw, they said they were still negotiating with amazon, and hoped to have it worked out... otherwise, why bother with these multiple codes?

Was there an update somewhere that confirmed what is going to happen? Just don't want people signing up with incomplete info.
 
So, just to clarify, is this good for 1 year only and then done after that? Or is it updated for another year once you renew your subscription? Also, can the code be used for pre-orders as well?
 
[quote name='eastx']However, taxing interstate purchases really shouldn't be legal. People shouldn't let their states pull that crap.[/quote]

There haven't been any Supreme Court decisions shooting down these "use" taxes, so I disagree with you. It may be unconstitutional to force the out-of-state retailers to collect the tax, but there is nothing stopping the states from charging a use tax when you receive the item. Like I said before, it's only helping the state you live in... However, seeing as this is not the appropriate forum for arguing about taxation, I'll end my part in this conversation now.

As for the ECA/Amazon business, I can't wait until this is sorted out. It will save me tons of money every year.
 
[quote name='Pck21']Guess I'll ask again...

Will these codes work on pre-orders? There doesn't seem to be a definitive answer here...[/quote]

Yes, I used it for Devil Summoner 2
 
[quote name='jacknicklson']Yes, I used it for Devil Summoner 2[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the info! Now, I'll probably buy the subscription.
 
[quote name='sliknik27']There haven't been any Supreme Court decisions shooting down these "use" taxes, so I disagree with you. It may be unconstitutional to force the out-of-state retailers to collect the tax, but there is nothing stopping the states from charging a use tax when you receive the item. Like I said before, it's only helping the state you live in...[/quote]

:applause:
 
Sorry if this has been asked already, but does this work for Xbox live codes on Amazon? If so, this is definitely worth it.
 
Nice, update. If they bar none fix all the technical errors, this would be awesome. but as of right now, its still skeptical since its not fully working 100% just yet. hope it pans out.
 
Yep the code has only worked once for me even though I request a new code each time. Damn! At least I got Batman pre-ordered for $47.xx! :)
 
Once they do fix the technical problems I will definitely subsscribe. For $10 I can negate the fact that Amazon NYS, and support my hobby.

Originally Posted by sliknik27
There haven't been any Supreme Court decisions shooting down these "use" taxes, so I disagree with you. It may be unconstitutional to force the out-of-state retailers to collect the tax, but there is nothing stopping the states from charging a use tax when you receive the item. Like I said before, it's only helping the state you live in...
Click to expand...
Well in NYS all the money goes to NYC (just like everything else in the damn state), so it really doesn't help me.

either way, its an argument for another thread

/rant
 
[quote name='cactus773']OK, well I am confused as some say they do, and some say they don't work with pre-orders.

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[/QUOTE]

You have to cancel your original pre-order and order it again with the code. It won't work on a pre-order you already placed.
 
[quote name='Pck21']You have to cancel your original pre-order and order it again with the code. It won't work on a pre-order you already placed.[/QUOTE]

I figured. Does it work on one item or the whole order?
 
Any word on the auto-renewal? Hell, I don't even care if the codes don't work or whatever. I'd gladly give them a few bucks to help them in their cause. I just don't like the idea of them deciding when I can cancel.
 
[quote name='prateeko']I figured. Does it work on one item or the whole order?[/quote]

I've only tried it on one item so far but from what I've been reading it only works one per item. Then again I could be wrong.

[quote name='bigdaddybruce44']Any word on the auto-renewal? Hell, I don't even care if the codes don't work or whatever. I'd gladly give them a few bucks to help them in their cause. I just don't like the idea of them deciding when I can cancel.[/quote]

You can cancel at any time (I know because I looked it up after I signed up and paid lol) but you won't get a refund. Basically you can go to your account and hit the cancel button and then you're no longer a member. It is an auto-renewal as well on a yearly basis.
 
[quote name='prateeko']I figured. Does it work on one item or the whole order?[/quote]

One item. Back when this was first introduced, I actually cancelled two pre-orders to combine them into one Voltron-esque order with a few other games throughout the rest of the year, and it only took the 10% off the lowest game.
 
[quote name='prateeko']I figured. Does it work on one item or the whole order?
ig.jpg
[/quote]

It work on one item only.
 
[quote name='Pck21']You can cancel at any time (I know because I looked it up after I signed up and paid lol) but you won't get a refund. Basically you can go to your account and hit the cancel button and then you're no longer a member. It is an auto-renewal as well on a yearly basis.[/quote]

Thank you. All right, that's good. I was under the impression that you had to contact them and get them to cancel the account. I didn't want to bother with retention nonsense. Still, I would prefer it without auto-renewal. It's not a lot of money, but if I forget about it, I don't want them just renewing it and taking my money.
 
[quote name='jack2']It work on one item only.[/QUOTE]
That sucks for Amazon since I have prime and I'll just have to end up placing two identical orders when I need 2 of something...

But then again, this is WHY I have prime.

Either way, this is a moot point until the regenerated 10% off codes work...
 
I know that this does not work for hardware (consoles, controllers, etc) but does anyone know if this works for codes? (Wii points, Microsoft points, XBL memberships, etc)

By the way, the newest statement on their Membership Benefits page states the following...
Amazon.com – get 10% off your games purchases at Amazon.com. Simply download coupon codes from the Benefits section once logged-in to your account. Then apply the code at checkout at Amazon.com. If you buy three or more games a year, this benefit alone makes being a member worth it. (The discount codes are presently unique one-time use coupons. Members should download one coupon per game, one game per cart. Multi-time use individually-assigned codes are coming soon.)
Click to expand...
They have stated above and in more detail at their forums that you can use multiple codes but that each code works for only one item per purchase. So you should generate a new code for each game and buy one game at a time to take full advantage.

Also, i believe this only applies to items purchased directly from the main Amazon store and not from Amazon merchants. *Although, I am not absolutely positive on this part.

Although, it seems several people at their forums here, are still reporting problems generating more than one working code as recently as a few hours ago.

All that being said, this is a good deal from a good organization. And despite the delays on getting this taken care of. I do believe it is a large concern to them and i do think they are tying to get it all worked out as quickly as they can. It would only serve to benefit them to have this problem behind them. I would imagine there are some arse chewings going on behind the scenes and is prolly much more of a headache to them then it appears on the surface.

P.S. I know some of this is duplicate data. I thought it might be nice to have much of it in one post. Sorry for some of the redundancy.
 
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if this is working now considering me joining this program.

I think it will soon, seeing as they pretty much state it. However i canceled an order, and then did the promotion and it worked....retried another code, on a completely new order and seperate order (and different game) and it says it doesn't work. Sooner or later, and besides having Amazon prime, and being in ny state with tax taken out....i consider funding this Organization a good idea.
 
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[quote name='Pck21']You can cancel at any time (I know because I looked it up after I signed up and paid lol) but you won't get a refund. Basically you can go to your account and hit the cancel button and then you're no longer a member. It is an auto-renewal as well on a yearly basis.[/QUOTE]

[quote name='bigdaddybruce44']Thank you. All right, that's good. I was under the impression that you had to contact them and get them to cancel the account. I didn't want to bother with retention nonsense. Still, I would prefer it without auto-renewal. It's not a lot of money, but if I forget about it, I don't want them just renewing it and taking my money.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, when I signed up a couple of weeks ago or whatever it was, you had to call to cancel. Is this for sure that there's just a button? That wouldn't be bad-and honestly if it WASN'T auto-renew, I'd be more likely to just keep being a member anyway. It's not all that much and will hopefully help out (and I love that the president's spoken out so strongly against activation DRM, in addition to stupid anti-game laws, etc.)
 
[quote name='Wolfpup']Yeah, when I signed up a couple of weeks ago or whatever it was, you had to call to cancel. Is this for sure that there's just a button? That wouldn't be bad-and honestly if it WASN'T auto-renew, I'd be more likely to just keep being a member anyway. It's not all that much and will hopefully help out (and I love that the president's spoken out so strongly against activation DRM, in addition to stupid anti-game laws, etc.)[/QUOTE]

I am trying to post a screen shot of the cancel button on the membership page but for some reason CAG doesn't accept TIFF files so I'm trying to convert it to JPG. Basically, you just go to your account, go to view, and at the bottom of the page it shows your orders (the subscription) and a red cancel button next to it. Once you hit that, it takes you to another page that asks if you're sure since you will lose your benefits and not get a refund, and then you can hit cancel again and you're out.

I tried another code on Amazon this morning and still got the same error message. So far the ECA has been utterly incompetent and completely useless in my opinion. Someone needs to get torn a new one or simply let go if this keeps up.

Here's the cancel button:
picture.php
 
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Looks like the ECA President, Mr. Hal Halpin (wow that name sounds fake due to the repetition), posted in the thread regarding the issue of subsequent codes not working.

Here's what he posted:

"After working closely with ECA's IT folks, Amazon has identified the issue and is moving to correct it presently. The effected number of users appears to be very small, but without you reporting the problem we wouldn't have been aware of it.

We hope that it will be rectified this evening, but it may be Monday. Please continue to use this thread to report any other/different problems that you may encounter."

Now, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and await Monday with bated breath, but considering that, when I e-mailed the ECA back when you couldn't even generate additional codes, they told me that that problem would be fixed "probably by tomorrow," I'll remain slightly skeptical, and not get my hopes up.
 
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[quote name='pjflowerpoweru5']He's a real enough person. Has his own wikipedia entry and his own website halhalpin.com.

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[/quote]

Oh I know he's real. I guess it just reminds me of that guy from Spider-man, Robbie Robertson. It just sounds like a name you would've seen in a 1950's comic book. And lord knows I respect the guy and his organization.
 
This now seems to be working for me, with a caveat. I had already used the initial code, managed to generate a new one a few days ago, and had been getting the message about it not applying to my purchase. Now the 2nd code takes the 10% off like it should, even on preorders (tried the expensive Amazon Ghostbusters CE version) and things like gold box deals (tried with the current Destroy All Humans).

However, like the very first code, if you have more than one game in your cart, it attaches itself to the cheapest one, and only takes 10% off that. So one at a time, it seems to actually be 10% off all games. If you need to combine a few into one order (say, if you don't have Prime) then not so much.
 
Working perfect now. I cancelled a bunch of preorders and reordered with the coupon codes. It really is worth it.
 
[quote name='Nibi']Working perfect now. I cancelled a bunch of preorders and reordered with the coupon codes. It really is worth it.[/quote]

Just signed up. Glad they fixed everything.
 
[quote name='thehoweller']Um...I attempted to sign up as a Student, but the student discount isn't being applied. Any answers?[/quote]

...I wish you posted before I signed up! T______________T
 
I have the student membership in my cart, but when I try to checkout, the credit card payment method is grayed out and I have nowhere to enter in my card #. Anyone else having a similar problem? I've tried loading the page on two different computers, using both Firefox and IE.
 
[quote name='thaima1shu']I have the student membership in my cart, but when I try to checkout, the credit card payment method is grayed out and I have nowhere to enter in my card #. Anyone else having a similar problem? I've tried loading the page on two different computers, using both Firefox and IE.[/quote]

Same here...
 
[quote name='thehoweller']Um...I attempted to sign up as a Student, but the student discount isn't being applied. Any answers?[/quote]

You're using your school e-mail address right? I had to use my UNC e-mail address in order for the discount to be applied.
 
[quote name='thaima1shu']I have the student membership in my cart, but when I try to checkout, the credit card payment method is grayed out and I have nowhere to enter in my card #. Anyone else having a similar problem? I've tried loading the page on two different computers, using both Firefox and IE.[/quote]


me too
 
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