Timmay
Well-Known Member
Not when I can get a couple of quality, high cap chargers for the price of a single fuel rod. No.
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Fuel Rod swaps now $3 at WDW
- Thread starter NemoIncognito
- Start date
Tom P.
Well-Known Member
The business model of offering free swaps was an unsustainable one and this change was inevitable.
That does now, however, change the fact that the FuelRod kiosks at Walt Disney World very clearly and unambiguously marketed the fact of unlimited free swaps. Now that tens of thousands of people have bought them, they are taking that benefit away. That sounds like the makings of a class action lawsuit to me.*
*In which a settlement will be reached, a group of lawyers will collect millions, and everyone who bought a FuelRod will get $0.50 off their next swap.
That does now, however, change the fact that the FuelRod kiosks at Walt Disney World very clearly and unambiguously marketed the fact of unlimited free swaps. Now that tens of thousands of people have bought them, they are taking that benefit away. That sounds like the makings of a class action lawsuit to me.*
*In which a settlement will be reached, a group of lawyers will collect millions, and everyone who bought a FuelRod will get $0.50 off their next swap.
trainplane3
Well-Known Member
Can this be the joke that replaces my "bridge erection" kerfuffle?
Monty
Brilliant...and Canadian
- In the Parks
- No
Fuel Rods swapping was a very bad business model. $30 each with free refills forever and functionally a lifetime warranty* on the fuel rod is a bankruptcy waiting to happen.
* De Facto lifetime warranty because when the battery stops holding a charge, the connector breaks or the rod "just dies", no problem! Just swap it out for a nice new rod.
* De Facto lifetime warranty because when the battery stops holding a charge, the connector breaks or the rod "just dies", no problem! Just swap it out for a nice new rod.
Polydweller
Well-Known Member
Well actually they never said free refills forever. Reading their legal stuff on their site they state that all those terms and conditions could change at any time without notice and that there could be refill charges at “some locations”. So Fuel rod possibly adding the costs was part of the agreement everyone who bought an initial one agreed to. Lawyers are great at hiding that stuff in all the fine print legalize no one reads.
And I agree, it was a very bad business model but it would appear from the legalize that was never meant to be permanent.
Tom P.
Well-Known Member
But what did it say on the kiosks in the park? You didn't have to go to a web site and agree to the terms of service to get a FuelRod out of the kiosk.
BoarderPhreak
Well-Known Member
Disney actually had three years or so of free swaps; they were the only ones. If anything, Disney has caught up to others - like Universal, who have always charged.
TheGuyThatMakesSwords
Well-Known Member
Funny - our old Moto Droids have never needed a battery pack backup 
. They run for a good 48 hours on a charge - at age 5 .
Soooooo? Don't care.
. They run for a good 48 hours on a charge - at age 5 .Soooooo? Don't care
.
bigorangeandy
Well-Known Member
I bought one because my phone was dead at Disneyworld. I've swapped it a few times over the years, I guess now I'll just charge it in the room and carry it with me.
bUU
Well-Known Member
Precisely, and every retail establishment, kiosk, cart, etc., at WDW carries with it a proportionate location and convenience premium. It is, and will always be, and should always be most prudent to purchase whatever electronic devices you'll need before your trip and bring them with you.
GusEzra
Member
I never considered one of these even the free swap i was leery of the quality I always carried an anker one and while in the Magic Kingdom I would stop off near the Rapunzel bathroom and top everything off while we too our a potty break. and just recently they put in usb ports in the shop outside Space Mountain so there are 2 places now in MK to charge a device.
Erecting bridges will stand the test of time.
Polydweller
Well-Known Member
Why would you? It’s like everything else that you buy you get the legalize when you buy it. Use the item thanks the terms.
flynnibus
Premium Member
No, it's just a business model that is predicted on customers not exercising the right. It's why so many products can offer 'lifetime warranties' - you just make it more difficult to redeem than it is to benefit from.
The fuel rod product is a product completely predicated on the idea of a 'customer in need... now'. The refills are just a way to help justify the price point and to offset the extremely low end capacity so your products are dirt cheap. The idea is they are selling someone a fee to have recharges for a period of time... like your day at the amusement park, or your vacation.
The price point of the sale is expected that you will just throw away the fuel rod.
The model is predicated on the idea that your customer on their next encounter.. probably doesn't have that fuel rod they bought last time they were here... and they are stuck again.. so they buy again. It's not intended to be something people hold onto and continue to keep using for long periods of time.
Problem becomes is when you have large numbers of customers that buck that trend.. and instead now are exercising that refill right more than they are expected to. Now.. instead of new sales, you are just shouldering costs supporting old sales.
I'd speculate that either some contract terms have expired and hence the company is able to flex some pricing changes... or... their modeling didn't account for the number of repeat visitors bringing their fuel rods back at WDW (due to APs or just people bucking the trends)