I've been using the
Samsung Galaxy S9+ for more than
four years now. Do I really need a new phone? Not really. Everything still works fine. Except that I noticed that the battery now lasts only a day (with minimal use). The camera app stutters once in a while when taking pictures. Some apps also take a few microseconds longer to start. Not a dealbreaker, but it got me looking around.
Just the other day, Telstra was selling the Pixel 7 for $499.50. Now that's a cracker deal. Only issue is I'm not a Telstra subscriber, so I'm not gonna be able to get it for that price. Checked with my siblings and parents. None of them used Telstra before - not even Telstra's cheaper MVNOs like Belong or Boost Mobile. I mean, there's so many cheaper alternatives out there, why would you? I checked with my sister-in-law, and turns out she's a Telstra subscriber. Yes!
Got her username and password and tried to place an order. Ordering page wants to verify the home address and 2FA for the account. Passed through that hurdle; now it wants to see some identification. In the interest of privacy and saving time, I went over to SIL's place during lunch break to get this sorted out. Unfortunately, Telstra won't accept her driver's license - the same ID she used to set up the account. Bummer.
Next opportunity came up when Google Store itself had the Pixels on sale - $399 for the Pixel 6a (down from $699) and $699 for the Pixel 7 (down from $999). Stack that with a 10% StudentBeans discount ON THE RRP, you can get the Pixel 6a for just $339.10! Was supposed to be working, but just can't let this pass.
Of course, the key here is to get a StudentBeans code in order to get that special price. Not being a student myself, I (and hundreds of other OzBargainers) are relying on the Code Giveaway Megathread to get a working code. The tricky thing is, you're not allowed to ask for a code. Someone will just post a code if they feel like it. After hundreds of page refreshes, I managed to snag a code that wasn't used within 5 seconds of it being posted. Paid and checked out successfully! Checked the delivery address on the invoice. Wrong address! Cancelled the order and quickly put in the correct address, and of course the code is now invalid.
After what seemed like an eternity, I got another working code. Verified the address this time and paid. Google Store says session has expired. Refreshed, checked the address again, paid, and went through succcessfully. Looked at the invoice - paid full price! For some reason, the discount code didn't get applied after the page refresh. Cancelled the order again.
At this point, there's less and less students posting codes on the thread. Every new code posted gets used literally within seconds. I've resorted to downloading a browser extension that refreshes the page very 3 seconds. A few desparate/brave souls started asking for codes openly, and their comments get removed. The smarter ones simply comment that it's so hard to get codes, etc. etc. Out of the blue, I get a DM with a code from a kind soul. By now, the Sage and Chalk options are out-of-stock. And just like that, I got myself a Charcoal Pixel 6a.
