Anyone Sign Up for an Account with "The Exchange"?

[Bailey Guns]

Some, or all, of you may have been aware of this. I wasn't. I got an email from a friend that all veterans are now eligible to shop the online military exchange stores. You go to a page that verifies your status and then go the site and make an account. Pretty simple. It opens for shopping on Nov 11 but it seems many people who sign up are selected as "beta shoppers". Both my wife and I got a notice to start shopping a day or so after creating accounts. They have daily deals like Amazon. We bought a little patio table set on June 28...it should arrive today. But that's a long time for shipping from CA to ID. Prices on other things are not competitive with Amazon so far...at least for what I've looked at.

If you're interested go to: www.shopmyexchange.com

In the upper right hand corner there's a red box that says "Take The First Step" at the bottom. Just click on that and it will walk you thru.

[brutal]

Good stuff.

FYI, for those that may not know, Oakley's SI program includes veterans too.

http://www.oakleysi.com/qualifications

[KevDen2005]

Awesome, I just registered and uploaded my DD214. Thanks for sharing

[Honey Badger282.8]

I'm not sure if it works with the Navy Exchange in addition to AAFES but sometimes the Nex has better prices. Sadly, in most instances, neither can beat a price from a regular retailer, especially since everyone from Apple to Lowe's offer mil/vet discounts.

[ClangClang]

There's another similar website called GovX which offers HEFTY discounts (up to 60%) to all military (including veterans!), police, fire, EMS, lifeguards, government employees, etc. Great brands like Vortex Optics, Surefire, Garmin, Benchmade, Under Armour, etc.

PM me and send me your email address if you want an invite. You'll get a free $15 credit on your first order. I've ordered twice from them and gotten a Benchmade knife and Smith shooting glasses. Both times the price was better than Amazon by about 25% and everything arrived quickly and perfectly. Very satisfied customer.

[theGinsue]

I haven't looked for a while, but the Exchange catalog used to sell ACOG's for about $850 while the same models were selling for over $1200.

Sometimes, they have very good prices; sometimes.

[Aloha_Shooter]

I've found AAFES (now aka "The Exchange") and Navy Exchange's (aka NEX) sale prices to be competitive with online prices, even for special sales, but their normal daily prices usually can't compete. As with anything, use your noodle instead of trusting to a single domain name to give you the best price universally. In addition, I don't believe AAFES or NEX will ever been as efficient or brutal about data mining my purchases as Amazon or Google or eBay; I value my privacy so am willing to pay a little differential for it.

[KevDen2005]

I totally forgot about GovX. They do have a lot of good deals on there

[mtnrider]

GovX, Provengo, and Promotive.com all have Mil/LE discounts and great prices. Promotive now handles Vortex's Mil discount program.

[thedave1164]

Yep, got signed up there the other day.

You can also sign up at Lowes.com for 10% everyday, and your spouse and children can get the veterans discount using your phone number

[CS1983]

Yep, got signed up there the other day.

You can also sign up at Lowes.com for 10% everyday, and your spouse and children can get the veterans discount using your phone number

I tried to sign up for Lowes and it kept giving errors about being unable to confirm. I was able to have Customer Service desk sign me up.

[TEAMRICO]

Just here to brag. Found some WileyX glasses I had been kicking around for months every visit to the Fort Carson PX. Normally $120 but they were in a clearance bin one day down to $98.....then Another tag saying $28.....above the bin was a sign stating an additional 15% off all clearance glasses.....$24 out the door with case and and accessories!!!!

[Bailey Guns]

Score!

[Fentonite]

ClangClang hooked me up with an invite to GovX, easy registration and verification, already placed an order. Thanks! The "shopmyexchange" link that Bailey Guns posted worked perfectly as well, verification was almost immediate. Thanks gents!

[motorep]

Good stuff.

FYI, for those that may not know, Oakley's SI program includes veterans too.

http://www.oakleysi.com/qualifications
The Oakley SI program is seriously discounted. Simple signup.

[Bailey Guns]

My first order from the Exchange website was less than a stellar experience. We ordered a patio table/chair set that was at a fantastic "Daily Deal" price.

It took 14 days to arrive. I could've walked to CA and picked the damn thing up quicker than that.

Once it got here the chairs went together well and they're very nice. The table...don't know what it's like. There was no hardware (nuts, bolts, washers, etc...) in the box so it could be assembled. I called the company and they said they'd send it to the warranty department within 7 days for "review".

[KevDen2005]

My first order from the Exchange website was less than a stellar experience. We ordered a patio table/chair set that was at a fantastic "Daily Deal" price.

It took 14 days to arrive. I could've walked to CA and picked the damn thing up quicker than that.

Once it got here the chairs went together well and they're very nice. The table...don't know what it's like. There was no hardware (nuts, bolts, washers, etc...) in the box so it could be assembled. I called the company and they said they'd send it to the warranty department within 7 days for "review".

I also got selected for Beta testing but still haven't ordered anything.

[BladesNBarrels]

This headline in the Denver Post caught my attention, Honorably discharged veterans will soon get to shop tax-free
Link: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjPv8ykt5vVAhWM7IMKHYzJArwQqOcBCCgwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.militarytimes.com%2Farticles% 2Fhonorably-discharged-veterans-will-soon-get-to-shop-tax-free&usg=AFQjCNHUDPjEVg3zde21ILdwb2ez-aVorQ

They say they are competing with Amazon, but Amazon agreed to collect taxes.
It is a moot point, since Amazon now has nexus in Colorado by building in Aurora and is required to collect sales taxes.
In Colorado, we still owe Use Tax on out-of-state or on-line purchases, which is now reported on annual Colorado Income Tax forms.

[Bailey Guns]

Not everything is taxed by Amazon. If you get something from a seller other than Amazon, even if it's fulfilled by Amazon, they don't charge tax. I still pay very little sales tax on Amazon purchases even though they recently started collecting sales tax from ID residents.

[Aloha_Shooter]

This headline in the Denver Post caught my attention, Honorably discharged veterans will soon get to shop tax-free
Link: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjPv8ykt5vVAhWM7IMKHYzJArwQqOcBCCgwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.militarytimes.com%2Farticles% 2Fhonorably-discharged-veterans-will-soon-get-to-shop-tax-free&usg=AFQjCNHUDPjEVg3zde21ILdwb2ez-aVorQ

They say they are competing with Amazon, but Amazon agreed to collect taxes.
It is a moot point, since Amazon now has nexus in Colorado by building in Aurora and is required to collect sales taxes.
In Colorado, we still owe Use Tax on out-of-state or on-line purchases, which is now reported on annual Colorado Income Tax forms.

That explains why the last 2 orders I placed online with AAFES were shipped from Fort Carson. I was wondering about that.