Before the Best Buy Black Friday ad was taken down, this same flash drive was advertised for $12 I believe....that's less than a week away.

A note of caution. I ordered this through OfficeMax even though it costs more that I've seen at buy.com because I was sending it to my girlfriend and didn't want her to deal with rebates.

However, despite the 1-5 day delivery promise, it has yet to be delivered despite 11/9 order date. Two calls and two delivery date estimates have come to pass.

I now find out that OfficeMax is using a third party fulfillment and can't even give me a tracking number!

No sure if you can use the ad to get it straight from officemax. But if you need it quickly and paying up to avoid rebates... beware of the potential shipping hassle. I would expect shipping run around from ebay sellers, not officemax.

U3 Software, takes longer to load.

after reading the comments this is not the items I would spend my $ on.

2gb kingston from buy.com for $14 is a better deal. Kingston is much faster as well.

There are good deals for USB Flash on Black Friday..
(1) Staples - Sandisk cruzer 1GB for 60 - 45 inst svgs - 7 rebate = 8
(2) Staples - Sandisk cruzer MICRO 4GB for 180 - 120 inst svgs = 60
(3) Staples - PNY Attache 2GB for 100 - 70 inst svgs = 30
(4) Staples - PNY Attache 1GB 3/pack (total 3GB) for 100 - 60 svgs = 40
(5) Officemax - Verbatim 2GB for 80 - 55 svgs = 25
(6) Officemax - Sandisk cruzer MICRO 4GB for 150 - 80 inst svgs = 70
(7) Officemax - Sandisk cruzer MICRO 1GB for 13
(8 ) Compusa - PNY 2GB for 80 - 55 svgs = 25
(9) Compusa - PNY 1GB for 45 - 30 svgs = 15
(10) Compusa - PNY 4GB for 70 after svgs and rebate
(11) Meijer - GFM 2GB for 60 - 40 rebate = 20

Dump the U3 software and this is an nice, compact drive.

Not sure how good a deal this is. This was $29.99 recently.

Avoid OfficeMax - ALWAYS! In every rspect, it is the worst reseller - rebates, product choice, product delivery (slow, with no tracking), website, customer service. If I forgot something, they're the worst at that too.

Once OM stiffed me for a $50 rebate (yes, I had copies, etc.), and they had 5 different toll-free numbers to call, I couldn't get them to make it right. I resubmitted - still no joy. I'll never buy from them again. Buyer Beware!

I like this drive a lot - if you hold SHIFT when you put it in then it won't load the U3 stuff.

U3 has some nice abilities but overall I skip it.

cruzer micros are great drives, the retractable port makes it convenient to store. you don't have to worry about losing the cover

My order of Nov. 5:

"Will send order confirmation e-mail shortly." Didn't get one until after I wrote customer service Tuesday. Also, "Usually next day delivery."

Verbatim DL discs: Stated delivery by Nov. 7, didn't arrive and no tracking number on order status page or e-mail as promised. Arrived Nov. 8 by UPS.

Flash drive: Stated delivery by Nov. 8, arrived then by UPS, separate package, but no tracking number on status page or e-mail as promised.

Three-shelf bookcase: Stated delivery by Nov. 7, didn't arrive and eventually customer service wrote to say she thought it was in the package with the discs (2 pound package). Nope. On the 9th, "Someone in delivery will contact you." Nope. On the 13th, "Someone in delivery will contact you." Nope. On the 15th I cancelled and got same day e-mail confirmation of cancellation by the initial customer service rep. On the 17th, someone came into the driveway with a big box. Must have left a truck on the road I didn't see through the trees. It was the furniture. When shipped? Nov. 16 by Central Freight, 53 pounds.

"Order Status" page never showed ship dates, carriers, or tracking numbers, and was not updated except to claim shipped after my complaint to customer service late on the 7th told of the "yet to be shipped" statement still there.

#3, U3 is real easy to get rid of if you don't like it...

that said, horrible deal. I got this at staples AR and coupons for $30 almost 6months ago. ($65 - 12% coupon -15 off 30 -15rebate).

I love this thumb drive, and I ditched the U3 software that came with it, you can still run lots of portable apps without it.

anyone know the answer to #12 and #13?

usb 2.0 , still slow? but only $5 bucks and free shipping. something to consider.