I got mine on ebay for a lower price and had activation emailed to me...
I did that twice with 1 year memberships only paid about 20$-30$ each time
the first time I just received the activation code and it suddenly expired after 1 month and the ebay member magically disappeared (even though he had great feedback)
the second time the guy offered sending me the activation code or the box unopened, but since i was impatient and being cautious i asked for both
Slightly off topic... Read somewhere that MobileMe might become a free service. Mine is up for renewal in a couple of weeks. Has anyone heard if they will refund those who renew/purchase within a few months should MM become free?
assuming that the rumors are true (and most people believe they are)
it is likely that paid members will have larger iDisk/Gallery storage, monthly bandwidth, find my iPhone, etc., and free members will just get the email, calendar, contacts, limited iDisk/Gallery, etc.
so refunds wont be necessary I suppose
maybe a partial refund.. or an extension of paid features.. or a discount to renew
I would be amazed if there is not advertising on the free version as well