The vouchers first became public after posted photos, including the one above, of a certificate online. The photograph is pretty clear about what the voucher is good for: it guarantees you the ability to buy a Surface in-store if you show up before noon on October 26 at the Microsoft Store location where you received the voucher.

The vouchers do not appear to be part of a pre-order program as has been reported. The certificate is called a Surface reservation pass, according to the photograph in the forum posting.

So whats the deal? Does every Microsoft Store have vouchers that you can grab? Possibly, but if you go into your  youll have to talk to the store manager about the vouchers. Thats what PCWorld was told repeatedly during several calls to Microsoft Store locations.

Some of the customer representatives said they didnt know any specific details about the vouchers, while others said they couldnt even confirm the Surface reservation pass existed.