Alireza Mansoorian, a midfielder for the national team, said players were promised an apartment, a car, land and discounts on such things as insurance and airline tickets.

Some have clusters of factory outlet stores that promise steep discounts.

I crawled past mile after mile of shopfronts, the signs and promised discounts growing bigger all the time and the offerings more obscure.

They direct customers to drugstores that promise specific discounts, and they encourage the use of mail-order pharmacies.

The Times Company's internal Web site promises "incredible discounts on new G.M. vehicles."

As recently as late 1994, the Transit Authority and its parent agency, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, promised such discounts.

So this week, when a new regime of transit officials promised discounts - but not until 1998 - the announcement seemed to invite a collective "yeah, right" from skeptical riders.

For Dell, the deal promises discounts associated with a large contract.

The G.M. and G.E. cards also promise rebates or discounts on purchases of certain consumer goods and services.