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I Hate Rebates - Page 2

post #31 of 51
6/23/04 at 6:11pm
I'm the same way. I will definitely do an online order before an after-rebate item.

But $20 AR for an 80GB, 8MB cache drive? (now that was a killer deal - I got 2 of them)
$10 AR for Master & Commander, & Kill Bill (new, release week)?
$30 AR for 256MB PC2700? (Online rate is about $40+ for a decent brand)

It's worth the hassle, sometimes.
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post #32 of 51
6/23/04 at 7:57pm
I hate rebates. Mainly because they are "Only valid for US residents." Humph. So us foreigners get ripped off all the time on DVDs purchased online.
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post #33 of 51
6/23/04 at 7:57pm
I hate rebates. Mainly because they are "Only valid for US residents." Humph. So us foreigners get ripped off all the time on DVDs purchased online.
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post #34 of 51
6/24/04 at 1:38pm
Thread Starter 
$20 check arrived today. Done with the D-Link rebate. BTW, I have been very happy with my D-Link wireless router and wireless desktop and laptop cards.
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post #35 of 51
6/24/04 at 1:38pm
Thread Starter 
$20 check arrived today. Done with the D-Link rebate. BTW, I have been very happy with my D-Link wireless router and wireless desktop and laptop cards.
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post #36 of 51
6/30/04 at 8:23pm
I LOVE rebates. I LOVE the fact that a lot of people don't send them in. This allows merchants to often offer post-rebate pricing that they would otherwise not be able to offer. So far this year, I've submitted $1075 worth of rebates. I've received over $900 back and should receive the rest within 4 weeks. I keep track of them and have only had to resubmit one rebate so far this year (which I then received). Rebates have allowed me to get a lot of software for free (paid tax), as well as a $450 digital camera for $104 after rebates and discounts. This has been the year of the "deal" for me.




Stew
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post #37 of 51
7/1/04 at 8:26am
While I despise rebates also, Dell has the smoothest rebate process I have experienced. Always prompt (and usually substantial). I just never understood a mail-in rebate on a company that deals direct to consumer.....
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post #38 of 51
7/1/04 at 8:50am
I hate this new trend in rebates where you can fill out your information on-line, but still have to print the form and mail it - without even needing to include anything else. How completely absurd. Maybe it's easier to fil out than those little forms, and maybe it speeds things up in terms of processing because they already have your information electronically, but all they're trying to do is add one extra step (mailing) to try and slip you up so you don't get your money. Just let people fill out their info on-line and be done with it.

That said, I was happy to have received an unexpected confirmation e-mail from Canon (via RebateHQ.com) last night for a rebate I sent in completely by mail. That was a nice bit of extra effort on their part.
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post #39 of 51
7/1/04 at 6:45pm
Thread Starter 
I'm back in the rebate business. Just bought a Western Digital 80 gig HDD with 8 meg cache, 7200 RPM. Very nice and very quiet. $95 with a $20 BB rebate and $30 WD rebate so final cost will be $45. A great drive and a sweet deal except for the rebate process. Oh well, here we go again........
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post #40 of 51
7/1/04 at 6:50pm
I got a $20.00 Cdn. rebate on the iRiver I picked up. But knowing me, I won't bother filling out the info and mailing it.
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post #41 of 51
7/3/04 at 4:55pm
Why can't they treat rebates like coupons?

Just take the item that the rebate is good for to the cashier, purchase it and the amount of the rebate is auomatically taken off the purchase price.

As long as you meet all the purchase requirements to get the rebate then it should be taken off at the register.

Since we know live in a high tech world this should be no problem.

And if they want to know your name and address for their records, this can also be done at the register. And then the store sends the info to the company after purchase is done.

Wouldn't this also cut down on costs of the company of having people open up letters, labor costs involved in processing the rebate and the cost of mailing out the rebate checks.

I use coupons because its instantly taken off, but I don't take advantage of rebates due to the hassle and the time waiting for the check.
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post #42 of 51
7/3/04 at 5:33pm
for the record sprint sucks on rebates too
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post #43 of 51
7/3/04 at 6:17pm
You can thank Richard Nixon for rebates. In order to put a stop to the catastrophic inflation of the day [it didn't work] he instituted the only peacetime price controls ever in the U.S. [administered, oddly enough, by a Young Republican named Donald Rumsfeld]. Of course, when stores were not allowed to change their prices, this meant they couldn't have sales. They soon found a legal dodge: mail-in rebates were not taken off in the store, and were not automatic, and did not actually decrease the register price, so they didn't fall under price controls. Then they found out it worked another way: the lowered prices attracted customers, who then forgot to mail in their coupons. And they've been at it ever since.
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post #44 of 51
7/4/04 at 12:01am
So what's with Best Buy? None of their price tags say "mail-in rebate" anymore. . .they all just say "check". Bah. . .as if a change in wording really makes any difference.
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post #45 of 51
7/4/04 at 5:28am
Quote:
I use coupons because its instantly taken off, but I don't take advantage of rebates due to the hassle and the time waiting for the check.

Douglas:
That is the precise reason why they do what they do. They are in business to make money, not give it back to the consumer
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post #46 of 51
7/4/04 at 8:16pm
Quote:
So what's with Best Buy? None of their price tags say "mail-in rebate" anymore. . .they all just say "check". Bah. . .as if a change in wording really makes any difference.


Best Buy is being more specific. This is to differentiate between rebates that come back in the form of cash versus those that come back in the form of Best Buy gift cards.
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post #47 of 51
7/4/04 at 11:02pm
Quote:
Best Buy is being more specific. This is to differentiate between rebates that come back in the form of cash versus those that come back in the form of Best Buy gift cards.


Oh okay. I guess I hadn't seen any that said "gift card" so I didn't know they were making a distinction. I think the new wording is very confusing, personally. At least with "mail-in rebate" you knew you had to mail it in. The "check" is very unclear as to how you get your money. Of course I think this is intentional, as well. But thanks for clearing that up.
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post #48 of 51
7/5/04 at 8:24am
As a family, we have sent in TONS of rebates, and they always get processed.

Remember, use good handwriting, and follow the instrustions (make sure what they want is mailed!!!) - or else your not getting anything!
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post #49 of 51
7/5/04 at 10:52am
On the last couple of rebates I have sent in, I have actually taken a digital picture of all the required items plus the stamped envelope sitting on my desk. I always use 2 stamps so there is no doubt about the postage not being enough. I print this out and write on the bottom of the paper, "I have all the required materials, do not deny this rebate", then I put it all in the envelope and send it in. No problems so far.
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post #50 of 51
7/5/04 at 12:58pm
There's one other catch. Money in the bank is interest gained.

You pay a company $200 for an item with a $100 rebate. The bank, or wherever the company keeps their money offers 15% interest per month (unrealistic, yes, but bare with me). Well, you have the product, the seller has $200 in the bank, and it'll take 8 weeks for your rebate to be mailed. By keeping this extra $100 for 2 months, the company is getting $30 extra, for a total of $60 extra from the $200 purchase. They then send you your rebate, so that you think you're getting money back (when you actually are), but the company is also making money on your money.

Same idea for prepurchasing items. If they can get your money ahead of time, that means the seller can invest your money before actually shipping you the product.
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post #51 of 51
7/5/04 at 1:01pm
Thread Starter 
Also, you pay sales tax on the price charged. There's no rebate of the sales tax you paid.
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