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General discussion

4/12/05 What do you think about rebates?

Apr 11, 2005 8:48AM PDT

What do you think about rebates?

Never, it's not worth the hassle
Only if the rebate is big enough
A pain in the butt, but I still fill them out
Love them, I fill out every rebate form
I think most rebates are scams; companies never pay up
Other (tell us what you think)

Discussion is locked

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REBATES
Apr 12, 2005 5:43AM PDT

Rebates are corporations hedging thrie bets that you won't send them in. I got 2 phones through Verizon wireless and the trick was you had to wait 2 weeks to send in the rebate. Of course I missed the date and lost $100 dollars. That's what the corporations are betting on, that at least some people will forget or not even bother. and they get the money you should have gotten. It looks like a sale, but it's corporations playing the odds, and the house always wins!

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Rebates are for the disciplined among us
Apr 12, 2005 7:49AM PDT

I just voted with the majority opinion that rebates are a PITB but I send them anyway. The name of the game is discipline, discipline, discipline.

Of course the sellers are hoping you don't get the forms in, but it is the undisciplined out there who make it profitable enough for the sellers and allows the rest of us to reap the benefits. Just last night I deposited $320 in rebate checks in my bank.

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Yup! Cash rebates & get to pay tax when we spend them again!
Apr 13, 2005 1:55AM PDT

What really gripes me (in Canada) is that we MUST pay both provincial (PST) and federal (GST) taxes on the purchase amount BEFORE rebates. We may receive a rebate on the purchase amount but no rebate on the taxes!

So in effect, the money we get back as a rebate has already had THREE taxes paid on it (income, prov. and federal) and now we get to spend it and pay at least TWO MORE taxes on it! The governments are ripping us off and there's not a damn thing we can do about it... except, of course, for our individual little "revenge" transactions!

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taxes
Apr 16, 2005 8:23AM PDT

BUT, YOU STILL GET THE ITEM FREE!!

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ReBates and Taxes
May 6, 2005 9:42AM PDT

Taxation without representation? Perhaps, but more important is the fact that you pay a price for an item, get the rebate form, and then "forget" to fill it out or mail it in. Now I do understand how this happens, and perhaps there is truth in the fact that companies are hoping that we forget to send in the rebate forms.

Recently, I decided to purchase Turbo Tax to do my (last minute) taxes, and there was a rebate on both the federal and state products. I made the purchase through Staples, got the rebte formes at the cash register, and then was told by the cashier that I can also do the rebate thing online at the Staples web site, which I chose as my method. After completion of all data entry and submittal of the form, I first received an email informing me that I will rceive a rebate in 6-8 weeks. I also receive a lterr in the mail which also confirmed receipt of my rebate request and that it is being processed. And I received the rebate check in about five weeks.

The check has been deposited in my checking account, and since the purchase price of the tx software is also tax deductible, I have saved the repecpts and the rebate check stub so that I can deduct the proper amount from my taxes next year. Oh and here in the state of Oregon, there is no sales tax, so the income that was taxed, which was uswed to purchase the software which was not taxed, but was used to pay taxes, will then be used to deduct from my tax bill (minus the rebate(s) of course) next year.

In the past, the burden to make copies of my receipts before sending the originals to the rebate center, not to mention the postage to mail the rebate form(s) and receipt(s) in, while a minor expense, was also a major pain in nether regions. The convenience of handling it all online was really great!

I know that not everyone will want to follow the instructions as stated in the rebate agreement, so to them I say, look for items that are on sale at a price that you feel works for you. To others that get that sale price AND the rebate, because you are so diligent and persistent in finding the bargain and the rebate "bonus" too, kudos!

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Rebates
Apr 12, 2005 8:15AM PDT

I agree that the companies are hedging. They are betting that most will not fill them out and hence they don't have to pay out. They are a pain but I do fill them out when I'm buying their products and I feel if the co. is serious about it; they should just lower their prices.
The one I really hate is when you have several rebates and one cash register receipt and you must send in the original receipt and the UPS bar codes. Now to get the codes you have to break open the boxes or bags even if you were not going to use the item yet. It is a big hassle.

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Rebates are a rip off
Apr 12, 2005 6:26PM PDT

If the companies bothered to sell products at a real price, they could spend a lot less on mindless advertising and the huge costs of administering rebates - how about I just buy what I want, I don't get overcharged and I don't have to waste my time filling in extra forms that keep marketing staff in jobs. Where do marketing fit in the evolutionary scale anyway?

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rebates
Apr 16, 2005 8:25AM PDT

Rebates are a BARGAIN!
I got a closet full of free items, and only had to
pay the sales tax!

YOU CAN'T BEAT REBATES!!

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rebates ARE a rip off
Aug 3, 2011 1:17PM PDT

Hummm....so I sell a candy bar for $500.50 with a $500.00 rebate. IF..... the customer 1. fills in a bunch of meaningless paperwork AND
2. destroys the original packaging so it can't be returned by cutting out the bar code AND
3. does this (and maybe some other hoops to jump through that we haven't even thought of yet) within a certain time limit THEN....
WAIT and WAIT and oh, WAIT a bit longer until we get around to sending the customer's own money back to them. Won't they be so happy and grateful. In the meantime for every product sold it amounts to a $500.00 interest free "loan" that we get to use and for every product that the rebate is NOT "redeemed" (meaning we have to give their money back because we overcharged them) it is one hell of a profit. So who wants to be the first in line to give me their money? Great Deal! Better Hurry, Cash Back! And after that there's this bridge in Brooklyn, NY that you might be interested in buying. Great Deal! Better Hurry (would I ... Lie ???? )Heh, heh, heh

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House Wins
Apr 13, 2005 12:05AM PDT

It helps if they stack the odds even further in their favor by using tricks like the one I recently experienced. It was an anti-virus comapny. I won't say who it was, but the gimmick was that you'd get the product with lack-of-fee. Free, in other words. The trick is that it was done with two rebates. One rebate required the return of a product code cut from the inside of the box and the other required the UPC symbol cut from the outside of the box. Miraculously the one on the insidde of the box was not there. A call to the rebate center for the company produced the fact that since the inside product code was absent, the outside UPC symbol would be required - NO COPIES ALLOWED.

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"House" doesn't win by screwing this consumer!
Apr 13, 2005 2:10AM PDT

Are there any retailers out there who understand that to KEEP a customer happy is FAR LESS EXPENSIVE than to attract a new one? Or are there just so many of us "consumers" (read "suckers") these days that we keep coming like lemmings to the sea no matter how badly we're treated?

I give a retailer only ONE chance to serve me properly with a fair price and prompt, courteous, honest service. Screw me over once and you lose my business permanently.

I once had a rebater who wouldn't rebate for some convoluted reason... so I went back to the retailer with my well-documented complaint and explained my "consumer philosophy" above. I had my rebate within two weeks.

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rebates
Apr 16, 2005 8:30AM PDT

I buy EVERYTHING which has a rebate--whether or not
I need the product!
They make great Christmas gifts!!

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There are no 'convoluted' reasons
Apr 18, 2005 9:32PM PDT

I work for a company that processes rebates for Braun/Gillette products (in Australia).
While there are fairly strict conditions of entry (which are imposed for a purpose), all entries received that ADHERE to the conditions ARE rebated.
The main cause of rebates not being given is the consumer not fully reading the terms and conditions of rebate and therefore not supplying all forms, information etc needed to claim.
And to answer a question about why barcodes (or, im presuming UPC's) are needed is so that people in stores can't duplicate sales receipts and send in a few hundred claims, they MUST have the ORIGINAL barcode off the box.

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REBATES
Apr 12, 2005 5:44AM PDT

I always fill them out unless they are from tiger direct

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Rebate madness
Apr 12, 2005 5:56AM PDT

Two things: First, sometimes the rebate is for a bundle that contains things you don't want or need.
Second, I had this experience with HP: I sent for a rebate on an ink cartridge "twin-pack", and they denied it, saying I needed to send in 2 UPC labels. Turns out that the UPC from the twin-pack wasn't good enough. Unbeknownst to me, there were also UPC labels for the individual cartridges in the pack. I eventually got the rebate, but told them it was bad PR to make folks jump through extra hoops like that.

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Rebates
Apr 12, 2005 6:02AM PDT

They generally aren't scams. They are no different than rebates on the purchase of a car, or coupons at the grocery store. It's a psyche draw to get people to buy the product. It's advertising. Some might call it an inducement. I don't. An inducement to me is a reason to buy one product over another, and I don't buy because I can get a better rebate. I buy because the product is better, has features I want, etc.

The companies don't lose a cent from rebates. They write it off as advertising, and the customer sees that in an increased price (companies never really pay taxes, etc), or they could simply lower the price of the product by the amount of the rebate.. They also bet that some buyers will tell others about the rebate they are getting and lead those to buy.

They are also betting that a certain percentage will not meet the requirements, and that another percentage will simply not bother. Hmmmm That sounds a lot like insurance companies and casinos....

It does become a scam if the companies stall the refunds for lengthy periods of time. The money sits in an account and they draw interest on it. May not be much, but it's money they didn't have before. In a way, it's theft. A company which hold the rebate and draws interest is essentially taking my interest; at least the interest I would have earned if my money had stayed in the bank.

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REBATES
Apr 12, 2005 6:03AM PDT

They are a pain in the rear! If companies want to give them out to push their products they should be given at the cash register, not from some third party company hired to hand them out months later.

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rebates
Apr 12, 2005 6:03AM PDT

Dell's set-up has worked for me. But they deduct a % right of the price. Of course, I can't always check whether they have increased prices recently.

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Rebates
Apr 12, 2005 6:06AM PDT

Consumers ought to ban any manufacturer who offers rebates. They are a fraud. They literally count on a certain number of consumers not even going through the hassle of sending them in. Do they think we are stupid? They will as long as people keep buying products with rebates.

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WHY BAN?
Apr 18, 2005 9:49PM PDT

Why ban rebates? The product remains the same price at point of sale, with or without a rebate. Getting a slice of that cash back can only be a good thing, can't it?

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rebarte
Apr 12, 2005 6:07AM PDT

I just dealt with Belkin and I had a good experience. The first rebate checks were sent to me after the checks had expired and when I sent a letter of complaint to Belkin, I got a call from a lovely man at Belkin apologizing for my problem. He also sent me two emails-listing the actions taken and within two weeks, I received new rebate checks.

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Rebates? Just like gambling...
Apr 12, 2005 6:09AM PDT

One important rule about gambling: Never gamble with money you can't afford to lose. The same is true with rebates. You don't know if they will pan-out. So the larger the rebate - the larger the presumed risk. So I end up avoiding the offers with the larger rebates - even if the pre-rebate price is competitive already!

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Rebates
Apr 12, 2005 6:10AM PDT

Yes, the rebates are a pain in the butt. Now, I heavily manage the rebates. I scan everthing, then add every rebate to my calendar with info to get back with the provider.

This is one of my $30 outstanding rebate pains. Nov 2004 day after thanksgiving, that week-end I filled out all the requirements and mailed to B.B. This rebate was returned to the provider, I never got the rebate. Checked the address on the rebate sent to them and the was address correct. Called the provider and their address was correct. A new rebate was generated and I still have not received the rebate. Called again and B.B. lady said there is nothing else we can do. Requested from her to give me a tele number to escalate this issue. Again, there is nothing else I can do. Afterwards, I looked up B.B. corporate office tele phone and called. Asked them who to contact on my issue. Well that got me to someone else. He then said, wait a couple more days and see if the rebate is delivered. The 30 bucks has not arrived. Will call the corporate office again today.

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Rebates a gamble
Apr 12, 2005 6:12AM PDT

Rebates are a companys gamble that it will sell to the 80% that don't ask for one. It also allows the company to make money on the cash set aside to pay the rebate.

I have never had a problem getting a rebate but admit that if its $10 or less I usualy don't bother..

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investing is gambling by a different name
Feb 10, 2006 5:05AM PST

So I'm curious if you could save $100 for sure, or you could take a 50/50 bet that pays out $200. What would you do?

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Staples is easy
Apr 12, 2005 6:13AM PDT

I generally do not collect on rebates, because of laziness, ineptitude, or a scam from the place offering, such as telling me I don't qualify when clearly I do and was told so by the store selling to me. But, I just bought a 200 Gig Hard Drive at Staples; they gave me the coupon, and a web address to file. I did so , completely on line, and got a check back in less than 2 weeks. That is customer service, and I now read their sales brochures for bargains every week.

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Agree!
Apr 26, 2005 7:44AM PDT

Staples has the best system around. They all should go to that type of rebate system if they don't want to give a discount right at the register.

Cindi

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Only buy from Staples
May 4, 2005 5:33AM PDT

I use to have terrible luck with rebates. OfficeMax and their manufacturors ripped me off on a few. I've never had a problem with Staples, though. Just get the website, type out and print off the paperwork, send it in and viola! No muss, no fuss. Two weeks and i have a check.

If you're mad at rebates from other vendors, try buying from Staples.

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REBATES ARE LAME!
Apr 12, 2005 6:13AM PDT

I find rebates offensive. Why make the customer do the extra work to get a good deal? Wouldn't it be less costly for a manufacturer to make arrangements with the retailer to lower the price? I tend to agree with others who say that rebates feel like a "scam" whether or not they actually are.

I tend to avoid rebates, if possible. For instance, if I am deciding between two comparable products and one is cheaper only with the rebate, I will usually take the product without the rebate even though it might cost more in the long-run. I just don't feel I can count on receiving the rebate.

That said, I have attempted to collect on rebates with both good and bad experiences.

I hope some manufacturers are paying attention to these posts!

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What do you think about rebates?
Apr 12, 2005 6:13AM PDT

I won't buy any item that has a rebate. I can generally get the same item from the internet just about as cheep without the rebate. If not I can generally find another item that is just as good. I generally try to boycot companies that offer rebates.