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Of Rebates and Retailers

By Ed Foster, Section Columns
Posted on Mon Feb 07, 2005 at 11:55:19 PM PDT

As always, the GripeLog is backlogged with numerous deadbeat rebate complaints from readers. One thing that does seem to have changed a little in recent months, though, is who the victims blame for all those rebates gone bad. While in the past it's usually been the product vendor or the rebate fulfillment house, increasingly reader ire is focusing on the retailer.

In theory, on-line tracking systems should it make easier for retailers to straighten out rebate problems, but it doesn't always turn out that way in practice. "Staples has an 'Easy Rebates' system where you get to submit the rebate online and get your check without having to cut out UPCs or anything," wrote one reader. "Well, Staples Easy Rebates lately has been anything but easy, and the message boards are full of complaints. Their system is broken - it's rejecting rebates for bogus and cryptic reasons. And it keeps displaying incorrect status information for the rebates that you've entered in the system."

This being the rebate game, though, there is naturally one possible culprit. "To be fair, what is not clear to me is how much of the Easy Rebate system's problem are Staples' doing and how much Parago's," the reader wrote. Parago, of course, is the parent company for RebatesHQ, a rebate fulfillment house we've discussed on more than one occasion. "When an item is listed as 'pending' is it because the system has not received the transaction information from Staples to validate it or is it that maybe the customer service people at Parago don't know how to deal with it? It's a murky situation where you're not really sure whose fault it is, but the rebate is sitting in limbo. Sadly, this is an example of something that should have made life much simpler for consumers but instead is now making it worse."

Another retailer drawing some fire from readers in recent months, particularly concerning its "free-after-rebate" rebates, is TigerDirect.com. "Back in August, TigerDirect was advertising a free-after-rebate deal on a Soyo tower case priced at $60 with three $20 rebates," one reader wrote. "I've been fighting with them five months now, and all I can determine is that Soyo lost two of three rebates I submitted. Just this week they finally paid one of the rebates - the middle one. Tiger is not much help other than acknowledging my e-mails with canned form responses saying they are checking into it. I am at the point now where I am going to stay away from sites that make you deal with these rip-off rebates."

Of course, retailers were using "free-after-rebate" deals to lure customers long before any of them were selling on-line, and that certainly hasn't changed. "I wish I had read your article sooner," wrote one reader ruefully. "I recently bought a laptop at CompUSA, and before I got out of the store they foisted on me several hundred dollars worth of 'free' merchandise -- a printer and some software from Norton and Microsoft." But the rebate process didn't work the way the CompUSA salesman had told him, and none of the rebates were honored. "You see, up to this point, I thought that the whole point of the paperwork was to keep dishonest people from collecting rebates on merchandise that they had not purchased. Since I had purchased my merchandise, at a live store with live people, with a database of purchases, I thought that proof of purchase would not be a problem for me. It was when I went in to CompUSA to ask for help -- and was rebuffed -- that the reality sank in. The purpose of the paperwork is not to prevent fraudulent collection of rebates. The purpose is to prevent legitimate collection of rebates."

Like I've always said, if they were willing to let all customers pay the after-rebate price, they would just give you a discount instead. When retailers lure you in with "free after rebate" promises, there's just no telling what might actually be in store for you.

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Of Rebates and Retailers | 83 comments (83 topical) | Post A Comment

Never again[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#1)
by Anonymous User on Tue Feb 08, 2005 at 05:54:58 AM PDT

will I be lured in to a purchase based on rebates. In fact, after a fiasco a couple of years ago with Fry's and a CDRW, I refuse to purchase things with rebates and specifically my purchasing dollar has shifted away from Fry's.

Their rebate asistant never followed-up, never delivered as promised and had all of my documentation and said I should have gotten the rebate.

The only bright side has been Sony, who came through for all of my wife's rebates with equipment purchaed from CompUSA.

[ Reply to This ]

ccc[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#135)
by Anonymous User on Tue Aug 12, 2008 at 07:37:53 AM PDT

Rebate = Selling Your Information For Mailing List[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#2)
by Anonymous User on Tue Feb 08, 2005 at 06:34:08 AM PDT

When you sign up for a rebate, the only thing that you are ensuring is that you are giving them valid contact information to be added to more junk mailing lists.

Allen Tate
www.AllenTateComputing.com

[ Reply to This ]

Rarely for mailing lists[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#7)
by MisterBill on Tue Feb 08, 2005 at 11:22:52 AM PDT

I've done hundreds of rebates, and I get very little junk mail as a result of it. Yes, I get bugged by Peachtree telling me that there is a new version, and maybe one or two more companies, but it is tiny compared to the number of people who have been given my name/address.

[ Parent | Reply to This ]

No junk mail here, either[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#20)
by rodak on Wed Feb 09, 2005 at 06:24:42 AM PDT

I also have done hundreds of rebates, and I get virtually no junk mail at all. I also get virtually no junk email from them either - how do I know? I have my own domain name - when I sign up for a rebate, I put down an email address like "dell@mydomain.com" or "circuitcity@mydomain.com". So if I get any spam, I know from whence it came. To date, the only addresses I've received spam for are "dell" and "taxcut", and the amount has been exceedingly small.

[ Parent | Reply to This ]

Tracking Spam[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#28)
by Anonymous User on Wed Feb 09, 2005 at 10:26:37 AM PDT

Spam Gourmet (http://www.spamgourmet.com/) lets you do that kind of thing without having to own your own domain. It's a free service that lets you -- on the fly and without warning -- create disposable email addresses that automatically timeout after a certain number of messages. I use it all the time for any kind of website or paper application that demands an email address before they'll let you do business.

[ Parent | Reply to This ]

Rebate Offers = Lottery Tickets[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#3)
by Anonymous User on Tue Feb 08, 2005 at 06:46:38 AM PDT

Staples deserves the blame for claiming the system works in their advertising... Rebates are a scam as far as advertising prices go. In Michigan, the ad papers all the list the AFTER-REBATE price in LARGE TEXT and pre-rebate price and info in tiny text. The AGs of each state should FORCE retailers to sell at the BIG FONT price and go after the rebates on their own time. I never take rebates into account when buying something, becuae it's like a lottery ticket, you may "Win" and get the rebate, but mostly likely you lose and get screwed for your effort...

[ Reply to This ]

Michigan (and Connecticut) laws on rebate pricing[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#9)
by MisterBill on Tue Feb 08, 2005 at 11:27:38 AM PDT

I don't like the laws that state that retailers have to put the pre-rebate price is big letters. In Connecticut, I don't think they can even print the after-rebate price. I can live with putting both in equal size type, that sounds fair. But having the rebates and after-rebate price in tiny print makes it very difficult for those of us who DO manage to get our rebates paid to find the good deals.

[ Parent | Reply to This ]

Wah![ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#14)
by Anonymous User on Tue Feb 08, 2005 at 12:13:16 PM PDT

Printing the POST-Rebate price when you may never get the rebate is FRAUD! and should be illegal...

[ Parent | Reply to This ]

They should print both[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#52)
by MisterBill on Tue Feb 15, 2005 at 01:04:23 PM PDT

They need to print BOTH the pre- and post-rebate prices, in good size type. Otherwise, those who don't want to do rebates get upset, but those of us who do want to find the good deals have to search much harder to find the really good after-rebate deals.

[ Parent | Reply to This ]

Staples & rebates[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#27)
by Anonymous User on Wed Feb 09, 2005 at 09:56:49 AM PDT

I had very good luck recently with Staples and $250 of rebates on a laptop. One of the employees helped me fill out the rebate info via their web site, making sure I had all the info filled out correctly. Bottom line? I had my checks in hand within four weeks.

[ Parent | Reply to This ]

More Staples[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#38)
by Anonymous User on Thu Feb 10, 2005 at 09:49:00 AM PDT

Tried to use one of the Staples rebate checks at a Staples and was told they do not accept them at checkout.

[ Parent | Reply to This ]

Why would you expect otherwise?[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#51)
by MisterBill on Tue Feb 15, 2005 at 01:03:00 PM PDT

Did Staples ever advertise that they would accept their rebate checks in the store or cash them for you? The only ones I am aware of that do that is Rite Aid.

[ Parent | Reply to This ]

Keep a copy[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#4)
by byelen on Tue Feb 08, 2005 at 07:15:44 AM PDT

I always keep a copy of everything I send in for a rebate. Twice I've had issues when a rebate has been erroneously rejected. Both times I went back to the retailor (once Best Buy, and once Comp USA), shown my copies to a store manager, and explained the problem. Both times the store contacted the fullfillment center and got the rejection reversed.

[ Reply to This ]

I save all submitted items also[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#5)
by Anonymous User on Tue Feb 08, 2005 at 09:35:36 AM PDT

and the time with Fry's it did me no good. The rebate company kept jacking me around until the rebate was over and I never got my $30. Cendyne will not get my business again and my purchasing dollars have moved away from Fry's.

I look at the regular retail price and do not figure the rebate in to my purchasing decision. Been burned twice by two different retailers and two different manufacturers.

[ Reply to This ]

Cendyne is out of business[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#53)
by MisterBill on Tue Feb 15, 2005 at 01:06:33 PM PDT

Good that you're not doing business with Cendyne anymore since they went out of business (chapter 11). There was a mess with their rebates (I think some accounts got frozen due to bankruptcy and checks bounced) but my understanding was that the retailers stepped in and covered the rebates. I know that Staples did.

[ Parent | Reply to This ]

The story on rebates[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#6)
by Anonymous User on Tue Feb 08, 2005 at 11:18:15 AM PDT

Ed, Thanks for your article. Very informative, and good to touch on this underreported aspect of retail sales.

I do 20-30 rebates a year, lately, just to get a really good deal, especially the free ones on stuff I could use but normally wouldn't buy outright. I do them legitimately, following all of the rules / guidelines (one per household, etc). Over the past couple of years, I have been stung once or twice, but over all I have come out WAY AHEAD.

The key is diligence. You have to read the fine print. You have to copy everything. You have to keep track of when you sent it, when it's due, and start calling a few weeks after its due (I give them a little time for mail transit and general laziness on their part). If you still don't have your rebate, then you start politely hounding them. every week or two call and ask.

When I first started doing rebates, I couldn't figure out why companies do rebates. that was back in the days of $1 or $2 rebates. Now I won't even touch those kinds of small rebates. Not worth the hassle. But the conlcusion I have come to is that companies offer bigger rebates to lure people in. Then they hope you won't fulfill them (counting on the laziness or unorganized nature of some people), and they get to keep the $$.

Whenever I do a rebate, I go into it thinking that I might not get the $$ back. Which is why I don't do rebates for stuff I have no use for anymore.

Of the rebate companies I have encountered, I have observed what I would call three types of rebate businesses...
1. Reputable. Most big name vendors hope you won't turn them in, but if you do, they will eventually get them to you. If they lose your rebate or it gets fouled up, it is legitimate, and they are quick to correct it.
2. Questionable. Some companies I have dealt with seem to lose your rebate info on purpose, hoping that you won't have a second copy. Another tactic I have seen is they just don't send you anything until you call. but then when you call looking for it, they find your records, and see that something was holding it up, but they are able to fix it on the spot, and your rebate actually does show up in another 8 weeks from when you called.
3. Unreputable. Some companies offer the rebates, and never live up to them. As someone mentioned fry's I will use it as an example that we can probably all relate to (which the last time I checked, fry's was on the bad list of the better business bureau, and the rebate lady would never return my numerous calls either), in my dealins with them a company they purchased from was offering the walkie talkie rebate and then that company went out of business, and did not honor the rebates. Next in line was fry's, and they would never return any calls, and I could never talk to her in person, etc. Don't even know if she really existed. but I am never doing business with fry's again, that's for sure.

Overall, I think I have had good rebate experiences because I have been diligent and organized (not rude, just diligent). My advice is try to treat those rebate people with respect, and usually they just want to do their job and get you out of their hair. This doesn't hold for unreputable companies (there's ALWAYS going to be bad eggs), but for most others it will get you results. I eventually get 98% of all of my rebates, but 50% are with some follow-up hassle involved. Deal with companies that you trust. Be cautious of newbie or no-name companies, companies having bad sales, overall bad repuatation (or more complaints than you would expect) etc.

One day, I was at the bank cashing a couple of big dell rebates, and the bank girl who was helping me said she had never received her reabted from dell. I encouraged her to wait the right amount of time, and then give dell a call, and they would straighten it out. Then she said she never bothered to send them in. D'OH! You're not going to get them that way!

I recently took part in the staples easy rebates. it was new and easi(er), but now I am a little concerned after reading this column. I will wait and see what happens. hopefully it will be true to its word (easy). Otherwise, I am sure staples will straighten it out. I have my proof afterall, and the purchase is in their system.

Hope this advice is helpful and insightful? Thanks for the topic and the opportunity to post!
Steve Warrick

[ Reply to This ]

The guy who got NONE of his CompUSA laptop rebates[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#8)
by MisterBill on Tue Feb 08, 2005 at 11:25:07 AM PDT

Sorry, I have no, zero, zilch sympathy for someone who got NONE of the rebates from his bundle. Clearly this is someone who just messed everything up and was unable to follow any of the directions. Maybe he lost the receipt to begin with? That's a bad move for any purchase (especially one that comes with a warranty), whether a rebate is involved or not. I guess the only sympathy he deserves is for having taken the stuff in the first place.

[ Reply to This ]

Why Rebates instead of lower prices[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#10)
by cmaloney on Tue Feb 08, 2005 at 11:30:32 AM PDT

My understanding of why companies do the rebates instead of just lowering the prices is that it is in fact an accounting thing. Put simply Item Sells for $50 That means that $50 is reported as "Revenue". If $10 is then refunded as a "rebate" it becomes a "marketing expense". Whereas if they just lowered the price to $40 then it would mean that the "revenue" would be $40 per unit. End of the day it's a wash for the company but it can affect how things are reported on a balance sheet.

[ Reply to This ]

Re: Why Rebates instead of lower prices[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#12)
by MisterBill on Tue Feb 08, 2005 at 11:38:53 AM PDT

That may be one reason but the real reason is that not everyone will submit the rebate, so they get to keep more of the money. Rebates differentiate their customers between the cost sensitive and insensitive. The ones who care about the rebate and the lower price will submit it. The ones who are happy to pay the higher price (or do not want to be bothered with the rebate) will let the manufacturer keep the money.

There is also one other thing that no one talks about. There is a big underground market in the reselling of stuff bought free after rebate or close to it (just look on ebay). By requiring people to file for rebates, they are able to prevent most people from getting multiple items to resell. If you could just go to the store and pick up a half dozen free items without having to file the rebate, then the ebay seller would have much more stuff to sell.

[ Parent | Reply to This ]

RE: lower prices[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#19)
by Anonymous User on Wed Feb 09, 2005 at 05:11:13 AM PDT

Having worked with manufacturers on rebates, I can tell you that the parent is correct in that the rebate amount becomes a marketing expense. Another reason that lowering the prices won't work is that many manufacturers do rebates with only one retailer for a particular product at a particular time. Since most major retailers that I shop at have a price matching policy, lowering the price at one would effectively mean lowering the price at all.

[ Parent | Reply to This ]

A pointer to a Live Gripe re: Circuit City rebates[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#11)
by MisterBill on Tue Feb 08, 2005 at 11:34:02 AM PDT

I just wanted to point people to a Live Gripe I posted here a few weeks ago regarding Circuit City, who takes rebate sleaziness to a new level by changing terms on some of their rebates after the promotion has already begun. In one case, they shortened the date by 9 days but neglected to change the online form until after the original date had passed. Nevertheless, they are still rejecting rebates purchased after the shortened date. And when you call to complain? They refuse to override the rejection. http://www.gripe2ed.com/scoop/story/2005/1/12/192537/365

[ Reply to This ]

The other side of Circuit City Rebates[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#40)
by Anonymous User on Thu Feb 10, 2005 at 10:09:08 AM PDT

In the past two years, I've bought two LCD monitors at Circuit City. Both had high dollar manufacturer's and Circuit City rebates. Both times I got the rebates promptly without the need to follow-up. The monitor I bought in December had a $100 rebate from Sony and a $150 rebate from Circuit City. The Sony rebate showed up in three week and the CC rebate was just a few days behind that. I send in a lot of rebates and these were perhaps the fastest responses I've had, so at least Circuit City can get it right some of the time.

[ Parent | Reply to This ]

Yes, they can be very good[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#50)
by MisterBill on Tue Feb 15, 2005 at 01:01:39 PM PDT

Circuit City is like the Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde of rebates. When things are good, they pay quickly, and are a pleasure to deal with. When they go back, they can be ugly, and it seems that no amount of common sense will get them to approve a rejected rebate. It's too bad that that side makes one forget about the good stuff they do.

[ Parent | Reply to This ]

Some companies do it right[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#13)
by Anonymous User on Tue Feb 08, 2005 at 11:50:22 AM PDT

Just for the record, I'd like to say that any rebate I have sent to the fulfillment house in Young America, MN has either come back well before the specified time has expired or I have received a letter specifying the problem with the rebate request along with instructions on how to correct it.

As for the rest of them, about the only rebates I have failed to get in the last several years are the ones where I spaced out the time limit on when it had to be mailed. There were a couple of rebates last fall that had to be mailed w/in 7 days! Still my fault, the deadline was clearly spelled out in the rebate form. I always copy everything and I write the mailing date on the copy. Once a month or so I go through the forms and call anything that is past 6 weeks. In a lot of cases the fulfullment houses that hold your rebate until/unless you call will mysteriously find your rebate "has just been processed" at 6 weeks just as easily as they can after 12 or 16 weeks.

[ Reply to This ]

Tiger Says It No Longer Does Rebates W/Soyo[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#15)
by Ed Foster on Tue Feb 08, 2005 at 07:18:38 PM PDT

A TigerDirect spokesman has informed me that "due to many complaints on Soyo rebates, we have stopped allowing them to offer rebates at Tiger as of September 2004." So it sounds like the reader I quoted above was one of the last to have that particular problem, at least.

Ed Foster

[ Reply to This ]

Oh yeah??[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#61)
by Reziac on Tue Feb 15, 2005 at 11:52:30 PM PDT

Considering all the complaints one hears about Tiger Direct (mainly re reluctant or refused refunds/RMAs for DOA stuff) -- this strikes me as the pot calling the kettle black.
~REZ~
[ Parent | Reply to This ]

Positive TigerDirect[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#72)
by welkerdp on Thu May 26, 2005 at 07:48:40 AM PDT

I'm going to buck the trend and post an overall positive comment about TigerDirect because they just earned it from me. I recently bought a case w/ power supply and an motherboard-cpu-RAM combo from them. The power supply (24 pin connector) was incompatible with the motherboard (20 pin connector).

Downside: When I called last night the call center operator couldn't help me (system wouldn't let him replace just the power supply and supervisor couldn't be found.) When I called back this morning I punched through to the RMA line, operator put me on hold for three minutes and then I was kicked back to the main menu.

Upside: When I blindly plowed through the order status attendant and said "no" when asked whether I wanted one of its options, the operator I got not only overnighted me an adapter cable but agreed to ship me a free replacement power supply. He did this without me having to make any reference to the issues I just described.

The jury is still out until the system is up and running but as of now, despite issues, they've earned more business. I admit this isn't a rebate/RMA issue, but it's fair to say they did something right.

[ Parent | Reply to This ]

Service and Rebates[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#73)
by foxyshadis1 on Tue May 31, 2005 at 11:21:17 PM PDT

I agree with observations I've seen that rebate issues are just customer service problems - if the organization has a culture of lying, greed, irresponsibility, and generally not giving a toss about customers, it'll show through in all aspects of their business and support. If the company doesn't care it'll use someone like rebateshq and ignore pleas for help.

There are the bad employees in decent companies, which is why I try to hold judgement until I've talked to a few different people. Of course there are always good apples in a bad company - our lead coder's old mentor is a gentle soul sticking it out in the most horrible work environment I've ever heard of - I just wish I could request them when I call in for support. >.>

[ Parent | Reply to This ]

TD is improving[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#76)
by Fushigi on Fri Jul 22, 2005 at 05:37:26 AM PDT

If a TigerDirect rebate is serviced by OnRebate, it seems like it will be fulfilled quickly. I bought some stuff at TD and the rebates took only about 3 weeks from purchase to checks-in-hand.

On their site, TD also states they now guarantee their rebates. Dunno if that's worth much, but it looks like they're making an honest effort to turn around.

[ Parent | Reply to This ]

Who is the real culprit[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#78)
by dstand on Sun Mar 05, 2006 at 10:33:09 AM PDT

I wonder if the real problem is with Soyo directly, or with TigerDirect's rebate company (OnLineRebates) I was refused a 50 dollar rebate from OnLine Rebates. After fighting with TigerDirect's customer service for almost 1 year, refusing to give up, I finally received the 50.00 check. Now call me irresponsible or just plain nieve, I decided to try it again. I purchased a motherboard and Celeron Processor in January 06, from TigerDirect and completed all the required information and sent in for the 50.00 dollar rebate. It's been about 6 weeks now and I decided today to check in to their website and check my rebate status. They claim that they have not received my information yet. Good thing I sent it all mail special delivery. I wonder if this is going to be another year of rejections until I finally get this one. I'll keep you posted. Dstand

[ Parent | Reply to This ]

Rebate tracking[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#16)
by Anonymous User on Tue Feb 08, 2005 at 10:40:29 PM PDT

When I send a rebate in, I send it by Return Receipt. That way not only do I know it was received, I've got the signature of the person receiving it. So far I've never not received a rebate this way...

[ Reply to This ]

Very expensive.. and won't always work[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#32)
by MisterBill on Wed Feb 09, 2005 at 06:52:44 PM PDT

Some rebate processors now say that they will not accept certified mail, so you won't get a signature anymore (and in fact you might get your rebate returned). And doesn't it cost something like $3 to mail certified/return receipt? That is a lot of money to give up unless it's a high dollar rebate.

Also, most of the time the problem is not that they did not receive it -- it's that they claim you did something wrong. Even if you can prove that they got it, that does nothing to disprove a claim that you did not include the UPC, or did something else wrong. And it will do nothing to fix problems with someplace like Circuit City, who changed the expiration date on a rebate form after it had already started.

A somewhat better approach (if you are convinced that you need to know when they got it) is to use Delivery Confirmation. You can get it for 13 cents if you generate the label yourself. But you can't use it on normal flat mail, so you'll need to include a Styrofoam peanut or something like that, and the post office may charge extra for that.

[ Parent | Reply to This ]

RE: very expensive[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#34)
by Anonymous User on Thu Feb 10, 2005 at 05:36:38 AM PDT

MisterBill is 100% correct. Most rebate houses will not accept any mail that requires a signature. Why? For them, time is money. The quicker they can get the mail back to be processed, the quicker they can bill their customer (ie, either the manufacturer or retailer). Also, keep in mind that the Post Office (among others) makes mistakes. I once was in charge of a mail-in repair depot where about 20% of the packages used Return Receipt. The problem was that it was up to the postal carrier to take the receipts off the packages and give them to me to sign. After we'd take delivery, we found that on average he missed about 25% of these.

[ Parent | Reply to This ]

The real reason they won't accept it[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#35)
by Anonymous User on Thu Feb 10, 2005 at 06:01:04 AM PDT

The real reason rebate houses won't accept mail that requires signatures: plausible deniability. If they signed something they can't then claim they never received your mail as an excuse for not honoring the rebate, now can they? And that just wouldn't do.

[ Parent | Reply to This ]

The real reason they won't accept it[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#36)
by Richard on Thu Feb 10, 2005 at 09:42:33 AM PDT

Just as a note. For those rebate houses that don't accept mail that requires signature, the Post Office also offers delivery confirmation. Personally, I only send the rebate with signature required if it's a big $$$ rebate. My technique for when I don't get a rebate check is to send letters to the Postal Inspection Service, Federal Trade Commission and the appropiate State Attorney General (with copies of the rebate submission). And, of course, I copy the rebate house. The rebate check shortly shows up.

[ Parent | Reply to This ]

Lost mail is not the main problem[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#54)
by MisterBill on Tue Feb 15, 2005 at 01:12:32 PM PDT

But you continue to ignore the fact that lost mail is NOT a major part of the rebate problem. The problem is that the company will claim that you did not do something correctly, or they will just sit on your rebate because whoever is paying the bill hasn't paid the rebate processor and funded the rebate account. The latter is, I believe, the #1 reason for delayed rebates.

[ Parent | Reply to This ]

Lost Mail[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#58)
by Anonymous User on Tue Feb 15, 2005 at 03:28:01 PM PDT

Let me first state for the record that I work at a rebate fulfillment house. MisterBill is right - lost mail does happen, but it is a small part of the problem. Having said that, while rebate rejections happen for various reasons (everyone - and I mean everyone - makes mistakes), MisterBill is again correct: in almost every case where my company has worked with a retailer or manufacturer whose rebate has been delayed, it is because of no funding (either for the checks themselves, or for the postage to send them out). And, although most here may not believe me, the delay is not due to any kind of scam or fraud on our part or our customers (ie, the retailer or manufacturer). The people in charge of these rebates are usually in marketing, and often have to submit how much they think they'll need to their payable department. And as we have learned many times, often there is no way to predict just how popular a particular rebate offer may be. We print ehat we can, and then wait for more funding.

[ Parent | Reply to This ]

yes[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#133)
by maderikapapa on Fri Jun 27, 2008 at 08:47:27 PM PDT

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Store running on rebates[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#17)
by Anonymous User on Wed Feb 09, 2005 at 02:59:12 AM PDT

Perhaps 15 years ago, a retail store opened in Paramus NJ (a retailing hub) that advertised in the local papers like crazy. EVERY product in the place offered a rebate that resulted in an unbelievable "final price". I got lured in to buy something (I can't remember what) and the place was buzzing with shoppers. I wanted to purchase several of a particular small item and the clerk handed me one rebate coupon that was to be filled out and mailed in. When I asked for additional coupons for my multiple-purchase, the clerk told me "Just write how many you bought on the form." Seemed pretty fishy to me. Sure enough, after a couple of months, the store boarded up and the owners couldn't be located. The entire thing was a scam and no one got a dime back on their rebates. Lesson: Don't rely on a rebate in your decision making process. If it's a lousy deal up front, stay away.

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Where in Paramus?[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#18)
by Anonymous User on Wed Feb 09, 2005 at 05:05:37 AM PDT

What was that store you refer too? I don't remember anything like that. It wasn't Crazy Eddie's was it?

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And there was that website, too[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#21)
by rodak on Wed Feb 09, 2005 at 06:32:36 AM PDT

I can't for the life of me remember the name, but there was a website a few years ago that was selling all kinds of stuff at massively inflated prices, but all came with a rebate for the full price (or nearly so), making the final cost effectively zero. Lots of folks actually did get their rebates (tho I think it typically took something like 4-6 months!), but eventually the whole thing came crashing down.

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Cyberrebate.com[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#56)
by MisterBill on Tue Feb 15, 2005 at 01:31:10 PM PDT

The online merchant was Cyberrebate.com. They were an amazing pyramid scheme. Get enough people convinced that they were legit, then keep a lot of money. They started out charging 2-3x the regular price of an item, but promised all the money back, and sure enough, they paid! But then they increased the price to 10x regular, and eventually stopped paying. I was a member of a message board that discussed that. There were several people who had to file bankruptcy because of that. They had gotten in so deep, they were typically reselling the stuff they bought, and lost thousands (in some cases, tens of thousands) of dollars. Some credit cards returned the money, but not all.

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Generally good experience with rebates[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#22)
by rodak on Wed Feb 09, 2005 at 06:48:09 AM PDT

I must agree with the comments posted above by Steve Warwick. I too have sent in and received thousands of dollars in rebates over the years, with a success rate of about 98%. 90-95% show up on their own, the other 3-8% require some action by me (typically just a single phone call). The worst was one from Tiger Direct, where the root of the problem was they had advertised the rebate to be valid until a certain date, but it was apparently in error, and had already expired. It took me 3 or 4 phone calls, but eventually, they admitted their mistake, and sent me a check for the full amount of the rebate ($30). They're not generally regarded as one of the better outfits when it comes to customer service and such, but I gotta admit, they did come through in my case.

Sure there are plenty of stories about rebates not paying off, but in the long run, if you pay attention, follow ALL the instructions, save copies, etc, you can and will come out ahead.

You gotta think of it like this: If I spend $1,000 on an assortment of products that I actually want and need, would normally have been willing to pay as much as $700 for them, but I fill out rebates worth $600, and say, two of them, totalling $50, never show up, I'm still rewarded with a net savings of $250. If I spent, say, two hours of my time filling out forms, copying/scanning, etc, then I'm getting paid $125/hour for my trouble.

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Exactly![ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#75)
by Anonymous User on Thu Jul 21, 2005 at 07:19:19 PM PDT

I agree 100%. I've filled out hundreds of rebates over the last five years, and I've only ever gotten denied on one: A Staples rebate for $10 that they mistakenly said was purchased outside of the rebate period. They gave me two weeks to resubmit, but I was on vacation and didn't return in time to take care of it. Oh well. I had a Soyo rebate that took eight months to get paid, and a couple of slow ones that I eventually checked the website to see the status on. I've never called, ever, and I've received all but one rebate. This hatred of rebates reminds me of the line "The lottery is a tax on people that are bad at math." In the case of rebates, I think they're a tax on people that can't follow simple instructions. C'mon people! When you get home from the store, cut out the UPCs, fill out the form (according to the instructions), put it in an envelope and mail it. You WILL get the rebate, barring a company going out of business.

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Rebates are a scourge[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#23)
by jlmoore on Wed Feb 09, 2005 at 08:29:02 AM PDT

I view them as penalties and I never consider them when comparing prices (and I make that known to any retail clerk that thinks they can tempt me with one).

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Only buy items you need anyway.[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#24)
by Anonymous User on Wed Feb 09, 2005 at 08:39:19 AM PDT

I have only one rule about rebates. I only buy items I need anyway. I check the before-rebate price. If I'm willing to pay that price, I buy it. Getting the rebate is a bonus and I only do it if it's worth my time nad trouble to send for it. I have never had problems receiving any rebates but then I don't do them very often.

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Rebates and Intuit[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#25)
by Anonymous User on Wed Feb 09, 2005 at 09:03:08 AM PDT

I've had recent rebate offers from Western Digital, Roxio and Centron Memory plus others I can't remember, but the most ridiculous is TurboTax from Intuit. File your Fed Tax forms electronically and they will charge you $14.95, then offer you a rebate for $14.95. So why charge you in the first place? Then you can fill out the rebate form on line with Intuit, provide your IRS acknowledgement and Intuit will give you a tracking number. BUT (the most ridiculous part), Intuit requires that you print their form with their tracking number and MAIL IT to them. Yep, snail mail. Oh, by the way, allow 2 months for the rebate check to be sent.

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To limit the number, and minimize payout[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#31)
by MisterBill on Wed Feb 09, 2005 at 06:19:09 PM PDT

Once again, the reason for the rebate requirement is a) so that if you do more than one e-file per household, you will only get one for free, and b) so that people who are willing to pay $14.95 for e-filing and not worry about the rebate can do so.

I agree that submitting the rebate online would be much nicer than having to mail it in.

Fortunately, Intuit is one of the good guys this year and are paying very quickly.

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What?[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#47)
by Anonymous User on Sat Feb 12, 2005 at 03:58:02 PM PDT

"Intuit is one of the good guys this year..."?? This is the *last* Web site where I ever expected to read *those* words. :P

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Why?[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#55)
by MisterBill on Tue Feb 15, 2005 at 01:18:03 PM PDT

Intuit pays their rebates very quickly. Why not give them credit where credit is due?

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Why?[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#59)
by Anonymous User on Tue Feb 15, 2005 at 08:42:46 PM PDT

Because Intuit's the devil, and it's rotten to the core.

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The Rebate Ruse[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#26)
by Anonymous User on Wed Feb 09, 2005 at 09:17:25 AM PDT

In my opinion, rebates should be illegal. Locally, you constantly see these very attractive prices in very large print. Then, in very small print, you see the real price and multiple rebates you have to send in to get the advertised price. In the meantime, I have to shell out full price, go through the time, hassle and expense of gathering the required information, filling out the rebate forms and mailing it all in, then wait to see who I have to argue with in order to get my rebate. It just isn't worth it. I could make more money by just working those extra hours and I'd be a lot less frustrated. As for me, I make it clear to the retailer that he is competing on the basis of the out-the-door price and that I do not fool with rebates - period. If more people did that, we wouldn't have this problem. At the very least, the real price should be in large print, while the availability of a rebate and the rebate amount should be in small print.

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Rebate issues.[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#29)
by Anonymous User on Wed Feb 09, 2005 at 11:39:51 AM PDT

T-Mobiles newest rebate for their current users to get $25 off on a phone upgrade is another case of maximizing the unfulfilled rebates. All the info about the service/phone is in the phone packaging box but the rebate is deliberately stuffed into the bottom of the shipping box. Heck The info on how to return the phone is at the top of the box (it is an obvious open flap)so why can't the rebate be? Well... The CSR's mention that you have to find the rebate form when you call for the upgrade but I bet a bunch of folks throw out the shipping box after taking out the phone box and leave their rebate form nicely tucked into it. And you have to mail everything - there is no online fufillment. In T-Mobile's defense they do clearly state on the form the terms and even mention that you should photocopy all of your supporting documentation. Hopefully it will be better than the $2 rebate on car oil additive I sent in one year and received the day AFTER the $2 check expired. And I had sent that one months before... eb

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Yes, rebates are still a pain[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#30)
by Anonymous User on Wed Feb 09, 2005 at 05:13:28 PM PDT

SOYO is having major problems paying rebates. Seagate rebates are also slow to be sent. Parago is falsing rejecting a lot of rebates lately.

Just take a look here: http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/categories.php?catid=54&zb=40258436

And here: http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=40&threadid=1467387&enterthread=y

This link has a lot of good rebate contact information:
http://www.fatwallet.com/t/54/58957/

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Re: Rebate Issues[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#74)
by Anonymous User on Thu Jul 21, 2005 at 06:50:33 PM PDT

Soyo once took 8 months to pay a $20 rebate, and finally only did so when lawyers started circling because they smelled a class-action lawsuit. Nice to see that two years later they're still playing the same game. Can't agree on the Seagate thing though: I sent them a rebate form recently, and the check was in my hands three weeks later. I hadn't even paid the credit card bill yet.

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