Rebates are the biggest scam!

[Rod]

I never get them! Someone should start a class action lawsuit to stop rebates. Only 10% of people who buy products with a rebate attached actually go through the hoops of filling out all the forms. Many of those people don't even get their rebates. The rebates often come disquised as junk mail.

It's ashame that not enough people will stand up for themselves, and they let the big corporations continue to take over America.

<going back to filling out my rebate forms>

 

[blair]

Very true. And I know a few companies (Circuit City, for one) who automatically reject the first attempt to claim rebate. You send them the rebate stuff (bar code, receipt, form, whatever else), they receive it and automatically return it to you, with a form letter stating that not all of the required materials were present. You send to them again (usually without any modifications, whatsoever!) and it will go through. 3 or months later, you get your 20 bucks. I used to work for Circuit City, and I am entirely convienced that this is their proceedure. :angry:

This technique further reduces the number of people who are actually persistant enough to get their money. :sneaky:

 

[lucasbuck]

Agreed! Though I've had pretty good luck with them I much prefer the instant rebates available at some retailers.

 

[PuroBrat]

Ain't it the truth :angry:

 

[rnccen]

I think I have only ever completed two rebate forms...both companies sent the $ though about 3 months later. My guess is that they are banking on maybe 5-10% of people are actually going to send in for the rebates.

 

[txmatt]

Being my cheap @ss self I do a lot of rebates. Last year ('03) I did exceptionally well, this year was marginal.

A few pointers when doing them.

1) submit the rebate as soon as you have the item
2) print out the forms and record the URL where the form is located on the day you make the purchase
3) cut out the UPC LAST! I have returned items that have had conflicts or red flags in the terms and conditions - most recently a motherboard from NewEgg. A quick discussion with a supervisor there got me excluded from the restocking fee.
4) Make copies of EVERYTHING, don't send originals unless required
5) Keep a spreadsheet or database of what you have submitted and when, note the offer numbers and deadlines

It seems like a lot of work, but once you get the system going you can get a lot of sh|t you don't need for free . I still have tons of "filler items" in the attic; these are the FAR things I bought that I added to the order so that I could use a bigger coupon (50 off of 250 instead of 30 of 150 for example).

At one point last year I had over $3k in outstanding rebates and I did eventually get them all. Some required phone calls to the store after the rebate processing company invalidated a valid submission. There are also some companies or some rebate houses I simply will not do theirs. (TigerDirect!!)

To some people its too much of a hassle. I have 500 gigs of disk space in my PC for I paid nothing for because of the time I spent on rebates last year though. I sold a dozen hard drives dirt cheap to friends, and made a couple hundred bucks selling other hard drives on eBay.

Speaking of filler items, does anyone need:

blank CDs
slim jewel cases
corded caller ID telephones
universal remote control
Earthlink Mailstation
Media card reader
56k modem
PC Keyboard

Last year at a "white elephant" style Christmas gift exchange I was able to unload (2) 24x16x12 boxes full of crap like this. These items aren't worth eBaying so they pile up in the attic above the garage.

-Matt-

 

[SamGuss]

:lookup:

Lots of items at Radio Shack come with rebates.

:lookup:



Sam

 

[gr8full2day]

Quitting pimping your company Sambo... ...I have always been willing to endure mild levels of "hoop jumping" to get free money. Lot's of folks are just too freaking lazy, that's why lots of products offer huge rebates....JMHO...

 

[Lee]

When I was building my computer, I bought a CD burner that had a $20 rebate. I filled it in and waited and waited........

I know it was 5 months later when I finally got that damn thing.

I tend to do the instant rebate deals myself. I like getting it off at the register when I check out!

 

[vewyphishy]

The rebates often come disquised as junk mail.

That's what I find most annoying. I bought a $100 digital camera printer from Circuit City. There was a $50 CC rebate and a $40 HP rebate. I sent both out the same day. I received the HP one already. Still waiting for the CC one. :lookup:

 

[AVB]

Being my cheap @ss self I do a lot of rebates. Last year ('03) I did exceptionally well, this year was marginal.

I still have tons of "filler items" in the attic; these are the FAR things I bought that I added to the order so that I could use a bigger coupon (50 off of 250 instead of 30 of 150 for example).

Isn't $30 off $150 and $50 off $250 the same ratio? Why spend the extra for stuff you don't need just to get another $20 off. It cost you $80 to get there. ???

Beyond that you seem to have a plan that works.

 

[Maggs44]

I keep photo copys of all the paperwork and I FIGHT for every last buck if they try to give me a line about not getting the paperwork etc. It works because I always get the check.

 

[txmatt]

Being my cheap @ss self I do a lot of rebates.  Last year ('03) I did exceptionally well, this year was marginal.

I still have tons of "filler items" in the attic; these are the FAR things I bought that I added to the order so that I could use a bigger coupon (50 off of 250 instead of 30 of 150 for example).

Isn't $30 off $150 and $50 off $250 the same ratio? Why spend the extra for stuff you don't need just to get another $20 off. It cost you $80 to get there. ???

Beyond that you seem to have a plan that works.

AVB your confusion seems to stem from my use of the acronym FAR. That stands for Free After Rebate. It doesn't cost anything to get to the higher amount other than stamps, tax, and more time filling out farking rebate forms. So you get a bigger discount for doing rebates on stuff you have no use for.

I have donated a buch of the filler items, yet still have at least 10 phones and 12 universal remotes sitting new in the box in the attic. I have given away over 1000 blank CDs to people at work. Just because I have no use for the filler item doesn't mean they are useless.

You have an item say a hard drive you want that is on sale for $50 after rebates. Fill the order with enough crap to get the total before rebates up to $250 and you get the hard drive for free.

This is a trick done by thousands of people weekly, it not my plan by any means I just jumped on the Fatwallet bandwagon and the plan does work

-Matt-