Originally Posted by
nmenaker
What is a boom for retailers and manufacturers, is starting to become a bane for consumers.
I don't think CC is worse than any other, certainly not better than but not worse.
As for rebates. It IS a process.
Some stats. 62% of rebates NEVER GET SUBMITTED.
of the remaining 38%, 50% are denied or have errors.
Of the 18% remaining, 50% the checks are NEVER CASHED!
So, a retail or manufacturer can put the money aside as short term liability, usually six months, and in six month repatriate the cash at least 10% of it.
Submitting rebates is sort of like getting your health insurance to pay for something. The first response, is ALWASY NO! Then, a NO, do you have the forms, and THEN they pay.
I cannot tell you how many times I have submitted a rebate, gotten the "invalid submission" card, called to check exactly what the problem is and had the rep say "no, everything looks fine, receipt, form, UPC intack, I'll rebsubmit it now"
Crazy.
The key, is STAY ON TOP of it. Make a spreadsheet or something and remind yourself to check it in a couple of months. Put in the companies 800#, and MAKE COPIES of everything. (I scan everything with a scanner I got FREE after rebate!)
If you submit the three things they require, make copies and stay on top of it, 99.99% of the time you are going to get your rebate.
When I used to work in CC, they always factored in that 17% of the rebates will never go through, either due to the customer not sending the forms in or not cashing the checks, etc.
However, I have found that CC employees do tend to take care of all of the customer's rebates short of cutting the UPC code and slapping a stamp on the envelope. The forms all automatically print out, pre-filled (that IS why they ask you for your phone number, so that they can fill this stuff out for you), and, if you ask, they'll print out duplicates for you as well. I've mailed several rebates in myself, mostly for RAM or flash drives, and, in roughly 45 days, have gotten my money.
But just like consumer sites advise, when you buy something, disregard rebate. Think of it as "will you pay the price that is listed prior to the rebate?" If not, then don't buy it. Don't rely on the rebates, because you may find yourself in a predicament. Or buy from merchants who offer instant rebates. The worst rebates merchant, by far, is Buy.com. Theirs never come.