FTC Tells CompUSA to Pay Up QPS Rebates

prostoalex writes "FTC told CompUSA they will have to keep their word on paying out rebates for QPS equipment purchased at CompUSA. QPS is currently bankrupt, according to the article, although it's not clear whether they went out of business before or after the promised 6-8 weeks deadline came. CBS MarketWatch says this should spur rebate re-evaluation among other electronic retailers. The habit of offering rebate incentives seems be especially notorious in the consumer electronics and computer hardware industries as a third of shoppers for such goods bought a product with a rebate offered. Reason for such popularity? 41% of shoppers never send in their rebates."

Comments

Common sense

[dauthur]

"41% of shoppers never send in their rebates."

Of course. It's too much hassle to sign a receipt and mail it to the company and wait a few weeks, in which they'll most likely forget all about the whole thing, and get a surprize $30 in the mail. Laziness costs more than cigarettes these days.

Re:Common sense

[blahplusplus]

Well considering the amount on peoples plates in modern life, remembering to send in a rebate to save $20, $30 when they have so much to consider doesn't seem unreasonable. The fact is offering rebates should be illegal because the reason they are offered is because they are burdening the customer with after sale Bullshit and schemes that amount to con-artistry.

The fact is they pump up the price and offer the rebate, and the rebate usually only brings the price of the item to 'market' value for someone who spends time looking for the lowest prices. Rebates are bait and switch, no bones about it.

I've sent in rebates I have not recieved. I also had rebates that "expire" by the company claiming that it "didn't get it on time" a month after the fact, when they should have recieved it within two days after mailing it.

There are actually 'expiry schemes' where they have expirations and the stores offering them continue to advertise 'rebates' knowing that the expiry will keep them from having to put out money, if they even do it at all.

The fact is, if you can't sell the item for the rebated price outright, you have no right to even offer the rebate in the first place.

Rebates should be illegal or legislated at the time of purchase (and advertisment of the rebate) the customer who bought it then does not have to worry about expiry.

Glad I don't have to deal with that.

[eddy]

I'm glad rebates of that kind doesn't exist over here. Here rebates are pretty much unheard of besides for groceries, and those are handled directly at the checkout, no mail-that-in-later stuff.

Doesn't take a genius to figure out that all that handling just makes it more expensive for the customers in the end.

Here's my beef

[tkrotchko]

"What you mean is that fraudulantly offering an unredeemable rebate should be illegal, which it already is."

Here's my beef.

Rebates in some theoretical sense are fine.

There's two things I have a problem with, one of them is philosophical, one of them is practical. Lets start with the practical.

I have in several cases, sent in rebates. I'm usually very careful. I have in several cases (a) not received a response ever or (b) The rebate fulfillment house claims I didn't send in enough paperwork (and well past the deadline for submission.

I have no recourse in these situations. I'm just out the money. And what's worse, nobody has an incentive to make this right, because the company is simply out money if its correct, and they get more money if I'm screwed.

On a more philosophical level, I have a beef with rebates. Lets go through this:

Merchant: Buy this widget for $2, and I'll give you $1 back in the mail.

Me: Why not just sell it to me for $1?

Merchant: Because I'm hoping you'll forget to send it in, and I won't have to pay you that $1.

You see? Its almost fraud but not quite. So from that viewpoint, I understand why people think it should be illegal to offer rebates.

But even if you disagree with my philosophical conclusion, how do you deal with the practical aspect of a system that has no ability to be corrected? Its like playing the lotto as to whether that rebate actually comes.