Best Buy to Eliminate Rebates

plover writes "According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune 'In response to customer complaints, Best Buy, the world's largest electronics retailer, promised today to eliminate mail-in rebates within two years.' Can it be that we're finally nearing the end of one of the most hated marketing ploys of all?" Further commentary available at BusinessWeek.

Comments

it's all scummy marketeering tactics.

[ABeowulfCluster]

All that info is used for marketing purposes. Myself, I never get telemarketers calling me. The fact that my phone is used for friends and family only is worth more than the couple bucks saved.

To the Readers of Slashdot...

[str0gg]

Lighten up for Christs sake. Quit complaining. It was all for April Fools. So what if the articles werent extremely clever or entertaining. They were silly and off-base. Thats what April Fools Day is.

Re:Free checking accounts?

[ImaLamer]

look at what you typed, then get back to me...

Re:Joke?

[Brento]

No matter, why should I take a check from you when I gave you cash?

Because I deposited your cash in the bank, and the bank has 2-3 days before that cash is available to me. Therefore, I write you a check so you can get the funds as quickly as I do. Think in terms of Christmas season: you can have hundreds of people buy big-ticket items, only to turn around and return them when the store simply doesn't have the cash on hand. I'd have two choices: keep an abnormally large amount of cash on hand so I can meet cash refund needs at the start of every business day, or I can write you a check.

And since I don't have to worry about losing your business (since you're already returning the item anyway, and not using a store credit to spend the money in my store) why would I inconvenience myself? Heck no, buddy, if you want your money back from me, you can have it when the banks give it to me, and that's why you get a check.

Sooooo off topic

[ImaLamer]

I've got a US Bank, sure.

Trust me though, when you've never got money a checking account doesn't make sense. I wish I could find statistics on this...

Google gives me this:

The Check Cashing Customer

It is clear that for a large number of Americans our locations are the financial institutions of choice. Several studies have pointed out that people are aware of other alternatives but choose to use check cashers or other non-bank facilities in lieu of, or in addition to, depository institutions. These customers are savvy enough to decide the best service for their particular needs. According to the Federal Reserve Board's 1998 Survey of Consumer Finances, people without checking accounts said they did not use banks because they did not write enough checks, don't like dealing with banks, or felt the fees were too high. The recently released "Survey of Non-Bank Financial Institutions" conducted by Dove Consulting for the Department of the Treasury found that check cashers offer customers convenient locations, use the language of their customers and are open longer hours than banks. A survey conducted by Dove this year found nine languages spoken at non-bank financial institutions. Ninety six percent of the check cashers were open on Saturdays and more than a quarter on Sundays. A July 1999 Federal Reserve Bulletin article prepared by the Board's Division of Consumer and Community Affairs concluded that "even on the grounds of price competition, basic-banking accounts may not be competitive with alternative providers when the total cost of use expected by a lower-income customer is considered."

It is instructive to note that many people who do not have traditional bank accounts did have transaction accounts in the past. The Board's 1998 Survey of Consumer Finances reported that 47.9 percent of them previously had a checking account. People do not lack bank accounts because they are unaware of how to obtain one. They are choosing other alternatives based on their own experiences. Contrary to the clear wishes of these consumers, some advocates continue to insist that everyone must have a traditional checking account. Our industry believes that it is more important that consumers' financial needs be served through a network of neighborhood, consumer friendly locations rather than solely through an ATM card.
http://www.fisca.org/firstaccountstestimony.htm

Imagine, not everyone has a blackberry and 10 ATM/Credit/Debit/Gift cards at all times. People still drink dirty water in America when others drink Starbucks...

"Free" checking is rarely free too... my gf works at the 6th largest bank and they make a fortune from fees alone. That is why customer service is the worst job at the company.

Re:Joke?

[ImaLamer]

Because I deposited your cash in the bank, and the bank has 2-3 days before that cash is available to me.

You're fault.

(Mod this +1 Funny, get it)

Really, Brento you just explained why and how they are fucking me along with the economics that make it a good idea from their standpoint!

Re:American consumers get screwed

[RexRhino]

Yes, we definitly need the U.S. government to make sure those evil corporations don't lie to us.

For example, lets say an evil corporation decides they want to make money selling insurance. They then charge consumers money. They then take that money and spend it on other things that they want, not investing it or saving it or anything. Their buisness plan is to keep increasing the size of their customer base, and pay off any insurance obligations with the payments they bring in. This is called a "ponzy" scheme, or a pyramid scem. This is concidered fraud and highly illegal and people working for any corporation running such a scheme would find themselves in prison. Except, of course, the largest insurance program in the world, Social Security, is exactly what I described. Funny how the government doesn't do such a good job reporting that kind of fraud.

Or what, if your local condo board told you that one of the tenants had illegal weapons in their apartment. THey charged you a huge fee so they could send their security people into that apartment, attack anyone who put up a fight, and then kicked out the owner. Turns out later that the condo board knew there was never any illegal weapons in the apartment. Those guys would surely go to jail... unless of course, it is the government doing the invading. Then it isn't an evil corporate thing, it is a great patriotic act.

How can anyone seriously expect the government to protect consumers from misinformation and scams when governments are the #1 source of misinformation and scams. Has all these years of government-run schools and government regulated media dulled people's critical thinking to the point that they really trust the government to decide what is "truth" and what are "lies". Give a corporation monopoly and a Flag and guns and call it a government, and the people claim to hate corporations are willing to give them absolute control.

I much rather depend on myself, the internet, recommendations from my friends, and the media, then on the government. Don't take away my right to choose for myself because you all are a bunch of government-worshiping suckers.