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Computer Rebates Not As Sinister As You Think
Lam1969 writes "Robert Mitchell dug up some details about rebates after getting up at 5 a.m. to get a free (with rebates) computer bundle at Circuit City. He had to deal with five separate mail-in rebates to get his money back, and decided to ask an expert about whether rebate come-ons are some sort of attempt to trick consumers. The reply: 'The big lie that the media and attorneys general want you to believe is that all the retailers and manufacturers are crooked and the reason [they] do rebates is breakage, which is people not turning them in.' Furthermore, Mitchell reports that retailers are making the process easier, by printing rebate forms and receipt copies at the register, and letting people track rebates online. His conclusion: The trade-off of having to do a few hours of copying and envelope-stuffing is worth the price of a new computer, so stop whining -- 'suck it up and accept your rebate check like a man.'"
Check out http://www.rebate-tracker.com/ if you want to have a central point of management for all your rebates.
Putting aside the obvious question (who the fuck is The NPD Group? Why, a marketing consultancy!), the guy who talked to the ComputerWorld reporter is full of shit at best ad bald-faced lying at worst.
I should know - I used to manage a service with rebates. (Hence the anon post.) The rebates were only cost effective because of breakage. In fact, we once had to reduce the rebate amount for a particular group of users who had too good a take rate (business users who would send in rebates en masse, for an IT product.) The only way we could tell customers they saved $XXX was because we knew some of them wouldn't turn it in.
If this so-called reporter had asked even one or two sources inside a company that uses rebates, instead of talking to a consultant who probably recommends them for a hefty fee, he would have figured this out.
I used to work at staples and we purposely put products out with expired rebates or a rebate that expired in mere days before consumers could file them in.
..gulp.. worst buy even though they treat their employees like dirt and seem to be the walmart of the tech industry.
Also I bought a video card that was defective at compusa and it was teh last one in stock. The same exact card was available at circuit city for $60 more. Even with the rebates teh price would only equal the exact one at compusa.
So in other words you are getting no value at all depending on the product with the rebates. This is also assuming that the rebates are not expired. So yes whinning should be appropriate and I believe Circuit City does this to make consumers think they are getting a better deal when they see "BIG SAVINGS" on the price tags of the shelves.
This made me a customer who no longer shops at circuit city as a result. I supposed I could shop at
http://saveie6.com/
I buy alot of rebate items at Frys Electronics and I have found over the years that...
1) The cashier will give you the wrong rebate form. This was notorious when they had 8 rebates for Seagate drives. The cashier would grab the first one they found. Result. Rebate refused. Note: Fry's now prints the rebates with your receipt, so this happens less.
2) The rebate will require that you include some part of the package that doesn't exist. This is true with memory modules. Read the fine print, and it says to clip the logo and the UPC. Trouble is they gave you a package without the logo or missing the UPC (memory comes from the cage, and may not have a UPC).
3) They refuse your rebate, saying it was late. Now I got copies of everything, including the envelope. How can I prove when I mailed it? Stand in line at the PO and send it registered mail? WTF?
4) The form says to include the original receipt. The cashier says it is OK to send the Rebate Receipt. Wrong.. Rebate receipt is not acceptable, must include the original! Refused.
All of the above have happened, more than once. Worst are the memory rebates. They lie like dogs. They trick you. Anything but play fair.
I agree. I avoid the rebates whenever I can.
The interviewer from TFA interviewed someone from "The NPD Group" which (from http://www.npd.com/about.profile.html ) "provides global consumer and retail information that helps manufacturers and retailers make more informed, fact-based decisions in order to optimize their businesses". Maybe it's me, but that sounds like a retail industry mouthpiece to me.
do they cunningly assume you'll file the rebate and refrain from paying that portion of the tax
Impressively cynical, although devoid of understanding of the use tax. Read the fine print on any coupon; "purchaser is responsible for all taxes". If groceries are taxed in your area, check the next time you buy a box of pop tarts with a coupon from the sunday paper. You pay tax on the original amount, not the coupon discounted amount, and yes the store has to pass it on. Same goes for rebates even if it's you who has to send in the coupon to the manufacturer and not the store Think of rebates as just coupons that the consumer, instead of the vendor, remits to the manufacturer.
I'm going through the exact same thing as you. I will never, ever buy anything fron Buy.com again.
Just so more people are aware, Buy.com has subbed out their cellular sales to a thouroughly evil little company called Inphonic. Inphonic is also known as Wirefly. This is not clear at all when initially purchasing the phone that you are dealing with a company other than Buy.com.
The rebate is a scam. In fact, Inphonics business model is to offer extremely generous rebates and not honor then. Check out yahoo shopping, resellerratings, or Bizrate for Wirefly or Inphonic. I have never seen a company have such irate customers. The OP's description of the horrendous rebate process is correct except he is leaving out the bit about where they refuse the rebate even though everything is correct. The stories are rampant about customers who correctly waited until the 30 day window to send in the rebate and still get a rejection letter stating that the rebate was not sent in at the appropriate time. Since they require the original UPC code, get ready to spend several hours on the phone if you want to get a (small) chance to clear things up.
They are absolute bastards. The original story is a crock.
Beware consumers!!
Pot, meet kettle.
http://www.ct.gov/drs/cwp/view.asp?a=1477&q=26992
That's for Connecticut, I recently looked up the same for Texas with the same results. From my experience, having lived in 9 other states from one end of the country to the other, that's pretty much the way it works everywhere.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.