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.'"

Comments

Rebates Suck

[Anonymous Coward]

• If you purchase in an area with sales tax, you must pay tax on the pre-rebate price.
• My experiences with rebates have been, shall we say, less than encouraging. I'm still waiting for the rebate from Best Buy for the WRT54G I bought about one year ago. Of course, since I had to send in original UPC codes etc, there's no way to restart the process.

Re:Rebates Suck

[cflorio]

Funny you mention that. I also bought a Linksys WRT54G (aka Cisco) with probably the same rebate you had. I waited months and finally got a response back - rebate denied. Apparently the form was not the correct form (I found this out by calling linksys when I got this). What the response actually said was no UPC code included. So, after waiting months, then having to make a phone call and waiting on the phone for a good 20 min plus being transfered 2-3 times, I finally got the rebate check about 3 weeks later. What this tells me is that most folks will not go to the trouble of calling, and that means Cisco wins.

I'm a rebate whore

[phaetonic]

Check out http://www.rebate-tracker.com/ if you want to have a central point of management for all your rebates.

Who is this, Joe Isuzu?

[Anonymous Coward]

He's lying.

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.

Re:Who is this, Joe Isuzu?

[geekoid]

actual, 60% of rebates are claimed. Higher at staples where they have made it easier to do so. No great surprise.

http://yahoo.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/nov2 005/nf20051123_4158_db016.htm

quote:
" Why the rage for rebates? The industry's open secret is that fully 40% of all rebates never get redeemed because consumers fail to apply for them or their applications are rejected, estimates Peter S. Kastner, a director of consulting firm Vericours. That translates into more than $2 billion of extra revenue for retailers and their suppliers each year. What rebates do is get consumers to focus on the discounted price of a product, then buy it at full price. "

Re:Duh

[Billly Gates]

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.

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 ..gulp.. worst buy even though they treat their employees like dirt and seem to be the walmart of the tech industry.

Re:Where does that tax go?

[magarity]

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.