Best Buy Working Towards Ending Mail-in Rebates

chibbie writes "Best Buy is finally working towards ending mail-in rebates by 2007. Rebates will still be around, but you will be able to file them online, and receive your check much quicker. I guess this means Best Buy doesn't hate their customers after all."

Comments

Corporate Spin

[Tadrith]

The idea that Best Buy actually cares about their customers boggles the mind.

This has absolutely nothing to do with that. The fact is, Best Buy is running scared since the FTC recently made CompUSA responsible for the rebates they had offered. They were required to put out a good sum of money to make good on those rebates.

From http://www.twice.com/article/CA6301701.html:

"Best Buy announced in April 2005 that it intended to eliminate mail-in rebates from its portfolio within two years in an effort to improve customers' experience. The announcement also followed a warning from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in March 2005 that retailers will be held accountable for all rebates they advertise, including those sponsored by vendors. The edict came after the FTC ordered CompUSA to make good on hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid rebate claims."

Re:It's Not Enough

[TubeSteak]

Willingness to do senseless work determines who falls in what camp--it's just like coupon clipping.

You only knock coupon clipping because you don't do it.

I can't imagine that anyone about to spend over a thousand dollars on a TV or computer @ Best-buy would turn down a 10%, 15%, or 20% off coupon.

My mother regularly saves 30%~50% on groceries because she clips coupons and uses her frequent shopper card. She saves the reciepts to show me and everytime, I ask her when the supermarkets will just start giving her food for free.

Rebates and coupons have low redemption rates, which is why bargain hunters spend much less on the same things you and I buy every day. If rebates were rung up at the register, the savings offered would drop like a rock as the rate of redemption headed for 100%.

Cynical me.

[loraksus]

chibbie writes "Best Buy is finally working towards ending mail-in rebates by 2007. Rebates will still be around, but you will be able to file them online, and receive your check much quicker. I guess this means Best Buy doesn't hate their customers after all."

Bullshit. Filing rebates online eliminates a paper trail, which will allow them to sit back and say, "whoops, you entered a number wrong, you don't get your rebate" or "whoops, you didn't submit on time, sorry, no rebate", or even "whoops, we never got your submission, sorry."
The rebate companies hate the fact that customers keep copies of their rebate submissions - especially if they have delivery confirmation numbers that prove that they are lying.
A copy with a delivery confirmation number is damn near irrefutable evidence in small claims court, even though collecting from some of the clearing houses is nearly impossible because they move around, change their names, etc so much.
This might be a slightly cynical response, but really, how many of the people here haven't had to put up with bullshit (defined as the rebate company lying) when trying to get a rebate in the past?
Of course, the only punishment companies get is a small fine and a "warning" from the FTC. Fraud on such a scale should be punished by jail time of executives, but, of course, that won't happen.
And yes, boys and girls, sending out thousands of postcards stating "sorry, you didn't send your submission by the postmark date" when they know that you did, is fraud. Not paying out the rebate even when you send in proof / give them the tracking number that clearly states that it was mailed and delivered on x dates, is something else.

(I'm looking at you logitech, you fuckers still owe me $20)

Re:It's Not Enough

[evilviper]

My mother regularly saves 30%~50% on groceries because she clips coupons and uses her frequent shopper card.

All stores lie to their customers to PRETEND they're getting a discount.

The other day I was in a store and saw a sign for Levi's 501s for $38, MSRP $42. Then I went to the store next door and saw a similar sign: Levi's 501s for $34, MSRP $38. There isn't any way to reconcile this, other than realizing that stores are lying through their teeth.

Back to the point, I also saw a documentary a few months ago about shopping clubs. They went to a city with two supermarkets with shopping clubs and bought a good list of various items with their club cards. Then they went to a neighboring city, bought the same items from a similar supermarket with no shopping club, and the non-discounted items without a card were a LOT cheaper.

The moral of this story... Stores are lying to you. Shopping clubs only pretend to save you money. You have to compare not to the non-discounted price at the same store, but to the normal price at a non-shopping club store. Club cards are only useful if you can't chose to shop elsewhere.

Besides, the customer tracking is completely unacceptable. It only serves to find out how to squeeze more money out of you. Just think about it, they can find out what products are selling in aggregate without tracking each buyer. They only need per-buyer info to figure out how to make their store less attractive to customers who aren't making them much money. Club cards don't magically make it cheaper for the supermarket to buy that head of lettuce, or can of soup.

I don't do rebates

[Carpal Tunnel]

I have also always received my rebate... eventually, but I have never taken advantage of a rebate without feeling taken advantage of.

Let me get this strait. You want me to buy something at a marked up price, then spend the time and energy (time is money) to send in proof that i bought your product. Then, months later, after you have earned interest off of my money, i get some of it back, only to have saved a few dollars anyway?

Oh yes... lets not forget about all those poor souls who didnt follow your directions properly, or forgot to send it in on time, or god forbid decided not to bother!

Somehow this whole process disturbs me. It is a backassward coupon scheme, and i refuse to ever buy a product with a rebate (unless the pre-rebate cost is low already). I am almost always able to find the same product for only a few dollars more somewhere else without a rebate, and to me that is worth it.

Anyone care to enlighten me on how rebates benefit me?