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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."
guess this means Best Buy doesn't hate their customers after all.
Sure they do.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
Why not just deduct the rebate at the cash register? We all know that's doable. No, their dream is to extract from each customer the maximum personal price. Those willing to pay full price do, and those only willing to pay a lower price get it. Willingness to do senseless work determines who falls in what camp--it's just like coupon clipping.
Why assume that Best Buy is trying to help out the customer? Maybe they're trying to make it more efficient for themselves to eat your money.
Has anyone else had any experience with the online rebate firm onrebate.com? They ate my rebate claiming insufficient documentation (which I know is wrong...), but the worst part is they will not even allow me to resubmit anything to them. After waiting on hold for 30 minutes, the nice customer service representative explained how their decision was final, with no option for recourse whatsoever. Then she even transferred me to her manager, a filled-up voicemail box. Emails have gone unanswered for a month. Apparently they're affiliated with tigerdirect.com, which I understand has equally craptastic customer service. At this point, I'm gonna go to Fry's and try to get them to fulfill the rebate they promised me, as the rebate firm is effectively impossible to contact.
Personally, I think it's safe to assume that Best Buy is no different, and unless they prove otherwise, I'll assume that they "hate their customers after all."
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.
My guess is, the vast majority of Best Buy customers aren't really the net-savvy types (i.e., everyone I know buys computer equipment at Newegg, not best buy or the like). So this is merely an effort to combat the increasing amounts of people redeeming these rebates by mail.
This is the cynic in me talking, yes.
Push Button, Receive Bacon
They just want our email addresses now so they can sell to every spam company in existance, that is all. I mean, its a great plan. They know for a fact that everyone has access to mail, but not everyone has access to the web. I think the only real good thing about this now is that we will no longer need to send in the UPC code which may get "lost" and deny you the rebate.
We were all warned a long time ago that MS products sucked, remember the Magic 8 Ball said, "Outlook not so good"
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."
I worked as a contractor to establish this system for Best Buy. The end goal is that eventually they'll be able to submit rebate information directly at checkout and skip the process of mail-in forms or going online.
The best part is that it's opt-in.
When you file a rebate, you opt-in!
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
Companies offering (presumably manufacturers') rebates are not looking to decrease their bottom line by offering them at the point of sale. They shouldn't even consider it!
We all know that rebates are a 'bait-and-wait' scam where the manufacturers lure customers to products with big dollar rebates, and then bet on the fact that only a small percentage will ever claim them.
As far as the ones that get their boxtops but never pay up, there should be a special level of hell for.
For me, the biggest "risk" with rebates was that the company handling the rebate could claim that they never received the rebate forms -- there is no way to prove that they aren't lying.
So, web based filing would be great. Staples and their "EasyRebate" works online now. I've used it once. The way they prevent cheating is that they link their sales database to the rebates database, thereby making sure that a rebate on a single sale is never claimed more than once -- which really was the whole point of the UPC code clipping portion of a rebate.
Mail-in rebates supposedly help the customer by giving (or creating the impression of) lower prices. They help businesses because people tend to be too lazy/busy/forgetful to fill the things out, and end up paying far too much for a product (I'm guilty of this). Because I have, due to laziness/business/forgetting, not tended to fill rebates out in the past, I no longer bother with mail-in rebate products (I'd rather pay a slightly higher cost and not deal with the hassle). If more people are in the same boat as me, then this system really serves as a temporary solution on the part of the corporation (do it until the lazy consumers learn). I would, however, be willing to fill out the forms online (it's really the whole snail mail process that gets in the way), and have done so in the past (with Best Buy; it worked flawlessly and I had my check within a couple weeks). Because the online rebate forms take so much less time to fill out (they do in my exp.), failure rate due to laziness and being too busy will decrease, thus requiring Best Buy to hope people will just forget about the rebate. Therefore, we'll probably start to see slightly smaller rebates in the future.
Think about it. You buy a $1000 item for $800, but you are taxed on $1000. I hate rebates and will pay extra to avoid them. The only rebates are the ones on stuff thats being thrown out for next to nothing. Sometimes you can actually make money on those :0
There is a way to get your rebates from Best Buy even faster...shop somewhere else.
I have a simple policy. If I'm going to buy something from your store, you're going to give me your best price right there. If I have to deal with a rebate, that removes the incentive to shop locally, and I'll just go mail order. 99 times out of a hundred the mail order price, thanks to sites like pricewatch, is going to be less than the Best Buy price even less the rebate...and that takes in to account the shipping charges.
Best Buy and places like that use rebates for one simple reason...us stupid consumers put up with it and still buy their products. If everyone would simply quit doing that, rebate crap would disappear next week.
I want a new quote. One that won't spill. One that don't cost too much. Or come in a pill.
"Brrrrrr, It's kinda chilly today..."
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)
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"I guess this means Best Buy doesn't hate their customers after all."
No, it means they can harvest (and sell) your address and contact info without having to pay for the envelope opener and data-entry team. That, and the cookies (oh, the cookies).
Staples has been doing the online rebate thing for a really long time. They call it 'Easy Rebate', and it really is easy. And it is going to take BestBuy 2 years to implement it? Give me a break. They are just trying to appease the FTC.
Didn't think so. As much as I can recall, all their rebates are applied when you check out. Why do it any other way? Costco has to be one of the most stress free places to shop: they pay and treat their employees well, they sell high quality products at low prices and they have sane, consumer friendly policies.
I used to work in electronics retail, home of the never-to-be-seen-again-mail-in-rebate. I know from my experience there that the only ones really pushing for rebates are the retailers since the cost of rebate is born by the manufacturer and the retailer can advertise the rebated price and still sell the product at full price. Yes, there are some retailer initiated rebates but they're pretty rare. The pressure from retailers pushing for rebates seems to have lead to manufacturers farming out their rebates to fulfilment centres with the intent on honoring as few as possible.
I wish the Competition Bureau in Canada had the balls that the FTC has and made retailers responsible for rebates who would then pursue the rebate from the manufacturer in case of unfulfilment. Score one for the USA!
Staples already has online "easy rebates." However, they still about 4-6 weeks to come.
BBY has already eliminated the rebates on notebooks / laptops. Instead of having mail in rebates for the sale, the notebooks price is instantly reduced at the register. You only pay tax on the reduced price. That means no mail in or online submission rebates at all to deal with. Just the discounted price.
Why do people say that so often? It's obvious that nobody understands what it means.
It doesn't mean the customer can do no wrong, or that they should get whatever they want. It means you don't make an issue out of something that really doesn't matter. When they say they want a better pair of speakers for their Panasony stereo surround-sound system, you don't tell them the speakers that came with it are as good at it gets, you don't tell them that they've confused the brand name, and you don't tell them that stereo isn't surround-sound. You just let them go right along being right, and sell them the fancy looking expensive speakers. THAT is what "the customer is always right" really means.
It really pisses me off that he groups those together, like people who bought a discounted computer are just as bad as those who are getting rebate checks from items they've already returned to the store. It also pisses me off that they are angry that some customers are forcing them to really honor the terms THEY MADE UP about price matching... if you don't like it, change your policy. Either way, accept the consequences of your own terms and shut up. Hell, the customers are forced to accept the terms even if they don't want to, why shouldn't Best Buy?
Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
> Besides, the customer tracking is completely unacceptable.
Actually, I wouldn't be so against it if they made my information available to me too. I would very much value the record of what I buy when, and to have it categorized nicely and in a format I can use in some financial s/w would be awesome for making future budgets.
If one store did this, it would pretty much guarantee I bought as much from that store as possible. It's in their interest too as far as I can tell.
Max.
I'm AMAZED I haven't seen anyone post a link to the great experiences of former (and current) Best Buy employees and customers.
That being said, I hated that job. I was in customer service and it was my job to try to explain draconian policies to customers (although our store was fairly liberal with return policies and so on). Apparently, the kid behind the counter getting paid $8.XX is the one who makes up the rules.
Every person I've talked to that used to work there and no longer does has hated it and were happy to get out. And sure, there's no commission, BUT they definitely keep track of PRP and PSP numbers as well as those MASSIVELY annoying EW/SI "free" magazine offers. If you don't sell enough of them, don't expect too many hours next week. But, since the managers get bonuses and trips and so on for having high numbers, who can blame them? *SARCASM*
Felt good to get that shit off my back. Best Buy is fairly good at screwing over their employees and their customers.
How many fulltime jobs can one man have?
I really don't want to be pointing this out, but Zonk posted an article on this back in April when Best Buy announced this. See:http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/04/02/06 17234
I used to work at Best Buy and I know we used to ask for every customer's phone number. When asked why I was told to inform the customer it was for tracking purposes. My boss tells me later on that it is so we can call customers after thier purchase, check in on it, and offer supplimental offers. "Hey, hows that TV ya bought, want DirecTV with that? How bout the service plan you chose not to go with?" Now they are going to be recording all your information at the register. Wonder what they will do with your home address and email address. I smell junk mail and harrassment at home!
Do you know why people get rebates? Its because your allowing your home address, phone number, and/or email address to be sold to mass marketing mailing lists which increases the amoung of telemarketing, jumk mail, and spam you will receive.
Don't be deluded into believing mail-in rebates are beneficial. Even if you get 50% or 80% of the original item cost back in a rebate, this just means that the company your buying from is able to sell your information and make 10 times more profit with that information as opposed to selling the merchandise alone. The manufacturer is BUYING your contact information from you, but choosing to receive the money, you are authorizing your contact information to be sold.
Think of it. If a manfuacturer was truely benign and wanted to sell you a product at a reduced cost, then why not simply drop the MSRP by whatever the rebate amount is. This doesn't benefit the manufacturer. By collecting VALID contact information (i.e. you need to offer your correct mailing address to receive the rebate cheque), they are ensuring they get top dollar for their compiled mailing lists.
ALL REBATE OFFERS are a scam. Sometimes you will notice they say they can use the collected information and pass it to 3rd parties. Even if there is a check box saying you don't want to receive information from the manufacturer or 3rd parties, this isn't the case. Your just saying you don't want information about the product your buying, not in general.
If a manufacturer is offering a substantial rebate on a product, either wait a few months when they actually reduce the MSRP, or go to another store that is offering it for cheaper, but don't buy into mail in rebates unless you love junk mail and telemarketing calls at suppertime.
I actually thought Best Buy WAS thinking in the best interests of their customers by stopping the rebate process altogether, but was dissapointed when they only intend to facilitate quicker and easier collection of contact data using the internet. They will probably require you to provide a valid email address, thus increasing your incoming spam.
Look, at one time I was getting publishers clearing house junk mail every week, along with credit card applications and all kinds of junk mail. The ratio of real mail to junk mail was about 20 to 1. I stopped participating in rebate offers and was more careful about where my contact information is used, and I don't receive even ONE addressed junk mail item in a week.
I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
I have always gotten my rebate cheques also. I will have to assume that people that don't get them are just not following the instructions on the rebate carefully enough, meaning they don't include all the required bits or then they waited too long after purchasing and missed the rebate deadline.
Meh.
The stores and manufacturers are betting that you don't take the time to fill in the forms.
Over time, Best Buy will ask third-party vendors to get on board with Best Buy's electronic rebate system. However, the ability of Best Buy to process rebates from third-party vendors will vary by vendor, as the retailer works to establish the program with each manufacturer over time
Follow the money...These guys are betting on the fact that a good percentage of consumers don't go to the trouble of mailing in the information.For those who complain that their information is lost by the processing company, make a copy of the documents to prove it was all together when you sent it.
I've never had a problem with the mail-ins but I'm sure that time will come.
Many of the rebates I've seen even have written on them that the company can refuse to send you a rebate if too many people send in rebates, they keep the money! There are many other conditions too.
If you're buying a product and the clerk said too many people are in the line, I'm not giving you the 10% discount because there are too many people asking for it. I know what I'd do. RIP clerk.
Also you have to consider taxes, the rebate you think you are getting is after taxes. You pay $100 for a product with a $50 rebate, the rebate you send in is *after* you purchase the item at $100. The item at $100 + 5% tax = $5 in tax, but if the rebate (like the ads imply, "$50 rebate!") took off $50 first it would be $50 + 5% = $2.50. Your $50 "rebate" is not only $47.50, minus the cost of the envelope and stamp to mail it and also your time and effort.
And other annoyances, and expenses, etc.
- once you cut that UPC thing off the box, you can forget about bring it back for a refund.
- you paid sales tax on the $40 you never got, that's another $3, or so.
- Figure 30 minutes of your time filling out forms, cutting out UPCs, making photo copies, etc. If you earn $25 an hour, that $12.50 right there.
- postage, envelopes, photo-copies.
- even if you got your refund, that 10 weeks without your money.
How many customers does a company have to lose that way before they change behavior? That's one of the big reasons I do most of my shopping online now. It's not always cheaper than at the store and there's always shipping and handling, sometimes S&H and sales tax. But I can still comparison shop a lot faster than driving store to store. Even for clothes. It's so easy to send stuff back to Nordstroms if it doesn't fit. Takes less time than driving to the store and only costs $5 in postage. It's worth it.
Best Buy can kiss my ass.
That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
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?
...is doing it now. I bought a disk drive there on Dec. 26, and just had to log onto their site and type in the receipt number. It confirmed what I bought and said the check would be mailed "after" (but not how long after) the 21-day free-return period expired, which would be Jan. 16. I just checked the status on the site and it said the check would go out "on or about" Feb. 4. We'll see what happens.
rj