Uh...yeah. Companies that offer rebates are in fact purchasing your personal information. When you respond to a rebate, you are making a choice to sell that information for the price of the rebate.
I decided long ago to either accept the product at the pre-rebate price or walk on by. If a vendor is not willing to give me their best price just because I walke in the door, they don't deserve my business.
At the University of Wisconsin they maintain a library of textbooks for most (maybe all) of the classes. At the begining of the semester you go check out the books you need for your classes. At the end of the semester you return them. If you like a book, you can always keep it and pay for it. Seems to work pretty well.
Slashdot Mirror
Uh...yeah. Companies that offer rebates are in fact purchasing your personal information. When you respond to a rebate, you are making a choice to sell that information for the price of the rebate.
I decided long ago to either accept the product at the pre-rebate price or walk on by. If a vendor is not willing to give me their best price just because I walke in the door, they don't deserve my business.
At the University of Wisconsin they maintain a library of textbooks for most (maybe all) of the classes. At the begining of the semester you go check out the books you need for your classes. At the end of the semester you return them. If you like a book, you can always keep it and pay for it. Seems to work pretty well.