I Hate Rebates

I refuse to shop at at least one popular computer retailer who would not honor their rebate. Even worse, they didn’t mention this until about the fifth time I visited the store to attempt to get my promised rebate. This was even with proof of purchase and proof of rebate (the filled out forms as well as the original advertisement) in hand.

I’m sure that the rules for redeeming rebates make sense, in a Dilbert sort of way. After all, if they don’t give out the rebate, they make more money on the product. So why not make it as difficult as possible?

It seems that the process must work something like this:

Step 1. Advertise a product with at least one mail-in rebate so that the price in the advertisement can be as low as possible (perhaps even free).

Step 2. Print the rules for the rebate in as small a print as possible so that people don’t realize that there is only one rebate per product per household, at least one form is required (and often more than one), many times you have to request that information specifically or you won’t get the rebate and the information required to get the rebate must be submitted to the rebate processor within a miniscule time window.

Step 3. Make the documents required for the rebate as complex as possible. Generally this is the rebate form and a proof of purchase – typically the original UPC code from the product and at least a copy of the receipt. I’ve even seen some rebates that won’t allow a reproduction of the rebate form itself, even though you can only send in one. I guess they don’t want you running a rebate clearinghouse.

Step 4. Require the person requesting the rebate to actually check on the status of the rebate at least once before even considering releasing the rebate.

Because of step 4, I now save everything related to a rebate when I purchase a product and submit the forms. A copy of the ad that shows the rebate price, a copy of the filled-out rebate form, a copy of the UPC code, a copy of the addressed envelope. Everything. But even with such precautions, it’s come to the point where it’s just not worth it anymore.

When I have to make multiple phone calls or store visits just to get my rebate, it’s just not worth the $10. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not letting them keep the $10 on a rebate that they promised to me. Not by a long shot. But I’ve recently decided that instead of dealing with it, I just won’t buy those products. Sure, good deals are more difficult to come by. But wow – who would have thought how much more pleasant the shopping experience could be once you stop worrying about collecting your rebate?

Update: A recent entry in the category found that over 1300 unopened rebate forms were dumped by a rebate processor for Fry’s. Whoops.