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| Created: | Friday, June 20, 2003 |
| Members: | Friday, June 20, 2003 at 10:38 eastern (2705 days ago) |
| Public: | Friday, June 20, 2003 at 10:38 eastern |
| Expiration: | unknown |
| This is an informational posting or a note regarding an existing deal | |
| Heat level: | this is a good deal |
| Countries: | available in USA |
| Details: | Rebates: Here is a good article about mail-in rebates and that rebates may be good for increasing sales due to impule buying, but are bad for customer satisfaction because thousands of people are being denied their promised rebates. Some companies, such as Dell, are being sued for not honoring their end of the bargain by refusing to deliver promised rebates. I personally have delt with Dell rebates a lot, and I have had many that were lost of denied where a simple phone call to Dell has always fixed the problem immediately, where Dell simply credited my account with the full rebate amount, which was actually easier for me than receiving a check. I have said is hundreds of times in the past, and I will say it again. I hate rebates. Here is an article that I wrote 1.5 years ago on the topic. Whenever you see a deal that involves a rebate on this site over the past few years, and you click the "more information" link below the deal, you will see this advisory: This deal requires the customer to mail in at least one rebate. Make sure that you save a copy of the rebate form immediately, just in case they take the rebate form offline. It is also recommended that you mail in the rebate immediately after receipt of the item, otherwise you might forget to do so. And you should mark the maximum date that your check is expected to arrive, so that you follow up with the company if you do not receive the check in time. Rebates can be annoying, time consuming, and require a responsible person to follow the tedious rebate instructions. And, this involves the possible risk of the customer fulfilling the rebate requirements but the company choosing not to send the customer a rebate check for any reason. The more well-known or reputable the company is (the company itself, not the company's products), the more likely it is that you will get your rebate. If the rebate is from a company that you've never heard of, of if you question the company's business practices, chances are high that you will never see a rebate check. Understand that dealing with rebates are risky, so ask yourself if the product is worth full price in case you never receive a rebate check. Companies invented mail-in rebates because it was an easy way to increase quantity of sales without lowering their revenues. I heard a variety of mail-in rebate statistics through the rumor-mill, that the fulfillment rate is around 50%, meanaing half of all people who purchase an item involving a mail-in rebate either do not send in the rebate, or submit a rebate only to have it denied or lost. Technically, a company could decide to deny almost all rebates it receives just because it wants to make more money, although I doubt that any legitimate company does this. Now that there are so many rebate offers available with so many people being deined rebates across the industry, it is my guess that a lot of states may sue rebate companies, or possibly even pass consumer protection laws forcing the companies to honor every rebate submission unless they proove why a rebate was denied. This could happen if consumers continue to send valid complaints about unfulfilled rebates to their states attourney general office or the BBB. Be a smart consumer! Remind yourself that buying something for $19.95 actually means $20, not $19 plus change. Paying $12 online for an item that ships for $5 means you are buying it for $17, not $12. And paying $70 for an item that comes with a $20 mail-in rebate is actually paying $70 with the hopes of getting $20 back a few months later only if you send in the rebate and then only if indeed send you the rebate. Dealing with two rebates will more than double your effort and often require you to photocopy a UPC, and most people do not have photocopy machines. Look at your total cost of purchasing before you commit to buy something, and don't forget to factor in the work and risk involved when dealing with rebates. I am not putting down rebates, in fact I know a lot of people get a LOT of great deals that involve rebates, which is why I continue to post those rebate deals on this site, I just want to make sure people understand the work and risk involved. The goal of the Hot Deals Club website is not about getting the best possible price on purchases, it's about exchanging & using information to become a smarter and more knowledgable consumer. Comments Update (8/19): Here's another article about rebates, and how a lot of customers are never seeing their rebate checks. Please note that all information expressed here is the opinion of the Hot Deals Maniac, a writer who is freely expressing his opinion, and none of the opinions written here should be quoted as factual information. |
| Companies: | Office Max |
| Advisory: | This deal requires the customer to mail in at least one rebate. Make sure that you save a copy of the rebate form immediately, just in case they take the rebate form offline. It is also recommended that you mail in the rebate immediately after receipt of the item, otherwise you might forget to do so. And you should mark the maximum date that your check is expected to arrive, so that you follow up with the company if you do not receive the check in time. Rebates can be annoying, time consuming, and require a responsible person to follow the tedious rebate instructions. And, this involves the possible risk of the customer fulfilling the rebate requirements but the company choosing not to send the customer a rebate check for any reason. The more well-known or reputable the company is (the company itself, not the company's products), the more likely it is that you will get your rebate. If the rebate is from a company that you've never heard of, of if you question the company's business practices, chances are high that you will never see a rebate check. Understand that dealing with rebates are risky, so ask yourself if the product is worth full price in case you never receive a rebate check. |