Posted on 08/19/2003 1:32:24 PM PDT by FNU LNU
Forced to Play the Rebate Game
By Ed Foster, Section Columns Posted on Thu Aug 14th, 2003 at 09:23:26 AM PDT
The problem with rebates isn't just those companies that don't want to pay up. For many readers, the biggest problem is just the fact that they are forced to play the rebate game at all.
In a recent weblog entry, I asked readers for feedback on which vendor of IT products was the champ of deadbeat rebates. While there were plenty of nominations, the surprise was how many readers complained about feeling forced to participate in rebate promotions. Rebates that represent a significant part of the price are now so common in many product categories that you have to play the game in order to get the going rate.
Many customers who would prefer to eschew rebates find themselves instead having to fight to get their check. "Rebates are one of the most pervasive frauds in business today," wrote one reader. "While I've has success hounding some of them, the cost of my time and aggravation exceeds the amount of the rebate -- which is what they're counting on. I'd like to see federal regulation of standards for how rebate claims are handled."
Everyone from individual consumers to IT managers can feel the pressure created by after-rebate prices that aren't as low as they seem. "My boss sees these great (after-rebate) prices advertised in the paper, and so he expects that's what he's going to pay," wrote an IT manager. "If you factor in all the hassles of schlepping down to the store, filling out all the forms, screaming when the rebate check doesn't arrive after months and months, etc., our regular vendors can actually give us a much better deal. But he just sees that price."
Deadbeat rebates are all the more costly because they now often represent money no one wants to lose. "We purchased two seats of AutoCad that had a rebate of $200 each," wrote another reader. "We registered for the rebate online and then mailed the required paperwork per the program. Weeks after the specified payment period, I telephoned the rebate center and was asked to re-submit the paperwork via fax, which I did. After another period of months, I called the rebate center to be told that the program had ended, and no further processing was being done. I talked to supervisors and was transferred directly to AutoDesk, who transferred me back to the rebate center when they found out the subject of my call. This circular process went on for about three cycles before I gave up. It looks like we're out $400."
As I've often said, if the company really wanted you to have the after-rebate price, they'd just give you a discount instead. This becomes even more obvious in the case of rebates offered by on-line retailers. "I ordered some software on Amazon.com," wrote one reader. It includes a $30 rebate that is from Amazon. So, why can't Amazon just deduct it from the price? They know it's me that got it. They know they shipped it to me. They know I qualify. So, why do I have to get the software, print out their rebate and receipt -- which they KNOW I have -- and then send it back?"
As always, readers reported a wide variety of lame excuses and sneaky outs used by the deadbeats. "An (OfficeMax rebate) on an HP LaserJet 1200 was advertised for $100," wrote one reader. "The rebate was prominently listed in the OfficeMax February flyer, and ads for the rebate were prominently displayed over the printer on 10 February, when I bought one. The very fine print on the rebate coupon claimed only three days in January and Feb 1, as the purchase window. Why the signs were left up in the store two weeks later and why 'February's' rebate book prominently listed the rebate -- and why their cash register gave you a rebate slip for that item -- one can only guess."
So who did readers say was the worst offender when it comes to debate rebates? It was a close vote, with Autodesk, Amazon, Canon, Circuit City, CompUSA, Dell, HP, IBM, Maxtor, Microsoft, OfficeMax, Parago/RebatesHQ.com, RebateStatus.com, Roxio, Sony, and Toshiba all receiving multiple votes. Coming in a strong second was our old friend Intuit, mostly on the basis of complaints about TurboTax rebates. (Yes, at the very same time Intuit was alienating so many TurboTax customers with its product activation scheme, it was also annoying them with rebate problems.)
Edging them out all out, though, was Symantec. Most of the problems with Symantec seemed to involve difficultly in communicating with the company and/or rebate fulfillment house RebateStatus.com over missing rebates. "For me, the champ is Symantec," wrote one reader. " Two software suites, neither rebate was honored, for nonsensical reasons. Additionally, they don't answer e-mail . . . they have an (automated system) doing that. They're bye-bye for me, as opposed to buy-buy. When my subscription runs out, it will be the end of the line."
Of course, it should be noted that a number of readers said they use rebates all the time without any significant problem. And some rebate purveyors received praise, mostly notably Sam's Club. Readers reported the WalMart-owned membership warehouse makes it easy to apply for rebates on-line, and will even notify them by e-mail when they are in danger of missing the application deadline for a rebate.
So apparently there is more than one way to play the rebate game. If rebates are a game we must play, let's just hope that Symantec, Intuit, etc. learn to do it the right way.
Still waiting for a rebate on this Cornea Monitor. Add that to the Fraud/Scammer list.
Let's not forget Iomega as well, whose actions resulted in a Class Action by several AG's.
Now, when I buy, if there is a rebate offer, I buy another brand. I refuse to buy anything offered with a rebate. Just SHUT UP and tell me the real price, and I will buy, or not, because I am The Customer, and for all intents and purposes, The Boss.
I have faithfully stuck to this policy for the last year after I was scammed on the monitor, and intend to continue it...It makes me respect myself more.
Ditto. Since 1988 when Champion sparkplugs burned me on a rebate. "Instant rebate" at checkstand? That's a different story.
Ditto for me too.
Uh-oh!
Yes, this is IT primarily in the article, but the idea has gotten as out of hand as the *(%^* telemarketers.
Count me in that camp. I do scores of rebates a year...never had a problem.
Here's my specific beef with the hassle of the process: I pay all my bills online though my bank. I never go to the mailbox to mail anything. Here in Arizona, we have a post office that does bright things like stopping mail pick-up at my neighborhood mailbox.
Therefore, a rebate is a totally special trip to a backwards government agency, to buy the stupid stamp that I used to buy in books and rolls, but never do now. Then I drop it in the box and hope that I used a big enough envelope to keep the machines from shredding it.
The problem is the rebate consolidation system that Office Max advertises (or used to - it may have died of embarrassment): you send all your rebate sales slips to Office Max itself, and they will apply en masse for you. The problem is that the PO box number in Young America, MN, changes every month. No matter how promptly you send the rebates in, your letter always comes back "no such PO Box".
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