the best rebates indeed are instant
i mean you dont even need to do anything to get it haha
most of the time you screw yourself in rebates because you gotta send ORGINAL upc and that sometimes voids warranty so you gotta choose
warranty or rebate money

and bestbuy said they gonna stop doing rebates within 2 years ago, so thats 1 more year because they said in 2005
i wonder if that will apply to instant too?

i hope all businesses follow that practice where they eliminate mail in ones and stick with either instant or always on sale:D

Scott,

Rebates are 'evil'? I think there's a fundamental point you are missing here. But first, the more obvious point: If I fill out the form and mail it in, I get my rebate (always have). If I forget or procrastinate, I lose out. I know that BEFORE I buy -- it's a risk I willingly take with my eyes open. If I don't get it, I have no-one to blame but myself. Since when is anyone else responsible for compensating for my own failings? Ever heard of taking personal responsibility for the consequences of one's own decisions, actions and inactions? Rebate offerers are 'evil"? Give me a break.

Now here's the real killer idea that has escaped you, so sit up and pay attention because school is in session. Let's say company X is selling gadget Y for $200 retail, and I want one. They want to move more of these gadgets through the channel, and they can afford to drop the price to $133 to do it. But they figure if they offer a rebate deal, they'll move even more than via a simple price drop. And they know only say 2/3 of buyers will actually bother to send in the rebate. This means that they can offer a $100 rebate, since by effectively paying out only $67 of that, it costs them the same as dropping the price to $133.

Now, I have a personal record of sending in more than 2/3 of the rebates I get. In this case, I either will or I won't. If I do, I get to buy the gadget for $100, instead of $133, so the rebate deal has resulted in me saving a real $33 that I otherwise wouldn't have if I bought the same item. Therefore, I appreciate rebates. I'm not only neutral on them, I realize that if they didn't exist, I'd be losing an opportunity -- not a guarantee, but an opportunity nonetheless -- to buy items at lower prices. Conclusion: Rebates are a GOOD THING.

If you discriminate against rebates in your deal reporting, you are doing your readership a solid disservice. I personally will know not to trust your deal listings and go to real deal sites that do not censor their listings because of a personal bias, one that, to make matters worse, I believe I have shown here is based on flawed logic.

If there is going to be violence in the streets it should be to hunt down and destroy those who don't understand rebates!

REBATES FOREVER, MAN!

I just scan my rebates and forms and keep the files until the rebate arrives. If needed I can print out another one and fax/mail it again.

Never had a problem. Like people have said, if you're paying attention you should be able to complete these things with no problems. You can really make a killing on the day after thanksgiving with these rebates. Just fill them out when you get home after the early morning craziness. Mail them out the next day. If you do it while you think of it (i.e. immediately) not only do you not have to worry about remembering to do it before the deadline but you stand a good chance of getting it processed in good time and before they get tired/lazy/careless with the rebate submissions.

Only ever had a problem with a code not being accepted in the Staples Easy Rebate system the day I bought it, had to wait a couple of days to do it since their system wasn't updated yet.

I'm flatly befuddled by the people here who are talking about being "forced" to deal with rebates. Take responsibility for your actions, folks -- if you don't like (a) following directions, printing very neatly, keeping paper trails, and waiting two months; or, (b) dealing with the rebate company to follow up on an AWOL rebate claim; then buy from someone else with a better up-front price.

Also worth noting: If you find a retailer is unreliable in honoring their rebate policies, sure, you can make a small statement by boycotting their stores. But if you want to make a bigger statement, wait until you've cooled off, then write a short, painfully polite letter to corporate customer relations (a letter, not an email -- someone will actually pay attention to it that way), something like this:

Dear ________ Customer Relations:

I regrettably must stop doing business with your company, ________, and will advise family and friends to do the same, due to the following grievance:

On or about the date of ________, I purchased item ________ at store location ________, which was offered with a rebate amount of ________. The rebate was improperly declined by the company with which you do business in these matters. Even after I went to the trouble of ________, this could not be resolved.

If your company is able to follow up on this matter directly, I am willing to reconsider my position. Otherwise, I intend to do all of my business with your competitors.

Sincerely,
________

Some companies will ignore this but many (i.e., more than you might expect) will respond with some sort of attempt to make ammends. Yeah, it requires a little diplomacy, but it sure beats getting cheated and doing nothing about it, or just yelling at a customer relations rep who doesn't deserve it, and then still getting nothing.

The last two rebates I completed I did not receive.

I am likely in the minority but I like MIR's. They are great for my business-related computer purchases because I get an original price receipt which I can use to claim for income tax purposes, but then I get a check in the mail (the delay is inexcusable) for beer.that's not too bad a system.

My biggest problem is with the payment delay. Even if everyone took advantage of the MIR's, the funding agencies would still make loads of cash off the interest the make off that huge pot of capital that is basically not their money.

I dont live in the US and I have no idea what a mail-in rebate is.

I just came back from Frys with a very nice modern 400 Watt power supply for $25 and it has $25 MIB making it free except for tax and stamp. Why can't they just make that the in-store price?

I think these rebates are shortsighted on many levels.

tigerdirect no longer has my business and everyone I recommend to because of the rebate hell they put my step-mom, and through proxy, myself through. The instructions for the rebate said to include the original receipt, but we never received an "original receipt" because it was ordered online and they wouldn't accept that. She persisted, (she really wanted that money,) so she'd call them daily for weeks asking for the status on the rebate.

The monitor she ordered lasted 1 month before it died. We called the manufacturer (Fuji Plus) and they made us pay to ship it to them, then they shipped it back to us. this time it still didn't work. I was furious, what originally saved us $90 really saved us nothing in time. I called up and spoke with the same guy, screamed at him to contact the BBB, and they said they'd give us a new one, again, at our shipping expense.

Essentially, we'll never buy from tigerdirect again. They lost our trust.

Rebates are great. People don't like them because they forget to send them in or in fact make a mistake filling them out. But if you're not too lazy they get you great deals on things. If you watch out you can often get $100 software for $20, and CDs or DVDs are free (with a dollar or two in tax, maybe).
I haven't used many rebates just because I don't buy enough yet, but my dad's used them for years and I can't recall him ever not getting his money. He gets them from TigerDirect, too -- parts for 2 or 3 full computers' worth of rebates without much hassle. He's made maybe 4 phone calls, but he's always gotten his money.

Staples screwed me on my vonage mail in rebate. Claimed my account number didn't exist, so I called them and it turns out they thought in the middle of a 10 digit number that an 8 was a B. Why would there be a letter in the middle???

So I correct the lady on the phone, but she says I'd have to fax or mail it to her... so I fax it and call and confirm they got it. Then we get a letter saying our rebate is coming, followed about 2 weeks later by another letter saying our rebate was declined.... So, it's not the first time staples has burned me, but it was the last, haven't shopped there in well over a year now.

Some people need a logic lesson:

"I run around a golf course when its dark and cloudy outside, and hold a club above my head. I've done this 50 times in the last year. Because I have not been stuck by lightning, this is a safe activity and anyone that has been hit is probably drunk and delusional...they need to STFU"

Before you laugh about lightning hitting people, its a buttload more common than joe blow thinks. (ok start laughing)
Gee, kinda like crappy rebates failing that have nothing to do with the activiy of the end fricking user?

I don't give a rats rear end if you've sent in a dozen rebates and yet to be burned, your sample size is still pretty irrelevant.

Where theres smoke, theres fire.

I've completed & sent in many dozens of rebate forms. About 70% are eventually sent without problems. 10% have errors (never in my favor...). And between those and the last 20%, only 1/2 of those are properly resolved (by calls/email). e.g. Staples was one of those problem stores and is no longer one of the stores I visit.
I'm not crazy about these rebate forms, but if forcing a consumer to do them, at least they should have the courtesy of doing it properly and timely. 6 months is not timely. Having to call is quite annoying. Getting jerked around results in a bad repuatation and lost customers. Companies have to be very careful with which company they use to handle their rebates.

I'm a big fan of rebates. With rebates, you can get stuff for far cheaper than you could ever buy them normally. I've got stacks of CD-Rs and DVD-Rs that were free after rebate. An 80 GB hard drive that cost me $20 three years ago. A free MS Wheel Mouse Optical, a $25 MS 4000 ergonomic keyboard, free cans of compressed air, free cell phones, etc. I have even been paid to purchase stuff when the rebate was greater than the cost of the item.

Sending in the little forms is a pain, but honestly, I have never not gotten a rebate I applied for. I have had to call the rebate company and complain (maybe 1/10 of the time), but that has always taken care of the problem.

if you got your rebate back at best buy you are the exception rather than the rule. I worked there and i never got back my mail in rebates. The only rebate i ever got back was from Verizon and bellsouth one for a modem the other for a phone. Not to say its best buys fault, but thye should watch how others do thier business

Anyone else just see the "ECS mail in rebate at newegg" banner right above this article on the main page?

Ha.

I figure if I have to spend a total of an hour filling out forms and depositing checks, driving to the bank, etc. it better be for a rebate over $100 since that is what I charge for consulting. In other words, only a heck of a rebate is enticing at all, like over $200. Time is money people!!!

I don't know if the American Staples does this but the Canadian one is doing "Easy Online Rebates" now where you do the form online instead of mailing it in...

Anyone have experience with this?

HATE.

I've noticed the time windows for sending them in are getting shorter. The last one was one week, and the time on the receipt conflicted with the website. Great.

i don't get it.

such a simple task that a 5 year old can do:

+ read and follow directions
+ use digicam to photograph all the proof.
+ apply postage
+ mail out.

keep track of rebate submission in Excel.
Check rebate status after 5 weeks, and make calls to rebate house if necessary.

I have had 100% rebate success for the past 20 years.

oh yeah, and i don't buy the product if the rebate is from a seemingly shady or fledgling company.

what's so hard?

My Newegg/OCZ rebate for memory took over three months. At least I got it, I guess.

Still waiting for my 30$ from Soyo. September 2004 and counting...

When you buy a car offering rebates you can opt to receive them at the time of purchase, or else you can opt for something different at the time of purchase (such as receiving a debit card through the mail with a cash value equivalent to or for more than the rebate offered on the particular car you wish to purchase--a "gasoline card," etc.)

The point here is that all of this is done and decided at the time of purchase and there remains nothing else for the consumer to have to do. Either the rebate is applied directly to the automobile's bottom line or else the debit card is mailed to the consumer at a later date, etc., and the terms are spelled out in a contract between the buyer and the automobile manufacturer which is created in writing at the time of purchase.

Mail-in manufacturer rebates such as those Best Buy is attempting to eliminate are not the same thing. There is no individualized contract made between buyer and manufacturer for one thing, and if the consumer loses or neglects to send in his mail-in forms he never gets his rebate. So I think there's a big difference.

I think that "instant rebate" prices applied to purchase at the time of purchase are indeed authentic price points for retailers and product reviewers to advertise and promote. However, I think that extant mail-in rebates which occur after the sale and are dependent on whether or not the consumer mails in his forms should not be advertised by retailers or review sites as the actual price of the products being promoted or advertised. I think in such cases the "before mail-in rebate" price is the one which should be promoted, and that the mail-rebate savings should be denoted only by asterisk and fine print.

Rebates have gotten me several $30-40 80-160GB hard drives over the years. I can't complain about that.

The only rebate I can remember not getting was a recent on from Sapphire. So, nobody buy Sapphire cards anymore. :)

Rebates are teh evil, especially double offers. Its like herding cats to get your money back from both the retailer and the manufacturer.

I avoid rebates like the plague... Usually I will buy something a little more expensive than after rebate...

There are so many times I don't even get rebates back... If rebates was sure thing... Than I would do the rebates..

Here's my latest HP Rebate Fiasco:

On 3/29/06, I purchase through costco.com a Compaq V5000Z Laptop. I didn't purchase the cheapest optioned model, I did some decent upgrading. Base price for the bottom configured laptop was $449. I maxed the RAM to 2GB, I purchased the Lightscribe DVD burner, Upgraded the CPU from a sempron to a Turion64 ML34, Upgraded to the only 5400 rpm HD option, and even bought a few extras like a backpack and such. $1290 was the approximate total, and when I finally recieved the unit so I had the serial number, I hopped on HP.com and purchased the BEST extended warranty they offer! $349 for 3-year accidental damage coverage. So now I've invested $1600+. It had a $50 rebate offer. The offer was good up till the last day in march, so I was good for the purchase time.

April 6th, I recieve the unit and immediately register it online. I head over to the online rebate center and was able to start the process record. Got a confirmation number and everything. I make copies of everything, and send in what they want. Filled out forms, UPC barcodes, Packing slips, etc. I expect the usual, 6-8 weeks for everything, and most of the time with other rebates I've done was really 8-10 weeks. I check the online status page every few days to see how it's going. In 7 days, the status changes to "Information recieved. Please allow 3-10 days for processing". I forget all about for 3 weeks, and then remeber to check on it. Still says the same thing. (This is the 4th week mark). I call up the rebate center. They tell me they didn't recieve the packing slip. I knew this was going to happen. They happen to "lose" one of the needed papers. (At this point I envisioned a greasy haired slacker opening my envelope, and going "Oh! looks like someone forgot to include all the documents!" as he crumples up the packing list and tosses it into the garbage.)

I ask the rebate center guy, what do I need to do now? He tells me to re-mail in the packing slip or fax it in. At this point I couldn't find the copy I made, so I asked him if the online purchase order would work as a recipt. He says yes. So I print that out and fax it in. "Please wait 3-5 business days for us to put the fax into the system. Call back in a few days and check on it then." I give it a whole week, and call back. "Sorry, I don't see anything in the system. Try re-faxing it." AGAIN?! Fine. I re-fax it in again. Call back 2 weeks later (Week 7 now), and the same "Sorry, it's not in the system. Try again." I fax it in AGAIN for the 3rd time. I check 5 days later, "I'm sorry.." Stop. How many times do I have to fax it in before you get it? "I'm sorry but the part of the comapny that recieves the faxes isn't the same as the rebate center." Can you get one of them on the phone? "I'm sorry, we don't have any phone number for them" [At this point I'm about to explode]

You're serious!? You have a division of HP that you have NO WAY of communicating with?! Not a phone number or Email?! "No, sorry." Get me your supervisor. And I get transferred to a Jennifer. She gives me the same routine. Fine, what your name again? "Jennifer." That's it? Jennifer? No last name? You're like Cher or Maddona, or have some cruel parents that didn't want to pass on the family name to you? "I'm sorry sir, I can't give you my last name." I just hung up. I called the main HP 1-800 number. I ask for a "complaints" dept. I get transferred to woman Named Julia-ann, or Julian, or something of that nature. I explain to her that I've had a horrible run in, with the rebate center and apologize ahead of time if I seem irratible. I re-tell her everything and she sighs at the point of jennifer not giving her name. Julia-ann tells me she has got me twice in the system, and I said, "That's funny, the rebate center said they have nothing on me." Anyhow, She overrides the rebate center and says I should have my check in 7-10 days. Almost 10 days to the letter, I recive a $50 check in the mail from HP. Not a rebate check though, a Customer Satisfaction Check. (Actually said that on the check). Took over 3 months to get, but I finally got it.

I really REALLY hate rebates....

I can remember only once in the past few years getting burned on a rebate. And it was the once that I didn't make a copy of the damned thing. I am always sure to do that now. But they are a real pain. The electronic rebates that Staples and CompUSA use are less of an annoyance and they generally come more quickly. I once had an issue with one getting rejected but that was an obvious screw-up on their part and it was quickly corrected with a phone call. (There should be no excuse for screwing up an eRebate. They have the damned receipt in their system!)

I dislike the practice and know the game. But I always get my stupid paperwork in on time and I really look for sales and don't so much care if the bottom line price for something that I want is lower because of a rebate or because of an actual purchase time discount. I will shop for a purchase and if the choice is between mail-in or instant rebate, the instant rebate has my business. But if it is higher cost or mail-in, I take the mail-in every time.

i have never had problems getting ALL of my rebates.

I can't group them as all being evil because some companies do honor their rebates and send you a check in a timely fashion. On the other hand some rebates I've filled out simply haven't been processed and likely throw away by the rebate firm. I've never in my entire life have had something "get lost in the mail" but with rebates this seems to occur 30% of the time. Honest rebate deals are good and reward the diligent consumer but some are literally legalized fraud that consumers are powerless to take action against.

I stay away from rebates in general but occasionally bite for really good deal. I know its a risk and treat it that way. Don't be suprised not to get the check, it's all about factoring in risk/reward ratios.