On this morning’s local news, I caught the tail end of a piece on rebate gimmicks. I have an intense aversion to the REBATE, which to me equals hassle, frustration and commercial deviousness. I used to be mercifully naive regarding the whole rebate process – until last Christmas when I bought two T-mobile cell phones at a “steal after the $50 rebates” (according to the clerk at my friendly Gaston Avenue T-Mobile store).
I gave it a shot: got all the apropos paperwork, original receipts, box bars, proofs-of-purchase, signatures, et..al and mailed them in to the proper address (I didn’t make copies of all the paperwork. Big mistake.) About two weeks ago I got a letter (which I opened excitedly thinking it had to be the long-awaited and worked-for rebate check) stating I was ineligible because of the type of phone service I purchased. At that point I cursed t-mobile (nothing new), cut my losses and chalked it up to experience. I knew I was incapable of enduring the rebate rigmarole.
But I’m not the only one. The channel 8 item this morning seemed to focus on Best Buy and computer software, but I found much more rebate rage out there in cyberspace. In fact, class action lawsuits have been filed against cell phone, software and other companies and some states such as New York have implemented legislation to restrict the use and advertisement of rebates. Lots of rebate companies have been busted for dirty business practices. (One California reporter discovered thousands of rebate applications in a dumpster behind a San Jose rebate-processing company).
A sources for this article said it’s no secret rebate companies make it tough. They use tough-to-cash-in rebate practices as a selling point to companies such as Circuit City, Best Buy, etcetera. Another said consumers should not look at a rebate as money in the bank but a bonus. I took business 101 – I know what bait and switch is and that it’s common practice. Personally, rebates are now in the same category as a you-might-be-the winner-of-this-sweepstakes piece of mail. I do find it interesting that people seem to be getting more and more irritated with these practices, some companies (Best Buy included) are phasing them out altogether, and that rebates are stirring up more than a little legal action. I’d sit back and smile if the rebate curled up and died.
Christina,
I feel your pain. I run a bargain hunting website, and go to pretty extreme lengths to save money when shopping online. However, I can't recall the last time I bothered with a deal that required submitting a mail-in-rebate (MIR, in dealhunter-speak). MIRs have very little upside for the consumer.
Posted by: Steve Cospolich | Feb 27, 2008 at 05:37 PM