I HATE MAIL-IN-REBATES
I hate them because no matter what, when you're buying something, you think - hey, it's really only x dollars when you take the rebate into account. And you often end up buying something a little nicer, because hey, with the rebate, it comes out closer to the lesser item's price, so hey, why not?
Here's why not. You never get the rebate. I don't care how many people tell me that they've gotten their rebates, there are ALWAYS problems with my rebates. For example. I bought a 120Ghz external harddrive back in August sometime. I never received my $30 rebate from BEST BUY. Then in February, I bought a LinkSys external wireless card for my work laptop while on a work trip, and yesterday, got a letter in the mail saying "we received your submission, but it did not include any original qualifying UPC's. Bullshit. I went to work this morning and looked at the box because I KNOW I sent it in. And of course, the area on the box where the UPC would be has been cut out, from when I sent it in. So now, I have no UPC, and they claim I never sent it. That is why I hate rebates. I never get them back. Why can't you just do it all online. you waste money mailing the stuff, you waste money buying it if you never receive the rebate, and all in all, it just aggrivates me. The worst part, is that there is no email or phone number to contact them. So I can't even call them to tell them I already sent it in. I suppose it's not accidental that there's no contact info on the card. what calls would they get besides people saying "no, I really did send it in" They do it because they're assholes who want to take your money.
that's it.
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5 comments:
I'm with you! Death to rebates!
I bought my Linksys router back in mid-December, and I received the $15 rebate last week. Even when the system does "work", it's not exactly a model of efficiency. Sooner or later, people will quit falling for the trick and will no longer put up with themp
Rebates work for people that are smart enough to cover their tracks. If you followed the directions or had just a slight amount of common sense, you would make a copy of everything you sent in for the rebate INCLUDING the UPC you cut out as well as all original receipts and contact information. I too have had problems with rebates but always had the evidence to tell them they're lying sacks of shit, and what do ya know?...I got my money shortly thereafter. It's really your own fault for not preparing for the worst case scenario. So I think the rebate system is genious. Trick people into buying something more expensive, make it a pain in the ass to redeme the rebate, tell them they didn't follow the rules, and pocket the money when they have no proof. Pretty good business model if you ask me!
I don't disagree that it is a good business model. I am just claiming that it is a scam, and as the consumer, more often than not, we lose. When you make any other transaction in the world, you don't need to save proof for 5 months to only have to do it again and never get your money back. They know that for $20 bucks, people don't go through the trouble. But I like that you posted anonymously so no one can see that you disagree.
120Ghz is pretty high frequency. You mean 120Gb? Anyway, you should copy what you send in.
Bela, you are so cute when you are pissed :)
And Anonymous; I wouldn't critique a mis-type of GHz when she meant GB (not Gb) when you can't spell redeem or genius. There are some pretty heinous punctuation errors in there too, but I don't have time to teach you how to correctly use the english language.
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