Last time I got a rebate was within the past couple of years, for my cat’s food that can only be purchased through a veterinarian’s office. The receptionist asked me if I wanted the $2 coupon now, or the $15 rebate, and of course I chose the rebate! She said most people actually use the coupon, because they know they will forget about the rebate.
I recall reading that manufacturers liked to offer rebates, because it let them advertise a lower price, and most people were lazy enough that they never actually got around to actually sending in the rebate forms.
I always used to look for rebates when I was buying stuff, especially big stuff like computers or appliances, and I always made it a point to mail in everything almost as soon as I got the product home. I got a lot of money back that way over the years.
It’s also been my experience that rebates seem much less common these days. It probably doesn’t help that I buy a lot more online than I used to.
I believe rebates are often run by a third-party company. They are paid a certain amount of money by the company offering the rebate. If less people claim the rebate than the amount paid, the rebate company keeps the profit and comes out ahead. If more claim than they were paid, it is a loss.
They have it figured out to make the company money most of the time, obviously.
That is why when we mail in rebates, it is often to some other company, not to the original place of purchase. They also add a bunch of detailed rules/requirements to the rebate form so if you fill it all out incorrectly, you are not owed the rebate.
Pretty sure my first model rocket was obtained via an Estes ad in Boy’s Life.
I bought a handheld electronic baseball game via cereal box ad. The cereal company seriously underestimated the number of units they would need and sent a higher-end game to make up for the delay.
A box top and 10 cents in stamps or coin was my usual speed. But, one time I did make the major capital investment of 99 cents for a Genuine Steam Turbine Engine. I had big plans to drive a generator and maybe a small wood lathe. Maybe I could use three or four of them in parallel to get more power.
What arrived was a small jar with a hole in the lid. Above the hole was soldered a bracket with a little pin wheel on it. No power take off. I put it on the burner of our gas stove when nobody else was home. The water boiled without the jar cracking (it wasn’t Pyrex). It spit out water and steam and the pin wheel would turn for a bit then jam and you had to flick it with your finger.
I didn’t order two or three more.