We all know that they are intended to be a rip-off. The vendors know that only a certain percentage of the people will actually send the rebate form in and follow all of the rules correctly. They also know that most of us will deduct the rebate from the price even though we’ll be lucky to see the cash in anything less than a couple of months.
I’ve rebelled by training myself to not even look at rebate offers. Even if something is also on sale, but in addition there is an MIB, I cruise right by it.
Maybe if I were the sort of person who actually had their shit together and would reliably follow through, then I might feel differently. But as it is, I know that if I get suckered into a rebate offer, I’m basically taking the cash, putting into a little pile and setting it alight.
Depends on what I have to do. I have little patience with chickenshit, so if it requires too many steps to get the rebate forget it. But if all I have to do is mail in the form and my receipt, I’ll play along.
I ignore the price when it includes the mail in rebate. I’ve been burned a few times by them, and no longer expect to get the rebate, usually due to some silly reason, one of which was because I filled out the form with blue ink instead of black.
I basically ignore them since I know I’m not likely to send them in; I’m not sure if I’ve ever actually received a rebate that wasn’t instant at the cash register.
This HP laptop I’m typing on had a $50 rebate. We carefully filled out the form with the model & serial #'s, included the UPC which also had the model & serial #'s, made copies of everything and sent it off. Then we got a letter saying they needed the serial #. So we made a copy of the copy and filled out a new form with the serial # and eventually got the stupid rebate. I wanted to email them and ask if they were hard up for money and so were inventing reasons to delay their rebates or are their employees just stupid.
This survey really needed another choice:
“Yes, I take advantage of them, but I hate them with all my soul. Retailers should just lower their price, and stop depending on people screwing up the rebate forms, or finding arbitrary reasons to disallow the rebate.”
I had a similar issue with an HP printer rebate. I completed the paper work including cutting out the UPC carton label and mailed it in. I received a reply from HP explaining the UPC code was not attached even though I’m certain it was included. They asked me to resubmit the label which of course was impossible because there’s only one printed on each carton.
I don’t think they’re the best thing since sliced bread, but I am diligent about mailing them in. Costco makes it very easy to do it all online. No cutting out of UPC codes, etc.
If the price without the rebate is a good price, then I’ll buy the item and then send in the rebate with all the paperwork. But I won’t hold my breath waiting for my rebate, because if I send it in during the wrong phase of the moon, then they won’t honor it.
I’m likely to pass up an item that has a rebate in favor of an item that would cost me more if the rebate was actually valid. That is, if I want a widget, and Acme company has them on sale for $100 and a rebate for $50, and Beta company has them on sale for $85, I’ll probably buy the Beta brand. I kept a notebook of rebates for a couple of years, and my success to failure ratio was pretty high, so I’ll probably save money by buying Beta.
I don’t think they are the best thing since sliced bread, either, but here’s why I voted that way. If there’s something I want anyway, of course I’ll be more apt to buy it if there is a rebate.
I just bought a food processor a month ago with a mail in rebate. As soon as I got home and unpacked it, I filled out the form, stamped it, and put it in my purse, and mailed it out the next day. It took like 5 weeks but I got my rebate back.
Stupid irrelevant question: Why is the abbreviation for Mail In Rebate MIB?
It can’t be a typo – you do it twice. Unless you really like Will Smith/Tommy lee Jones movies.
Is this one of those things like where they “abbreviate” Strike with a K?
I will not be tempted by one in the sense that it will not make me buy something which I wasn’t already looking for; will consider it as part of price comparison when buying for something (at something like half the rebate’s value, to account for the probability of a refusal, although so far I’ve never had a refusal I couldn’t get overturned); will use it if it exists.
I’ve never seen them outside of the USA, but in the USA I treat the refusals like I treat refusals from insurance: assume it’s going to happen, and once it does bring out Their Own Booklet and cite chapter and verse of the reasons why they, according to their own rules, have to pay. Maybe I’ve been lucky, but the few times I’ve dealt with either one, it’s worked.
I’ll take the beowulf option. I’ve actually had pretty good luck in getting my money back when I remember to send the rebate in. Lately though, I’ve noticed that if you shop online, I will find a place that will have the item on sale for the rebate price without the rebate. Of course it depends on the item.
I’m new here so you would have no way of knowing that I’m brain dead.
It should indeed be MIR and not MIB (Managment Information Bureau). And yes, I loved the original MIB and want to have Tommy Lee Jones’ babies (I’m a guy, but love will overcome).
I hate them with all my soul, and I won’t even consider factoring them into the price until the rebate gets into the $50+ range. Otherwise, it just isn’t worth hassling with the paperwork, AFAIAC.
That’s another option that should have been in the poll: “Yes and no. It depends on how big the rebate is.”
I detest them, but still fill them out. Last week I completed two for my wife and found they presented a new “feature”— you could submit it normally and wait an estimated 6-8 weeks to receive the rebate in the form of a Visa gift card (another clever method of recouping a portion of the rebate from the consumer, through forgotten/unused balances or eventual expiration of the card), or you could pay $1 (deducted from the $10 rebate) for “immediate processing” and receive a paper check in the mail. (Said “immediate” processing to occur an estimated 7-10 business days after one mails in the required paperwork, assuming every I is dotted and T crossed, no original UPC codes are mysteriously lost, etc.)
Because the manufacturers/retailers clearly do everything possible to discourage consumers from actually receiving the discount they so boldly advertise, I consider it a minor point of honor to ensure that I get my few bucks back. I.e., to be the kind of customer they hate.
Verizon offered those rebate Visa cards on new phones a few months ago. We were due to sign a new 2 year agreement, so the four of us went to Verizon and picked out phones that were “free with Mail-in-rebate.” I dutifully filled in, and mailed, the paperwork. Within weeks I received 3 out of the 4 Visas, which were coincidentally the $50 rebates. I never received the $100 one.
So I followed up by clicking on the “I haven’t received my rebate yet” link and filling out their very easy form. I think it only asked my name and cell phone number. I expected a reply that I hadn’t filed properly, blah blah blah, but was surprised that within 2 weeks got my $100 rebate card.
The cynic in me wondered if the fine folks running the rebate program don’t just routinely hold random Visa cards back with the hope that the person will forget about them or fail to follow up in the appropriate timeframe. If so, it’s $100 in their pocket that is untraceable back to them.
I bought an HP Color LaserJet printer about 3 years ago because it had what amounted to almost a 50% rebate and because the rebate was on-line do-able.
A true mail-in rebate would have to be something in that neighborhood to actually be the motivating factor in my decision to purchase something.