Rebates. Do you get too lazy to even bother with them?

[Dunk]

Would you rather buy an item that costs $275 with a $75 rebate

or

the same item for $250 on sale?

The last 2 items ive bought had what i would think significant rebates on them

My cell phone $50

My new monitor $80

Well. My cell i didnt send in and it expired.

My monitor i just tbought im still waiting to send that shit in. But for some reason I always end up NOT following through.

Are you the same way? Rebates are the suck.

 

[hamstershaver]

i hate them, but for $50 id send it in

 

[eat big]

That's what most companies are hoping will happen. They hope people will be too lazy or forget to send them in.

 

[Gymgurl]

Depends on how big it is

 

[randk]

in one week I recieved $100 rebate for a laptop, $50 on some computer programs and $60 from a new phone. that week I became a born beleiver!

 

[Hiatussin]

rebate?

is that like a tax return?

 

[starfish]

I use rebates all the time. I basically paid nothing for the new cell phone I got. It was a 250.00 phone.

 

[foreigngirl]

I used them before. Its worth it if its 50$ and up. I always got my money back from them, but that waiting up to 6 moths is teh suck

 

[SoreArms]

Im a procrastinator so I always forget to mail rebates in.

 

[jackangel]

recently bought a wireless router from bb for 69.95. it had 2 $15 rebates, and both were quite simple to submit (hopefully they get paid and stuff too). anyone who wouldn't do the work for these rebates would be a douchebag.

 

[alien amp pharm]

I finally got my lazy butt around to filling one out....a tidious one requesting everything short of my soul. Got it all completed and sent in only to receive a letter back saying that I was not elgible for the rebate because I purchased the item 2 weeks before the rebate went into effect. It was a $200 rebate.

 

[musclemom]

Corporations bank on the people who are too lazy, procrastinate or forget, which is why rebates are usually for considerably more money than the item would be on sale for. If everyone sent in their rebate it would really screw up the company.

My husband is FOREVER buying things, calling me up, telling me what a great price it is and then he gets home and it turns out it's a rebate item. That shit gets filled out THAT night and sent out the next morning (by HIM). I hate doing paper work, but I particularly hate filling out forms, putting pen to paper, yuck.

 

[SoreArms]

I hate waiting 6-8 weeks for the check though


Who actually sends in the $0.50 to $3.00 dollar ones though?

 

[musclemom]

rebate?

is that like a tax return?

Where the heck do you LIVE that they don't have REBATES???

 

[nycgirl]

I try to avoid items that have rebates. Like SoreArms, I'm a procrastinator. I will fill it out and put it in the envelope . . . then I wait forever to buy the stamps (this is why I pay my bills online. lol).

 

[foreigngirl]

Where the heck do you LIVE that they don't have REBATES???

Europe

 

[SoreArms]

I try to avoid items that have rebates. Like SoreArms, I'm a procrastinator. I will fill it out and put it in the envelope . . . then I wait forever to buy the stamps (this is why I pay my bills online. lol).

LOL, I'm the worst at paying bills for the exact same reason, having to buy stamps. In my current living situation with my brothers, I set it up so that I pay much more rent, but I don't ahve to deal with any of the bills. Otherwise, depending on me would mean our water and lectricity would be turned off atleast four or five times per year becasue I forgot to send the bill (comon problem with my last rooamte since we were both bill paying procrastinators).

 

[Dial_tone]

I once paid $150+ for a printer, then my ex's sister got the model up for $30 6 months later w/rebates.

 

[Devastation]

if the rebate is $10 or more i always send it in

 

[Hiatussin]

Where the heck do you LIVE that they don't have REBATES???

Belgium and Holland

never heard of it

 

[musclemom]

Belgium and Holland

never heard of it

A rebate is a promotion offered by a manufacturer. Instead of a product being offered on sale, you buy the product, send in a special coupon and proof of purchase (usually the manufacturer's UPC symbol and your receipt, and most stores print out extra receipts when you buy a rebate item so you still have your original receipt in case of need for a return) and in six weeks to three months or whatever, depending on how long the rebate runs, you get a check for however much the rebate is for.

My husband just bought new power supplies for two computers, the power supplies were originally $69 with a $30 rebate. In a couple of months we'll get two checks for $30, kapish?

As I said previously, rebates are usually for a bit more than the products will go on sale for because manufacturers are counting on more than 25% of the people who make the purchase to not send IN the rebate at all, or to not follow all the instructions on sending in the rebate correctly, or they'll send it to the wrong address, or whatever. It's a good deal only if you follow through.

They don't have rebates in Europe, wonder why?

 

[wootoom]

what about gift certificates

 

[Hiatussin]

They don't have rebates in Europe, wonder why?

politicians here would probably think it was treacherous and unnecessary paperwork and halt it.

Belgium is worse than Holland. its almost scandinavian. here they have an enforced "season" in which stores can have a sale. If you lower your prices at any other time, you get sued for "unfair competition"
this of course means lots of pinheaded public employees walk around tracking prices to see they dont drop before time

This then of course means that the two weeks prior to the sales boom, malls are empty as graveyards. Except for a few snobs who like to distinguish themselves by shopping the day before sale. "it gets too busy in the mall around that time, I find it so common"-

It´s pathetic. theres no belief in the free market at all. Belgium has a near-flat tax and liberal gun laws and no or little property tax though... its just a very well to do little state (Flanders anyway). Heavy sales tax though. I try to buy stuff when in Holland.

 

[marqui77]

I guess I'm one of those people who are too lazy to send the rebate in, in fact I won't buy anything with a rebate on it anymore, for the simple fact that if I have to mail some bullshit in, then there is someone else sellign the same thing without a rebate.

 

[nycgirl]

I guess I'm one of those people who are too lazy to send the rebate in, in fact I won't buy anything with a rebate on it anymore, for the simple fact that if I have to mail some bullshit in, then there is someone else sellign the same thing without a rebate.

Nope. I'm the same way. I avoid stores and items with rebates.

Now, if I could return the rebate online, that's something different. Until someone starts doing that . . . I will avoid them.

 

[jackangel]

best buy has some online rebates. of the two that i filled out for this router several weeks ago, one of them was submitted online. took about 2 minutes. as for manufacturer's rebates, i suppose those will have to go the old-fashioned way for now. still, that one only required filling out 5-6 lines (name/address kind of shit) on a form, then including a copy of receipt, upc, and the short form itself in an envelope and mailing it. i'm the laziest ever, so i can understand, but not doing this much for $15 (worth it) is a waste and almost disrespectful of money.

 

[Dunk]

best buy has some online rebates. of the two that i filled out for this router several weeks ago, one of them was submitted online. took about 2 minutes.

See now THAT makes sense (regardless of the foul stench of curry emanating from your post)

 

[musclemom]

It´s pathetic. theres no belief in the free market at all. Belgium has a near-flat tax and liberal gun laws and no or little property tax though... its just a very well to do little state (Flanders anyway). Heavy sales tax though. I try to buy stuff when in Holland.

Sounds like my kind of place!!!

I dunno, how does it compare to someplace like NY state, where the sales tax can vary by as much as 3% going from one CITY to another!

Or property taxes where I live, I have a HUUUUUGGGE property <sarc> 125' by 50' on a very busy intersection, my property/school taxes and sewer/garbage service are $3,250 a year. Sales tax is 6% everywhere in the state. And then regular income tax, that's roughly 15% of your gross income ... mandatory car inspection/registration ...

No wonder so many Americans are expatriating when they retire, it costs too much to live on a fixed income in this country. The problem is where to go ...

 

[curling]

if the rebate is $10 or more i always send it in

ME too. It only takes 5 minutes to do it at the longest and that is $120 bucks an hour. I doubt most people make that here on this board as an hourly wage.