I wonder if this violates USPS regulations.

I recently got a rebate by from this place. I believe it was in this format, but also was stuck on the bottom. It took a small effort to isolate the check, but no problems whatsoever. Just hated the charge for getting your rebate faster. It really sucks =\

I usually avoid buying stuff that offers mail in rebate. I've been burned before and learned the hard way.

I quit buying things based on rebates. Just give me the sale price.

Mail-in rebates are a complete scam.

From a consumer standpoint, this practice is deceptive, dishonest, and time-consuming. I say pay a little extra for the non-rebated item. Wouldn't you rather pay what you need to pay and be done with it?

From a business perspective, yes, 'price discrimination' is an effective way of pumping up sales, but its borderline unethical. And they probably spend millions of dollars trying to figure out ways to increase their 'breakage' rate (they literally spend money to discover better ways to screw you). We'd all be better off if this money was re-routed to customer server or R&D.

Obama should make these illegal.

Unless you're a masochist who loves aggravation, I cannot understand why anyone would subject themselves to wasting time and sanity redeeming a rebate.

I've been burned too many times on mail in rebates. If I see something that needs a rebate, I won't buy it anymore. Unless it's like staples where you just do it online. Haven't had issues with that...yet...

@GMFish: Not to mention the fact that by doing so you are giving yet another marketing company your name, address, possibly phone number, etc and subjecting yourself to more direct marketing. Sorry, here's cash, give me the product at a reasonable price.

This seems really strange to me. So the question is: How does this format save them money? Barring the somewhat conspiratorial "Lost Checks" theory, these things require more hand processing than a check printing machine that spits out envelopes with the tear-off sides, no?

I received a rebate once that was just a single post-card. Address on one side, check on the other. That would be half the work of this scheme. Maybe the rebate company just does really, really shoddy work?

@GMFish:

I really couldn't have said it better myself.

Rebates are the worst! What a waste of time.

@mayrc87: Ditto.

The wife and I were shopping for new computer parts online this weekend and I told her "No" to any price that was "after rebate" simply because of the rebate hassle not being worth it.

@mbgrabbe: I think Obama has more important things to take care of than rebate scams....

Major security issue on the outside,too. "Rebate Enclosed"
just fairly well screams "steal me!" to the meth- head low life scum rummaging through your mail box. They know that nobody checks the signatures on these things. The amount is usually so small that nobody frets over it and by the time the intended recipient realizes that it is missing,the damage is long done.

Rebates are an idea whose time has come and gone.

For well over a decade I have outright refused to purchase items that had a mail in rebate associated with them, unless I liked the at-register price.

I've not missed any of the 'deals', and I haven't lent the manufacturers money or had to argue with a rebate center because I hadn't sent in quadruplicate photocopies of the weather report on the day I did my shopping or whatever.

@antisane: Obama can solve all of humanity's ills. Barefisted and walking uphill to school in blizzards, both ways.

@Snarkysnake: Major security issue on the outside,too. "Rebate Enclosed"
just fairly well screams "steal me!" to the meth- head low life scum rummaging through your mail box.

In my neighborhood, that would be the mailman.

@mbgrabbe:
"Obama should make those illegal"

hahahahahahahahahahahahahhhahahhaahhhahahahahahhahhahhahahahahahahahahhahahahahhahahhaahhaahahhhaaaaaaaaa

Doesn't anyone think rebates are a good idea? I'd like to hear from them.

All the previous comments are from people who think mailed rebates are scams and/or hassles. I completely agree and never buy based on an empty promise of a rebate. My expectation is that the sort of people who think rebates are a great idea are not the kind of people writing (or perhaps even reading) Consumerist.

First of all, rebate processing houses like Worldwide Rebates are working under contract to the original provider of the rebates. If you go to Worldwide Rebate's site, they have a drop-down menu showing all the different companies they process rebates for. They get paid an amount per rebate processed, which covers their cost to handle the rebate and send out the checks, and provide an accounting back to the manufacturer. They don't get a chunk of money given to them by the original manufacturer and are told, "hey, give this out, and whatever you can't give out, you get to keep!".

Mailing out a check that gets lost in the mail still costs the processing house money in postage (see how the photo says it went out First Class, not Bulk Mail). If the check is lost and the money is not claimed, it's the original manufacturer who keeps the rebate money, not the rebate processor, but the postage still comes out of the costs incurred by the rebate processor as if the check did reach its intended recipient.

By sending out such a shoddy piece of mail, it's possible that they're trying to keep their costs down as low as possible so they maximize their take, but a rebate check issued but not delivered is money back into the pocket of the original manufacturer, not the rebate processor.

@AnxiousDemographic: Such a person might say, "Thanks to lazy consumers, mail-in rebates mean that savvy consumers can enjoy discounts that the retailer or manufacturer would not otherwise be able to offer."

I did a rebate just recently -- I NEVER do rebates because you never get them -- on the new phone I bought, through Verizon. It was the phone I wanted anyway and I didn't much care if I got the $50 rebate ($100 for two, we both got new phones). The rebate process was actually easy, clear, and came quickly and as promised.

The receipt came printed with ALL the rebate info -- all I had to do was fill in my mailing address, address the envelope, and cut the UPC code off the box. (Bit of a pain, but I got to play with an X-acto knife!)

I confess I was rather pleasantly surprised when the rebate actually came in the mail!

You know, if you're check isn't cashable (lost in the mail, or you missed the deadline to deposit) you can just get another one reissued... I've done it several times with rebate checks after missing the (void after XX/XX/XXXX) deadline.

I hate mail-in rebates/coupons/promos.

I just did one with Walmart and Glade. I was supposed to get 2 gift cards : 2 x 15$ cards. I just got 2 x 5$, even if I mailed all the paperwork correctly. That's one of common ''mistakes'' those companies use.

Even if I would have purchased those Glade candles anyway, I hate when an offered mail-in promotion rips off the consumer.

@scoosdad: I've heard this argument before - that rebate processors don't get a cut - and I'm not trying to be flippant but, how do you know this? Did you work for one? Is there some evidence that this is the case? I'd like to know.

I got a rebate from Advance Auto Parts the other day. I needed wipers and they were having a buy/get one (after rebate) sale, so not getting the money was no loss.

I sent it, forgot about it, and suddenly it showed up several months later, with an apology from Advance about how they were changing they rebate syayems and and a 20% off coupon to compensate for a delay I hadn't even thought about.

Chalk one up for the rebates. Although, I'm guessing WWR was the processor.

@OggJoshua: Unfortunately, a lot of ''non-lazy'' consumers get screwed on mail-in rebates, too. Some companies, make an extra effort to deny valid rebates to consumers.

@Canino: It could be your neighbor, too.

@Leto Versailes: Yup.

@ludwigk:
The postcard Rebate Check is what Rite Aid uses as well and since it can be used at Rite Aid like cash anyone could steal and endorse it at Rite Aid.

@GMFish: Money?

@AnxiousDemographic: The Record Store I worked for loved rebates. Still do, probably. Any given week we'd have dozens of items on rebate, from New releases (which were always on rebate) to just crazy stuff that Marketing wanted to move. Problem was, a rebate on a CD was about 3 bucks. So, no. I didn't think that was worth the trouble of sending it in.

Some of the more expensive box sets had rebates of $20 or more would have been though. Apparently this company did all its rebates in-house, and I seldom heard of people not receiving them. I was told that if there was an issue with a customer not receiving a rebate, the company was good about resolving it, though I cannot vouch for that first hand.

@acklenheights: Don't you know? Obama was recently ordained "the fist of legislative justice" by an AP poll.

@AnxiousDemographic: I've gotten some really good deals with rebates before. I also have a lot of time on my hands to get everything properly sorted.

@mbgrabbe:

I can never tell if people are joking when they say that. Folks, write your congressional representatives and state attorney general when you have beefs like this one. The President might be willing to sign related legislation if/when it passes both the House of Representatives and Senate.

This has been your civically-retentive response for the day.

That's not the worst one ever. The company that handles rebates and was having troubl (CPG) used to put your address and postage on the backside of the cheque and send it out that way.

@GMFish: Time and sanity? If you lose that much time and sanity over cutting out a UPC, stuffing it into an envelope with a print out of a receipt, and addressing it... then I think you may have a bigger underlying problem.

I do rebates all the time. I've never once gotten burned. Maybe people have gotten burned in the past because they don't follow all the instructions like circling the item on the receipt or circling the date and time of purchase.

I recently built a new computer with all NewEgg parts. The before rebates was over $800. After rebates, I paid closer to $600. And I didn't get burned on any of them.

I just bought a video card with a rebate from that company. Luckily I was going to buy it anyway and the rebate was just a nice surprise. I shall see how the rebate check comes to me.

@Plates:

Yes.

I can't find the specific code, but knowing the USPS this type of mailing will be addressed in the code.

@scoosdad:

Sounds semi-reasonable.

Oh, there might be a "take" for the processing company in some shape or form (a % of the total job size for example).

Neverless it does seem reasonable that the outsourced processing company would not profit greatly from failing to mail the checks.

I just received a rebate for $150. It was a postcard check, with the amount there in full view. I'm very surprised it actually arrived.

I gotta say, I've always gotten rebates. But this last one I did just sweetened the pot on what I needed and was prepared to pay.

I got the rebate, put it an overhead cubby in my computer armoire and promptly forgot about it. This was in the summer. I just found it about 6 weeks ago. I was going to deposit it, but the rebate checks are now only good for 90 days... Oops.

My fault totally but I can;t bear to throw it out, but it's useless.

The first, last, and only mail in rebate I've ever fallen for didn't even make it out of my apartment, let alone in to the mail. I bought a wireless keyboard at Future Shop and got the mail in rebate slip to send in with my receipt for my $50 back, but with one small problem...

The MIR specifically stated it must be postmarked by the end of the promotion, which was that day. Last mail goes out at 5:00, the receipt was dated 4:45...

@humphrmi: If anything, I would believe that the rebate center would have a performance metric based on denied claims.

The parent company issuing the rebate knows that only about 25% of eligible rebates are redeemed. That is to say, 4 people buy a widget with a rebate, only one of them actually even sends it in.

So the profit maximizing behavior would be for the Parent company to rely on the rebate center to cut that % down further by being as strict as possible, and awarding bonuses based on minimizing "rebates issued"/"rebates received".

Just my thoughts. I hate rebates since Amazon's rebate center burned me and my GF on 2x$200 rebates on our cellphones a few years back. That's the ONLY rebate that I've ever completed and submitted that wasn't granted. Fuckers.

I'll never do a high-value rebate again, and I'll only buy something with a rebate if the actual price is still competitive before the rebate.

@mbgrabbe:

I personally love rebates. I've been keeping track of how much I've gotten back, and I've gotten over $25,000 worth.

Sure, I've had a few not come, and a few I needed to call or email to get, but overall I've gotten tons of stuff for free. I've even gotten rebates for more than the product has cost me.

If you don't like rebates, fine. Don't buy products that have them. But don't make it illegal for other people who like them.

Almost as flimsy as Staples rebate checks, they just come as a regular post card, the check and all perforated in the middle, you just detach the bottom half with your address and deposit the other half of the post card. Always thought that their system could get lost easily...then again their rebate system is easy but still.

@SabreDC: yeah ive done about 6 rebates at various places and have gotten them all. you just have to follow directions and write legibly. Really not that hard. Of course im sure there have been instances of people truly getting ripped off but most of the time id bet its due to people not following instructions.

Yup. Rebates are a huuuuuge scam. Whenever I see these 'deal' sites with ads for rebates, I will never, ever, buy that crap again. I bought a Logitech 550 remote from Buy.com last year with a supposed $30 rebate. Did I ever get the check? - hell no.

@Ihaveasmartpuppy: Is that the QuickBooks rebate?

I just got the check, and was in utter shock that USPS will deliver checks with such low security.

I've gone through WWR before, and the check I received today (identical to these flimsy ones in question, isn't typical of them. I'm curious as to why they've opted to mail out these poorly secured checks. There's not even an endorsement line on the back.