hahaha...so true. reminds me of the $200.00 rebate dell still owes me. It's been about 3 years and I still haven't received a check. That's ok Dell keep my money, I just make sure I tell everyone I know not to buy Dells.

Haaa. I have never read Dilbert before, if they are as good as this one I might have to start doing so.

@bigmil87: If you've never read Dilbert before, you're missing out. It's hilarious. Moreso if you are an office worker or engineer.

@bigmil87: it's one of the few that I follow closely.

I even have the DVD box set of the tv series. But I work in technology in an office so... most of it hits pretty close to home.

Don't know if it's true, but when I worked in retail, I was told 50% of mail-in rebates aren't even sent in. An obvious incentive for vendors to keep offering them.

@Griffin Hammond: Really? I'm surprised even 50% get sent in.

I actually like rebates - in the last 7 years, I've collected ~$25,000 worth. Because so many people don't send them in, or don't follow the instructions, those who are willing to, and to follow up if they don't come, can get good deals.

That said, there are some companies that go out of their way to make them overly complicated (ie coolmax) or that never pay. Deal sites like fatwallet are a good resource, both for info on which companies are reliable and for info on how to get a rebate if you get denied.

@Griffin Hammond: I heard 63% of all percentages are made up on the spot. I also heard 5 out of 4 people are schizophrenic. :)

@Shadowfire: Yeah I work for Apple.. In a cubicle.

@madanthony: I agree. I built my new computer this past winter and I specifically picked out items with rebates. I spent a total of $350 (with about $500 in rebates) on a quad core Phenom with a 1TB hard drive and 4 GB of RAM. I received every rebate back by March.

I am willing to bet that the majority of people who complain that rebate clearinghouses "rip them off" are the ones that don't follow the instructions of including original documentation, etc. It's not rocket science. Sure, as you said, there are some companies out there who make things complicated on purpose to try and screw consumers. Maybe Consumerist should try and compile a list of those companies instead of just saying that all rebates are evil.

Be careful. Monster Cable might give you a cease and desist letter for posting something about Monsters.

I was looking at a product at the auto parts store, if you bought high end wiper blades you got a free brand name electric screwdriver. Of course after rebate and the screwdriver was $24.00. No thanks.

Don't even get me started on all I went through to get Verizon to honor the rebate on my phone.

I recently discovered an entirely new level of frustration with the rebate game. You defeat all the bosses, jump through the hoops, enter the secret code, get the check, and...they put a stop-payment on it! Most of us are at peace with the fact that we may not get our rebate money in the end, but to actually have the rebate tack on an extra $5 (bank fee)? That was a new one.

This was with Antec, and they were kind enough to put up a helpful website for the rebate problems:
[www.antec.com]
Unfortunately, despite following the additional instructions on that page to the letter, including the update request process, I have yet to hear back from them after several months.

I like the fact that rebates now come on visa debit cards. And if you don't spend it right away, you lose it. That's great!

I'm almost convinced too that some of the shadier rebate companies don't send the rebate unless you call up and check on it. They're hoping you'll forget and they won't have to pay. I had a couple like that where they should have showed up in my mailbox but I hadn't seen them after 10 weeks, but after I called and asked about the status, it came in the mail.

And another great thing about rebates: they sell your contact information so you start getting lots of crap in the mail.

Rebates is why the company I work for never buys from TigerDriect any more. I followed the rules, sent in all the proper paperwork, and my rebate was denied with out a reasonable explanation. They made it impossible to talk to a human being. An order clerk on the phone said they didn't know what to do, but they knew it happens.

I make the IT buying decisions at work and amazing, no more purchases at TigerDirect.

@DeadWriter: Tiger Direct is the only place ive dealt with rebates, got a 32" tv, had a 80$ rebate, i got it in 2 months, maybe i just got lucky though.

@bigmil87: If you subscribe to the Dilbert email list, or otherwise provide Adams with your email address, you'll get all kinds of free spam. That's right - absolutely free*, at no charge!

*Some restrictions may apply. Not available where punishable by actual legal repercussions. Your visage may be unattractive. Actual cash value: $.000001.

I think I had only one fully-successful rebate, and for that matter it was the only one that I absolutely know I screwed up (by mailing it late). It was $50 from Verizon. When the check came my head just about caved in.

Another problem is that even if you follow the instructions, they might just wait 5 months to send you your check even though the terms of the rebate say to wait 8 to 10 weeks. This happened with a Hitachi hard drive rebate of mine.

Of course, if you send in your rebate 1 day late they're going to reject it.

@bohemian: I wish my hobbies gave me that kind of money.

@chris_d:

Sure the VISA card rebates have way to many restrictions and pitfalls, which is why the moment I get one I take is and pay X dollars to a random bill I owe, usually my cell phone. Then when the bill comes due, I've successfully turned that pain in the ass rebate into cash

@PETAKillsKittens_GitEmSteveDave: Actually, the correct statistic is "schizophrenia strikes 4 in 1 people."

@sasquatch28: Out of principle, I refuse to buy any product with a mail in rebate, after finding my rebate had an attached set of circumstances that made it physically impossible to redeem without use of a time machine.

I actually have a good rebate story. In January, I purchased a Philips electric toothbrush that came with a rebate. It needed to be postmarked by January 31st, so I filled out the form, clipped the UPC, put the form and receipt in the envelope, and send it off.

I get back from the post office and see the UPC sitting on my desk. "Crap!" I thought, so much for that. I pocked up the pamphlet with the rebate offer to see the address the rebate was sent to and noticed another hitch-the purchase had to be made by December 31st. So I was two weeks late on a purchase and sent the rebate in with no UPC.

Two weeks later I got the check anyway. Moral: not all rebates are sticklers, but I'm a lot more careful about it now.

@sasquatch28: I know too well about what a shitty company Dell has become over the past decade. They were great when I was in college, but have steadily nosedived since.

@Griffin Hammond: I'm an economist, and I <3 price discrimination (at least on an academic level). Mail-in rebates are simply a form of price discrimination (=charging different prices to different consumers). People who are willing to jump through 5 hoops to get their $50 back do. People who aren't willing will look at the price and buy it anyway. Or there is an interesting field of behavioral economics (where we relax assumptions of consumer rationality) and see a procrastination effect--when you buy it, you think you'll bother to do the rebate in the future, but once the future comes, it's the present, and you think you'll do it in the future, etc. This is an example of hyperbolic discounting.

I have a policy regarding rebates-I just price the product as if the rebate doesnt exist, because if a company doesnt want to honor the rebate, they wont.

Once upon a time my local Rite Aid had a bottle of Gatorade advertised in-store for 99 cents. I take it to the register and it rings up as $1.49. The cashier informs me it is actually $0.99 after mail in rebate.

I don't shop at Rite Aid anymore.

@Charles Mousseau: Multiple Personality Disorder?

I've been lucky with rebates in the past, but I don't shop around for the rebates anymore due to the horrible rejection stories. I like instant rebates or just bargain shopping. If I can buy it used over brand new, I will. I would rather pay $45 for a product with no rebate than $60 for something with a $20 mail in rebate.

The rebate rules kill me, sometimes it's just not worth it. (Unless it's a very reputable company of course)

@DeadWriter:

Tiger Direct rebates are a scam. Sorry 'bout that.

Tiger Direct is also why you can't trust the BBB. The BBB had several thousand complaints on their company, and also listed about the various government investigations into their rebate fraud. The BBB *now* lists them as an "A" risk company with "Accreditation" from the BBB with no issues. Amazing what giving money to the BBB can do.

My person rule is to take a picture of all the stuff the rebate required (along with the stamped envelope) before sending it off. I also, for rebates that are worth it (say, $50 and above) always use registered mail.

Registered mail makes them take it "seriously" and the pictures will keep them honest. And give you recourse if you choose to sue them.

@babyruthless: I thought that hyperbolic discounting was where as you approach the speed of light, everything gets cheaper. But I could be wrong.

I always had good luck getting my rebates due to dilligence in filling out all the minutae they demanded ... up to about two years ago when I got stiffed on a properly filled out rebate.
I don't buy anything with a rebate form now. It's a scam, pure and simple.

Mac

@doctor_cos: No, it's where prices descend after you've passed up the item.

@bohemian: Yeah, AT&T was pretty special on my wireless rebate. Didn't get it; called; "We sent it to this address and it came back." The address they read off has never been and is not my address. "Okay, we'll resend." Okay, can you confirm the address you're sending it to? "No, there's no need; the address comes off your phone bill so it couldn't be wrong." All in the same phone call.

A couple of years ago my husband got a phone from Cingular with a $50 mail-in rebate. I sent it off and and waited. And waited. Then they sent me a letter (or I called to ask, can't remember) saying there was a problem with my request. So I re-submitted everything (exactly the same as the first time). Then they paid off on both requests. WooHoo! 100 bucks!

@shepd:
Photocopy everything, send a photocopy with the originals, and send it registered mail for rebates worth anything. It says to them "I have proof you got it, and I have proof of what I sent. Don't mess with me."

@Griffin Hammond: I heard from a very knowledgeable source that it was less than 25% for office/retail stores. I suspect this has risen recently due to 1) a worsening economy, 2) companies (like Staples) making rebates easier to actually redeem.

@BeerFox: Motorola's rebate house bounced their check to me as well. They re-issued it, and there was no repercussion on my side for the uncleared check, except having to re-deposit it.

@bigmil87: LIES. Everyone knows that Apple's too cool for cubicles...

Anyway, Dilbert and Get Fuzzy are the two strips I have subscribed to my email daily. And Peanuts. I still wonder why they canned the Dilbert TV show, that was hilarious.

Here's another level of complexity for rebates, the company goes bankrupt. This column explains your options:

[www.boston.com]

@bigmil87:
I have a couple of Scott Adams's books. Dilbert is awesome.

@SabreDC:

Yes, the few times I've done rebates I got them back pretty fast. Just on computer and TV stuff. It's not hard to do it if the rules aren't too restrictive.

I'd much rather get a lower price to begin with, though, like with a sale or an in-store savings.

I never got a $300 rebate on a laptop from Circuit City, because they put the wrong name on the receipt. I took the receipt back to the store, and asked them to print out a copy with the right name. They did, but the new receipt was printed after the rebate period, so corporate wouldn't send me the rebate.

@floraposte: Well, in all honesty, AT&T doesn't actually process their rebates. They're processed by a 3rd party called Young America. God, when I worked for AT&T, I HATED trying to contact them, because they always had a laundry list of things that had/were going wrong with the customer's rebate...

Which, is why the last time I was eligible for an upgrade, I went to Best Buy, rather than through AT&T. So, even though the phone was about $20 more expensive through Best Buy WITHOUT a rebate, it was less of a hassle, than trying to get the $50 from AT&T.

@Leksi Wit:

Hmmm... I've never had to deal with the company's customer service directly, but I have bought items from their online store and have always had a good experience.

Likewise I'm writing this on a Dell XPS M1330 and it is, by far, my favourite notebook I've ever owned. And yes, I've owned Gateways, HPs, and even the old MacBook which is what this notebook replaced. So from a quality side, I'd say there's no better company than Dell to buy a notebook.

However, once again, I've never had to experience their CS... so... we'll see if/when that happens.

@Quatre707: RiteAid has the best online rebate system. (Although if the signage was deceptive I understand your annoyance)

I have met them, played them by their rules, and been defeated many times. They are invincible! I am told that those 3rd-world rebaters get paid not by how many they process successfully, but by how many they foil.