If you read the story, “Beware Of Rotten Newegg Rebate,” you may remember the plight of reader RJ who submitted his $20 rebate information back in January and was getting the runaround from Newegg and the rebate company. RJ is now happy to learn that not only is Newegg giving him $20, they are giving him an extra $20 for his trouble, and not just store credit, real cash. Read Newegg’s letter, inside…
rebates
Beware Of Rotten Newegg Rebate
By 5.8.08
Reader RJ purchased an Nvidia graphics card from Newegg and submitted his $20 rebate information in January. Nearly 5 months later, he is still waiting for his cash. He wrote to Newegg for answers but received a tepid reply. RJ’s letter and Newegg’s response, inside…
What Will You Do With Your Economic Stimulus Check?
By 4.30.08
The first of the economic stimulus rebate checks…
Who To Contact About Your Missing 5 Free BluRay Discs
By 4.29.08
If you’re still wondering where your 5 Free BluRay Discs are, here is the mailing address to send copies of your forms to (not Buena Vista Home Entertainment, as previously reported)
Rebate Checks Start Arriving Monday!
By 4.24.08
Monday is your lucky day, taxpayer, that’s when rebate checks start arriving, ahead of schedule. That’s right, the rebates were originally slated for May 2nd, but thanks to “a new computer program that updates records daily – faster than an older program that updates weekly,” Americans will start getting their free beer money on April 28th. Wow, IRS and efficiency together in the same sentence?
Disney's Five Free Blu-Ray Disc Promotion Is Broken
By 4.24.08
A lot of you have written in about problems with the Five Free Blu-Ray Discs promotion that was available here. The deal was supposed to be, buy a certain Blu-Ray disc player, mail in the coupon and proof of purchase postmarked by February 29, receive five free Blu-Ray movies. Many of you haven’t received your movies. What happened?
Use Electronic Postage And Highlighter To Guarantee Mail-In Rebate Success
By 4.23.08
Rebates are one of those “sales games” where the companies use all sorts of rules and tricks to reduce the likelihood that most consumers will “successfully” complete all the steps, but if you’re anal and like getting money, like this guy over at the SlickDeals forums, you can do a few things involving highlighters and electronic postage to improve your odds:
Trends: Kroger Offers You A Bonus If You Put Your Stimulus Check On A Gift Card
By 4.17.08
Kroger is getting into the stimulus bonus action! Unwilling to be outdone by Sears, Kroger is offering a bonus if you put your stimulus check on a Kroger gift card. They have Kroger gift cards? My what a sexy gift. Honey, you shouldn’t have.
Sears Offers 10% Bonus To People Who Convert Stimulus Checks Into Gift Cards
By 4.16.08
Sears is pretty desperate for that stimulus check money. They’re offering a 10% bonus to anyone who converts their stimulus check into a Sears Gift Card.
Icy Dock Offers You Rebate Or Warranty, But Not Both
By 4.11.08
The fine print on this Ice Dock hard disk enclosure rebate (PDF) offered through Newegg says, at the very end, “Manufacturer’s warranty does not apply to ICY DOCK’s MIR Free Promotional items.”
Man To Receive Office Depot Rebate That Was Falsely Denied
By 4.5.08
Daniel, whose Office Depot rebate was falsely denied, says he called them back today and his rebate has been approved. His issue has even been escalated so his check will get out faster. Daniel also says that when he sent his complaint in, it wasn’t so much his particular issue that he was upset about, as he felt sure he would be able to successfully get his rebate after sending in the necessary information, but it was really the thought of how many other people there were out there who would end up getting their rebate denied because they didn’t have photographic proof that they had filled out their rebate correctly. He also notes that when he received the denial notice, it only gave him five days to respond. Had it come last week, while he was away on a 12-day trip, he would have lost his chance at rebate redemption. Those are the risks you take when you play the rebate lottery. Like most games of chance, the odds are stacked in favor of the house.
Office Depot Falsely Denies Man's Rebate
By 4.4.08
You know what this is? This is a picture of Dan’s rebate form and UPC code, the very UPC code that whoever does Office Depot’s rebate processing says wasn’t attached to his rebate form. Yes, Daniel is the kind of person who takes pictures of all his rebate materials before sending them in, just in case something like this should occur. Companies love rebates because they can get you to buy something thinking you’re going to get a deal, and then if you fail the rebate process, they still get to keep all your money. Even if you do everything right, they still might deny it. Why? Because the rebate company has a certain quota, their contractually agreed upon “redemption rate” of rebates to deny that they have to meet. If too many legitimate rebates get in, guess they have to “figure out” ways to meet their numbers. Inside, the correspondence between Office Depot and Dan and a full-sized pic of his rebate and UPC code…
Conglomerist: What To Do With Rebates So You Don't Have To Redeem Them
By 4.1.08
Everybody loves rebates! Well, except when it comes to redeeming them. For those of you out there who have to deal with especially responsible consumers who always fill out the paperwork correctly (ugh!) here are a few suggestions that can increase “breakage” and make sure that your company doesn’t have to pay any more rebates than is necessary!
Sprint Magically Approves Rejected Rebate Application
By 3.22.08
He writes:
I’ve been a Sprint customer for around ten years, and in early February decided to upgrade to a new HTC Mogul smartphone under Sprint’s “New For You” rebate program which gives existing customers the same price on new phones that new customers get, as long as the existing customers agree to extend their contracts. To get a $100 rebate, I agreed to extend for two years–not really a problem, as I have no plans to leave Sprint. I received the phone and mailed in the rebate form.
Amazon Offers Mail-In "Instant Rebate"
By 3.21.08
Two days ago, Shawn bought a video card from Amazon and was surprised when the advertised “Instant Rebate” 
wasn’t applied to his shopping cart. Turns out, it’s a mail-in rebate, sorry for the confusion. Unfortunately Amazon still hasn’t corrected the error as of the timestamp on this post, despite assuring him two days ago that they’d remove the icon. Remember to always click the “Rebate” link to see the actual details of the offer—it’s not listed on the main product page, and mistakes happen.
Verizon Responds To Angry Customers Who Have Not Received Their Free LCD TVs
By 3.6.08
Verizon has posted a Q&A that tries to address some of the concerns their customers were having over an LCD TV promotion that’s gone awry.
Verizon FiOS "Free LCD TV" Promotion Resulting In A Lot Of Angry Customers
By 3.3.08
Reader Mary says that she ordered Verizon FiOS during the “free LCD TV” promotion they were running, but she still hasn’t received the letter she needs in order to start the rebate process.
National Energy Rebate Fund Scam
By 2.15.08
Some window installers are offering what sounds like a great deal, a 50% off rebate, but just try to collect it, like the unlucky people in this KUTV investigation video (transcript inside).
