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.

When Shawn wrote in to point out the problem, the CSR response was “We’re sorry for the misunderstanding.” Yesterday, Shawn wrote back:

There is no misunderstanding. You have a very misleading graphic on the page with the item that clearly states “Instant Rebate” to the left above the price on this page.

The actual graphic URL is http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/promotions/sticker/instant_rebate._V46918736_.gif

I called last night to inquire why the “Instant Rebate” was not taken off in my shopping cart. I was informed that the graphic is a mistake and it is a “Mail In Rebate” as you have explained again. I was assured repeatedly that the graphical error would be fixed by the marketing department as soon as possible to not mislead any more customers.

Now over 24 hours later I see sadly that this is not the case. I am dissatisfied by the lack of attention Amazon has paid to this matter.

It now seems possible this could be a deliberate misrepresentation, as all of the competing stores clearly state “Mail In Rebate” for this same item. People of course will be more compelled to purchase an item here on Amazon that states” Instant Rebate” to avoid the trouble of a “Mail In Rebate”. They of course will find out though that they still have the trouble of a mail in rebate.

Amazon has really dropped the ball on this on. I am highly disappointed.

Now before any Amazon fanboys/stockholders start crying foul—we like Amazon too, but an uncorrected mistake is the same no matter where it appears, and we hope Amazon addresses this quickly. If Buy.com pulled this stunt, they’d be rightfully raked over the coals. Amazon has a lot more credibility on fair deals and customer service, but that’s because things like this don’t happen very often and are quickly resolved.

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