When Massachusetts announced their cash-for-clunker appliance rebate program, Consumerist bet it would last one day before the rebate cash ran dry. We were wrong — it took less than three hours.

The program, which launched this morning at 10 a.m. and was supposed to go until May 5, got a mammoth response from consumers, who instantly flooded its website and phone lines. Many people were locked out because of the overload.

According to reports, the initial $5.4 million in rebates were gone by 11:52 a.m. and the $2 million wait list was gone by 12:25 p.m.

Similar programs in other states have likewise had short life spans. Florida’s only lasted two days and the rebate money in Illinois was gone within 11 hours.

State appliance rebate program runs dry [Boston Herald]
Thanks to Adam for the tip!

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