The rebate has mated with the gift card to produce a super-strain of super-sucky rebates. By adopting the gift card’s”dormancy fee,” your rebate’s value now shrinks over time. In many cases it’s only a few months before it starts to lose value, reports The Red Tape Chronicles. Some cards will even ding you for an activation fee, or charge you for checking your balance.
breakage
Rebates Mystify Even The Wall Street Journal
By 5.10.07
In a recent experiment the Wall Street Journal conducted, only 1 in 5 of the rebate checks arrived without difficulty. They couldn’t find followup contact info, missed dates, and misplaced forms.
The Gift Card Economy
By 1.8.07
- Next year, if you need a gift for a strict rationalist, consider cash. If you want to appeal to someone’s wild self, you’ll have to use your imagination. And if you’re hoping to send a little something extra to the shareholders of Best Buy or the Gap or Tiffany, consider a gift card.
And get a month-to-month gym membership. —MEGHANN MARCO
T-Mobile’s Hotspot Refund System Encourages Breakage?
By 12.4.06
A crinkle appeared in our once happy story of how easy it was for us to get a refund from T-mobile hotspot.
