What's everybody's take on all of these mail-in rebate offers that seem so popular here? I've only bought two things with these kind of offers. One was an item bought from Staples where the rebate was very promptly dealt with but another item purchased from Best Buy has so far taken ages to process. A call from us this morning prompted the response that the cheque had just been printed which was a coincidence. My cynical mind says that companies offer discounts via these rebate offers in the hope that people forget to send in the claim and if they do don't bother to follow it up but it certainly makes me think twice about offers that include mail-in rebates. As a general rule are most of these things dealt with efficiently or are they most times inclined to be long drawn out affairs?

I tried mail in rebates a couple of times. One resulted in nothing, the other a cheque in US dollars that would have cost as much to cash as it was worth. Now if I see a product comes with a mail in rebate I choose a different one.

Why not just price the item accordingly without the 'blindsiding'? Only experience is from Staples again (they seem to prefer this method instead of just offering a decent price) when purchasing a router with an online rebate. We did it online and it came within a few weeks so no real problems. I have heard stories of never-ending sagas but these seem to occur when the rebate is the traditional mail type.

I tend to steer away from these offers now and pick an equivalent item which has a face value price. They just seem dodgy somehow.

I never gave credence to the mail in rebate (after rebate) price... it would just be an added bonus should two places have the same product for the same price. Having said that, I did send away for about 3 mail in rebates (many more I didn't bother with) and of those, I got a cheque in the mail for 2 of the 3 (from big name companies like Sony & Toshiba) and the third I didn't bother chasing up and never heard back from.

Having said that, it took about 3-6 months for the cheques to arrive in the post from the 2 that did respond.

I have sent in these rebates on four occasions, not thinking that I would receive anything back. However I did get all of them back for a total of over $80, so well worth the two month wait to receive them.

I do try to avoid them, but on the occasions I have used them, they worked - eventually!

Jane

If I'm looking to buy an item, I always add the mail-in-rebate on top of the advertised price, to get the "real" price. I've heard too many stories about how you have to chase after the companies to get your money back, and am avoiding it whenever possible.

It seems like this is probably the right way to look at it and that most people are wary of whether they will get the rebate or not. It really bothers me how many products seem to shout out their special offer price but of course that happens to be after the rebate.

I was waiting for the B&D Autotape to come on sale at Canadian Tire which retails for $29.99. (I'm short and measuring windows is part of my job.) Watched for months but finally came on sale for 20% off PLUS a $20 mail-in rebate in Candadian Tire vouchers. Kept thinking this has got to be wrong. Took a few months and gave up but the vouchers actually showed up last week...so it was worth it as I needed the product anyway. But for the most part I really do try and avoid them.

Cathie

I hate them and don't know anybody who doesn't. It's done for the tax:
e.g. You pay $100 for an item with a mail-in rebate of $20. You pay whatever taxes are appropriate to where you live, on the full price of $100 , but you get back exactly $20 (i.e. not $20 + tax) . If the price was to be reduced to $80, the taxes would also be reduced - and we can't have that, can we!

My advice to you, keep chasing the Best Buy one - we got royally stung by them and 'lost' Just over three hundred dollars on a rebate we never got back - after months of complaining/phoning/chasing we were told you didn't get the rebate because there was no such offer (this is after receiving a letter asking us to send another part of the box ). We gave up! Maybe we shouldn't have done, we will now not get anything with a mail in rebate for more than $50, we would rather go without or look for a deal elsewhere and wait.

Hope you get your dosh!

That sounds terrible and such a con and I hadn't even considered Snowgoose's point on the tax.

My wife is so much more determined than I am and I know she won't give up chasing the cash.

So, you're suggesting that the whole concept is a government organized conspiracy? Don't get me wrong, I'd never buy something just because it came with a mail-in rebate, but this post is nonsense.

I think the point is with mail in rebates, you pay the full price + applicable taxes at the till. What a mail in rebate basically means is that once the manufacturer offering the rebate recieves your proof of purchase etc, they send you a 'gift' cash back of ____ amount, they dont offer you ___ amount + tax as cash back, so its not technically tricking the consumer except for maybe the most niave shoppers out there.

No it's probably not fair, but if the consumer is aware, they will make an informed decision to either shop around comparing full price (add on amount of mail in rebate to advertised price) and find the cheapest based on that, or take a gamble on getting some money back.

Tax is only one issue...Most of these companies are well aware of two things. 1. a large number of people will fail to, or forget to, send for the rebate. Bingo, extra profit.
2. A significant number who do send for the rebate, will shortly forget that they haven't received it and not pursue it. Bingo, extra profit.

Those rebates also always have expiry dates, so fail to send for it before that date...Bingo, extra profit.

Sort of like gift cards that expire. Now THAT is outright theft. Someone pays a store $100 for a gift card. The gift card is not used within a specified period of time....lose the $100. Total theft.

I've sent of countless rebates, and all have been honoured (eventually) without me having to chase them. Time frames vary a lot. The largest was a $500 government rebate on my central air conditioning unit. In that case the deal was so popular they extended it by 6 months, regardless of the published expiry date.

I think the promoters count on a certain number of people forgetting to get the rebate, but really its a simple way for the store to shift the onus for encouraging sales back onto the manufacturer, who is after all the one offering the deal.