There are four words that, when I'm looking for bargains, are the death sentence of almost any deal I find.
“After mail in rebate”
I can't stand rebates. I always have. There have only been a few instances where I have actually used rebates, but most of the time it's a deal-killer.
Why?
- I'm impatient – If I'm going to get a deal, I want it now and the rebate means that I have to delay the ‘deal' part of it.
- I want to spend what I'm going to spend, and not a penny more – The rebate always makes you spend more up front and (in theory) get some of that back later. That's a free loan to the manufacturer.
- I'm lazy / forgetful – I don't have a system and don't want a system to track rebates, and yes I've forgotten to send them in. It's what the companies count on when they offer the rebates and I'd rather deal with a company that gives you the deal straight-up.
- The terms / companies are a pain in the kiester – Cutting off the barcodes. Sending the receipt. Making sure to make a copy of the receipt. Highlighting the items. Putting everything together. They're all little steps that involve little effort, but they're all so little that they're a) a pain to do and b) easy to forget a step.
- Things get ‘lost' in the mail– I've had / heard of rebates that get sent in and nothing ever comes back. Unless you were diligent enough to make a copy, the company can just claim that they never received the paperwork.
I know that rebates work for some people, and they have in the past for us. When we moved into our house, we happened to move in during a big rebate on paint, that got us back $60 or so.
I also know that the complaints I have listed are all manageable, it's just that I have made the personal decision that they're not worth the aggravation. It's a judgment call that I made, but it's one that means that when I am deal-hunting, by the time I see the words ‘after mail in rebate', it's pretty much assured that I'm already looking at the next deal.
What do you think about rebates?
