MisterBill Posted November 15, 2005 Posted November 15, 2005 Another recommendation I would make is that if the rebate is substantial, say $100+, you may want to consider sending it Certified Return Reciept. It'll cost you around $4.00 as I recall. It's not bullet-proof, but the rebate company cannot deny that they received "something" from you.Except that the majority of rebates are rejected for reasons like the UPC missing, etc. Very few just don't show up or claim to have been postmarked after the appropriate date. And wasting $4 on Certified Mail will do NOTHING if they don't like what was in the envelope. Furthermore, some rebate forms now state that they will not accept Certified Mail.
rc9277 Posted November 15, 2005 Posted November 15, 2005 Staples is the best store for rebates. By the way, TCA is apparently out of business, so their rebates are now being handled by Parago (which handles Staples rebates among others).
MisterBill Posted November 15, 2005 Posted November 15, 2005 Definitely make copies of everything and beware the double or triple rebates when there is only one upc available. That's where officemax tries to get sleazy.Except in those cases if you read the forms carefully you will see that all but one of the forms will accept a copy of the UPC (or in cases of Symantec/McAfee rebates, they take the POP from the box tab).
Marcster Posted November 15, 2005 Posted November 15, 2005 Except in those cases if you read the forms carefully you will see that all but one of the forms will accept a copy of the UPC (or in cases of Symantec/McAfee rebates, they take the POP from the box tab).I have had double rebates where both demanded the original receipt. I ended up sending a copy to the rebate that was worth less...
MisterBill Posted November 15, 2005 Posted November 15, 2005 Talking of rebates... I wanted to check with you folks if anyone had been in my situation before. I bought a cell phone from wirefly.com in August and activated it with T-Mobile. There were 2 rebates - one from T-Mobile ($50) and another from wirefly.com($120). I sent the original UPC code with the T-Mobile rebate and when it came to the wirefly.com rebate (requires 2 monthly bills) I noticed that I don't have the copy of the UPC code. I'm thinking of purchasing the same phone from bestbuy or frys and copy the barcode and return the phone. Though I feel bad for doing so, I cannot forego the 120:gd_pirate Do you folks have any suggestion for me....Sure, use the copy of the original submission. You DID make a copy, right? If you didn't, I guess you could get the same phone.. you may have to activate and cancel service, however. I was going to say you were out of luck because many times they also want the ESN with the UPC but I checked a form on Wirefly and it does not seem to need that. If you did not make a copy of your T-Mobile submission, let this be a lesson to you to ALWAYS make copies.
freesia39 Posted November 15, 2005 Posted November 15, 2005 I also do year round rebates. Just remember to copy everything. I even copy the stamped envelope after I get everything in there.i'm a little worse than that - i am paranoid over the postmark date, so i use the postage meter machine at work to stamp the envelope, and then i photocopy the envelope, to prove i addressed it correctly and it was postmarked the correct date.
Karmon Posted November 15, 2005 Posted November 15, 2005 i ALWAYS GET MY REBATES BACK. It may take a ferw weeks, but its nice to get money after the holidays
Marcster Posted November 15, 2005 Posted November 15, 2005 i'm a little worse than that - i am paranoid over the postmark date, so i use the postage meter machine at work to stamp the envelope, and then i photocopy the envelope, to prove i addressed it correctly and it was postmarked the correct date.Hey, that's good!
aznsniper911 Posted November 15, 2005 Posted November 15, 2005 i only did rebates 1 and it was for cingular got my rebate 10 months later. after that i never do rebates.
MisterBill Posted November 15, 2005 Posted November 15, 2005 i'm a little worse than that - i am paranoid over the postmark date, so i use the postage meter machine at work to stamp the envelope, and then i photocopy the envelope, to prove i addressed it correctly and it was postmarked the correct date.Except, how often is a rebate rejected for a bad postmark (when it should have been valid)? Almost never. The vast majority of rejections are being they claim you sent the wrong thing. And in that case, having proof that it was mailed on time is worthless. Plus there's nothing to prove that that was the actual envelope you mailed. You could have set the date back and printed the postage a month later.
leefamily23 Posted November 15, 2005 Posted November 15, 2005 I am still fighting w/ accuvue over a $40 rebate for contacts. Unfortunately, they didn't seem to like the way the prescription was written by Sear's. Go Figure. Personally, I hate all the work that goes w/ rebate's. BUT if they're more than $2 or $3 I'll do them.
msomnipotent Posted November 15, 2005 Posted November 15, 2005 What I hate are the tricky software rebates. One title could have 3 rebates, and each need different things. I especially hate it when the largest rebate is only for people who had to software last year and are upgrading it, like the Turbo Tax. Of course I open the package without reading the fine print. Nothing is truly free!
ponn01 Posted November 15, 2005 Posted November 15, 2005 I hate mail in rebates and try my hardest to avoid them. When I looked at Gateway they always had mail in rebates and I just couldn't understand them. It's Gateway, you are buying a Gateway computer from my store so what is the point of the mail in rebate?? Of course I quickly learned it was just a scam because they were playing the numbers game fully expecting messed up forms and people just plain forgeting or too lazy to send them in.
skytrain Posted November 16, 2005 Posted November 16, 2005 I am new to online shopping at Staples on black friday. How does rebates work when you order online . Did anyone have a problem doing them. I haven't had a problem with any rebates from things I have bought at the store but am a little hesistant doing it online because I don't want any problems.
albrandwood Posted November 16, 2005 Posted November 16, 2005 I do 200+ rebates a year ($1200 on Presidents Day alone) ... I'll probably not get checks for around 3-4 of them ... if the rebate is small (like $5) then I'm more likely to give in early ... Personally, I believe that you should only do rebates, if (a) you are prepared to make copies etc, ( you understand that it is a numbers game © you are prepared to fight for the rebates (using BBB, FTC and AG if necessary) (d) you can afford to loose the rebate. I've never done Certified Return Reciept, but thats cos I've never had a "failed to be recieved" ... missing UPC, missing reciepts, missing my ass ... I even had an email telling me one was rejected due to lack of email address provided !!! Just remember, when you are fighting a rebate, the person you are talking to is not at fault. Yes they work for the rebate company, but they did not decide to reject it ... Store rebates tend to be more reliable than manufacturer rebates. The store has more to loose, since the chances of you buying 2 plasma screens is fairly low, but the chances of you returning to BB (for example) is high. (also, recent lawsuits (Ohio vs BB, and CompUSA Class Action) have put the responsibility of Rebates squarely on the sholders of the retailer, irrespective of who sponsored the rebate.) Will I be doing rebates this year? hell yeah ... by the looks of things, probably around $500, which will push the total purchase prices into the 0% for 12 months categories ... as soon as the rebates appear, I'll pay down the balances.... (Presidents Day this year, net $1800 after around $1200 rebates ... as the total price was over $3k (or whatever), that gave 3 yrs 0% finance) ... or put another way, $3k+ for only $50/mth :-) @
albrandwood Posted November 16, 2005 Posted November 16, 2005 i'm a little worse than that - i am paranoid over the postmark date, so i use the postage meter machine at work to stamp the envelope, and then i photocopy the envelope, to prove i addressed it correctly and it was postmarked the correct date.Unfortunately, the date on the postage machine can be easily changed, so its not exactly proof ... all you are showing is a correctly addressed envelope with a (non USPS generated) postmark. (However, you are showing that you really want to save money, since your employer is picking up your $0.37 stamp costs :-D) (Oh, FYI for those thinking this is a way to avoid late mailing issues ... USPS don't like it if the envelope is not mailed within 24 hrs of the stamp) ... @
BLKFRI Posted November 16, 2005 Posted November 16, 2005 a year?! there may be hope yet from the one i submitted last year!Yeah, but all 3 times, it took 6 mos of their telling me they didn't get it, me resubmitting, them telling me 3 more weeks, them repeating not getting it, resubmit by fax, them telling me 3 more weeks, them repeating not getting it. Them telling me I cashed the check, me asking for a copy.................SOYO SUX! I still have all their E-mails. I was thinking about sending them to the state.
ShawnainKY02 Posted November 16, 2005 Posted November 16, 2005 I've never had any trouble with rebates... other than remembering to mail them. :)
BLKFRI Posted November 16, 2005 Posted November 16, 2005 I've never had any trouble with rebates... other than remembering to mail them. :)Thats the main reason they offer them!
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