Life's too short for rebates

I've only had 1 rebate not come in from OCZ, with an actual letter reply back saying I had mailed it in late. I did leave this one to the last minute due to a slip up, so I didn't bother disputing it, as it may have likely been true. Otherwise all my rebates have come in, including others from OCZ. These include companies that people consider "good" like Corsair, to companies people might consider "bad" like Powercolor.

I used to save more then the advertised with rebates as well, since they are usually in USD but advertised here in Canadian. Well this isn't true anymore though due to the exchange rate :p

I honestly don't mind the long delay time, since I'm not remotely spending to my limit and living pay check to pay check so to speak, as long as I get it.

Do I wish there was an alternative? Sure.
 
I think the rebate business has been cleaned up. The 4myrebate people have made it simple since they pre-fill everything; you just got to sign and attach the UPC.

They then scan the forms you send in and they are visible on the web-site. I think the model is changing that the rebate processing company simply gets paid per rebate they process, and the actual act of payment is the responsibility of the vendor. The vendor can check the submitted material on line and then approve it.

A lot of companies are now using 4myrebate and it seems to be be working.

In most cases MIRs are needed to move inventory which is stuck and is fast falling in price. The retailer has already paid the vendor some amount and the vendor compensates the end customer by sending in a rebate check. Of course they count on a certain percentage of misses.
 
Rebates are just bonus you get when you buy an item. That's how I look at it. I've sent in all my XFX rebates probably from Nov 2010 to Jan 2011 and received all of them back. $140 in total. The down side is the wait. I send and forget. If I get them, I get them. And usually I do. They have instructions. Follow them. I print the addresses on all the envelopes I send. One less thing to worry about. The mailman not being able to read my handwriting.
 
I've never had a problem with rebates. I've even called newegg because I missed out on one and they gave me an equivalent discount. Maybe I've just been one of the fortunate ones but I hear so many rebate horror stories that I too wish we never had to deal with them. I'd like to see a better rebate setup where the retailer applies for and receives the rebate so the consumer doesn't have to. That would make me happy. It wouldn't change the rebate structure much and would give even more incentive for consumers to purchase goods. Retailers could even streamline this process with their suppliers so the rebates are filed for more easily, more speedy, and they can get their money quicker. I still find it ridiculous that you have to actually cut the UPC off the box in order to file for one. You would think it todays world you wouldn't have submit for rebates via snail mail.
 
nxcess said:
Rebates are just bonus you get when you buy an item. That's how I look at it. I've sent in all my XFX rebates probably from Nov 2010 to Jan 2011 and received all of them back. $140 in total. The down side is the wait. I send and forget. If I get them, I get them. And usually I do. They have instructions. Follow them. I print the addresses on all the envelopes I send. One less thing to worry about. The mailman not being able to read my handwriting.
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I keep a sticky note on my main PC to remind to fill them out, and don't remove it until I've received the check. It works well. Hardest part about the rebate for me is putting the paperwork together. I don't use snail mail anymore, so I'm constantly having to grub an envelope from someone for these. I have enough stamps for maybe 15 more rebates, then I have to determine whether its worth it or not, haha.
 
Totally agree with the OP, but the problem is there are so many DEAL WHORES that will do absolutely anything for the lowest price best deal no matter what will still fall for the rebate shit and make the purchase.. we are still the minority on this enthusiast forum.. i doubt anything we say here will make any difference
 
You get it Techx!
Simply read all the posts and see all the life shortening steps involved in filing the rebates, following up on 'em, even those damned rebate cards are a PITA because more followup is usually required with them...it's all BS and I'm tired of the stench.
 
Rebates are generally used by smaller companies who need the extra cash now. For instance to prop up their revenue for an earnings report. You will never see Intel, for instance, offering rebates. I try to avoid them unless the deal is too good to pass up (at least $20 savings over a non rebate product).
 
Techx said:
Totally agree with the OP, but the problem is there are so many DEAL WHORES that will do absolutely anything for the lowest price best deal no matter what will still fall for the rebate shit and make the purchase.. we are still the minority on this enthusiast forum.. i doubt anything we say here will make any difference
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i dont know...im with you...it's absolutely ignorant the extent people around here will go to save a few bucks. I'm all for saving a dollar where I can, but not if I have to actually do anything for it. Yes I mean that.....I am the consumer, if you want my money for the product you sell you will accept my money and i will accept your item.

This transaction is not a date, I do not wish to hold your hand or get to second base. I do nto wish to fill out anything, mail anything, read anything, or anything resembling those things in order to buy your item. You have an item with a price. Either I will pay this price or not. So the item was $300 last week but this week you are willing to sell it for $250 eh? Oh but wait...we still want your $300, you have to fill out a form and cut out the right thing on the package and make sure to mail by said date and spend time wondering, thinking.....waiting...to maybe receive back my $50? WTF? Hell no!

I don't want a short term summer relationship, I want the item for the price you are willing to pay and that's it. If Newegg wants to sell me an item for $300 with a $50 rebate i will pay no more than $250 for it now or else I will buy something else.

It's the freaking deal whores around here that feed those companies you're right. Makew me freaking sick to see what lengths people will go as if their time means nothing, they whore themselves out for a few dollars.

What especially pisses me off is when I see a thread that is something like....."ZOMG ATI HD5990 SO HAWT $399 w/MIR, after Cash Back, if you request a line of credit + Google Checkout + Slick Deals Promo Code + Some other random internet code + another $50 off if you give some random internet marketing company your life history and click the mouse with your toe to get free shipping!!!!ZOMG!!!! "

Why don't you just go bend over goats3 style on the street corner. You'll make enough money to get a better deal that way and at least then the damage is limited to your sphincter.....:eek:
 
I always fill them out, but I don't consider the after rebate price in my purchase decision.

Of course like everyone else I prefer the instant rebate over the mail it in and wait two months to a year for the rebate to come in.
 
I don't see what the fuss is about, I don't think rebates are a bad thing. Sure it's not a good idea to make purchasing decisions based on rebates, but they are a nice little bonus. I never assume I will receive a rebate, but then again I have never been denied one.

Sometimes rebates are like icing on the cake. I recently jumped on the XFX BE 850W deal at newegg, the price was already great at 129.99, I immediately mailed in the $40 rebate and I have faith I'll eventually receive it. That's a sweet PSU for 90 bucks! And if I never get the rebate oh well, it's still a good deal. Win/win as far as I'm concerned!
 
Impulse said:
I don't mind rebates, I think I've gotten back a good 90% of the rebates I've sent for, if not more... Off the top of my mind I can only remember forgetting to send one over the last four years, and getting denied approval for one in the same time frame.

That being said, I do go out of my way to buy from companies with a proven track record... For instance, if I can buy a GPU or memory from a Corsair or an ASUS instead of a HIS or a Sapphire then I'll go with the former even if it's $5-10 more (tho not if it's too much more). Those companies usually have better support, better warranties, and they've cut me slack in the past when something went wrong w/rebates (Corsair in particular).

I bought my HTC EVO for $300 up front but it ended up costing me just $125 in the end, that was WELL WORTH IT. I could've gone to Best Buy and gotten it for $200 up front, but I had no issues getting my $100 rebate from Sprint, my $50 discount split over the first two monthly bills from Sprint (w/a code from StudentRate), and my $25 check direct from StudentRate (where the whole offer originates). Heck I even got a free screen protector out of the deal ($20 value), tho I didn't use it, could probably sell it for another $5-10.

Over the last three or so years I've sent in rebates from XFX, ASUS, Corsair (more than once), G.Skill, Sprint/StudentRate, and Ultra I think... Didn't have trouble with any of those. I can't remember who denied one right now but I'm pretty sure there was one last year, maybe it was just the one I forgo that I'm thinking of. I'm about to fill one out w/MSI, fingers crossed. :D If it pans out I got a pretty good deal on my Sandy Bridge build ($35 combo discount from Newegg on mobo/CPU, $20 mobo MIR from MSI, free game from MSI, and a 15% discount on memory from Newegg).
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Do you know if studentrate still has that evo deal??
 
Not sure, check their message boards, I'm also getting a monthly 23% discount on my Sprint bill thru them... Which adds up to a lot more and I believe that it's always available. They're often running deals on new phones for several carriers tho, ran one on the Epic too.
 
I also try hard to avoid rebates and treat rebates as a "bonus." Obviously if the before rebate price is good and there's a rebate on top it's a steal. But how often does that happen? Generally, if the before rebate price isn't a good price I generally will not purchase. Some rebates allow companies to take 3-6 months to get the rebate back to you and that's way too long.
 
I stopped doing MIR like 10 years ago. Once in a while I will buy something with a MIR but I never fill them out and I never consider them as a discount I will get with purchase.

Mainly because you never see them mailed back to you.

And Newegg has tons of them now.
 
They don't waste much time if you don't go all OCD on them.

Never not gotten a rebate.
 
I bought an OCZ SSD last thanksgiving sent in for the $20 Manufacturer rebate. Emailed them and they said they don't handle rbate, its another company. Now HOW IS THAT A MANUFACTURERS REBATE? False advertising and fraud is what it is, and I've been a loyal Newegg customer for 10 years, but I think they should take the hit on this BS. They advertise products as manufactuers rebates when they aren't, they are just fraudulant scams. So I put the blame on NewEgg.
 
Yeah.

PNY 8GB DDR3 8500 SODIMM kit: $84.99 - $20 MIR = $64.99
Bonus: Free Sony Movie download.

G.Skill 8GB DDR3 8500 SODIMM kit: $79.99 - $10 instant code = $69.99

I went with G.Skill. I use their stuff in my desktop anyway.

I thought the bonus movie would be worth the effort so I looked at the choices. I own half of them on DVD and the others are utter shit and surely DRM'd to death anyway.
 
Mail in rebates are a scam. I personally dont know anyone thats ever gotten one back.

I recently bought a Sapphire 5870 cause it was a great price at the time of $230 + an additional $30 MIR and even though I applied for it, I dont expect it.

First you have to go online and register or it wont be honored. Then you have to print out the proper form for your model or it wont be honored. Then you have to check off the 3 boxes or it wont be honored. Then you have to sign it or it wont be honored. Then you cant just write the address on there, you have to cut out the label and stick it on the envelope or it wont be honored. Its almost funny the lengths they go to, to trip you up on a technicality so they can get out of it.

I was careful to read every bit of fine print on the instructions so Im curious to see if they actually send me my $30 American Express debit card....which is another thing - you know how many places DONT take American Express?!

Yeah, MIR's = total scam.
 
If there is a rebate I'll print out the stuff right then and there after purchase, get the papers ready and just have it done with. Takes a few minutes. But places like Tigerdirect that advertise their prices with rebates, no freakin thanks. A rebate should be a bonus like 'oh hey cool'. Not see a low price and then get pissed because they were misleading you.
 
Gym Rat said:
Mail in rebates are a scam. I personally dont know anyone thats ever gotten one back.

I recently bought a Sapphire 5870 cause it was a great price at the time of $230 + an additional $30 MIR and even though I applied for it, I dont expect it.

First you have to go online and register or it wont be honored. Then you have to print out the proper form for your model or it wont be honored. Then you have to check off the 3 boxes or it wont be honored. Then you have to sign it or it wont be honored. Then you cant just write the address on there, you have to cut out the label and stick it on the envelope or it wont be honored. Its almost funny the lengths they go to, to trip you up on a technicality so they can get out of it.

I was careful to read every bit of fine print on the instructions so Im curious to see if they actually send me my $30 American Express debit card....which is another thing - you know how many places DONT take American Express?!

Yeah, MIR's = total scam.
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Well let's not exaggerate to the point of lying. You do get them back if you follow the steps and send it in on time. Yes it does take forever though. My last rebate was from a MSI 5830 card and took 2 and a half months.
 
Gym Rat said:
Mail in rebates are a scam. I personally dont know anyone thats ever gotten one back.

I recently bought a Sapphire 5870 cause it was a great price at the time of $230 + an additional $30 MIR and even though I applied for it, I dont expect it.

First you have to go online and register or it wont be honored. Then you have to print out the proper form for your model or it wont be honored. Then you have to check off the 3 boxes or it wont be honored. Then you have to sign it or it wont be honored. Then you cant just write the address on there, you have to cut out the label and stick it on the envelope or it wont be honored. Its almost funny the lengths they go to, to trip you up on a technicality so they can get out of it.

I was careful to read every bit of fine print on the instructions so Im curious to see if they actually send me my $30 American Express debit card....which is another thing - you know how many places DONT take American Express?!

Yeah, MIR's = total scam.
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Personally I don't see how ANY of that requires a gargantuan amount of effort on your end, it sounds pretty straightforward. I'm not denying that certain companies might try to look for loopholes and technicalities to deny rebates, but not EVERY rebate handler is that much of a hardass. If you don't know ANYONE that has ever received a rebate you and your friends must have terrible luck, plenty of opposite experiences on this thread.

I do agree with your last point tho, I dislike the practice of sending out debit cards instead of checks... Then I have to remember to use it and it just seems like one more way to slow down the payout. Plus a lot of places won't take those gift cards and places like a gas station may put a hold charge on it, forcing you to wait even longer to spend it (has happened to me, still spent every dime on it eventually tho).
 
Youre right that not every rebate handler is that strict. Seems to only be with computer components. Ive done MIR's several times for cameras, cell phones, memory cards and stuff like that and its usually a matter of putting a copy of the receipt, UPC code off the box and a form on the receipt or printout with your name and address on it, all in an envelope and waiting 2-4 weeks.

Ive never seen one where you had to check off the boxes that listed the receipt, UPC and printout or the rebate would be turned down. Even if theyre in there, your rebate will be refused if you dont check the boxes that say theyre in there!

Nor have I ever seen one where you cant write the address on the envelope, you have to print out their label and tape it to the envelope or the rebate will be refused. And their label isnt anything more than an address. No big bar code or anything that you couldnt write down yourself.

And all of this is moot if you dont first go onto their website and dig around long enough to find where to register for your rebate.

Im not saying these are hard to do or that theyre doing anything illegal or misleading anybody or anything like that. All it takes is a little attention to detail but its obvious theyre trying their hardest to trip you up on some small technicality. No worse than the IRS I suppose. :D

So my philosophy is to shop for and buy for the "out the door" price and any rebates will be icing on the cake if you get them and no big loss if you dont.
 
MIRs aren't too bad. I bought a printer the girl at the store told me i'll get the $100 rebate back in 7-10days...well 1 month later I did get it, which was still pretty sweet. I just signed up with this deal from sprint & studentrate where I'm going to get a $25 rebate, $50 service credit, $100 MIR, and $125 service credit...if I end up getting all that money back this year I'll be happy! haha
 
CoffeeCake said:
MIRs aren't too bad. I bought a printer the girl at the store told me i'll get the $100 rebate back in 7-10days...well 1 month later I did get it, which was still pretty sweet. I just signed up with this deal from sprint & studentrate where I'm going to get a $25 rebate, $50 service credit, $100 MIR, and $125 service credit...if I end up getting all that money back this year I'll be happy! haha
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I got in on the same StudentRate deal, or a similar one when the EVO came out... The $100 MIR isn't really with them but directly with Sprint (it's the standard rebate on new phones), the $50 credit was split in two across my first two Sprint bills (also handled by Sprint if you entered the proper code when signing up), and the $25 was just a check that StudentRate sends you...

I didn't have an issue with any of it. I'm not sure where that last $125 service credit you mention comes in, but I also got a 23% monthly discount for life thru SR, which by itself will end up being worth more than all the other discounts put together (lowers my monthly Sprint bill by $16). Oh and I got a free screen protector to boot, I think they've been doling out free car chargers instead lately. It's a killer deal all in all.
 
http://studentrate.com/StudentRate/...print-HTC-EVO-StudentRate-Member-Discount--/0

Oh I see where your other $125 credit comes from... They're now doing that for people who bring their number over from other carriers. Damn, that's even sweeter, shame they weren't doing it back in June.

As for the monthly discount, I think the standard discount is 15% (you should have at 'least that if you bought it thru SR) but they also offer a 23% option that's only supposed to be for certain institutions or something... However after a while a lot of people realized they just weren't enforcing it, nobody was outright saying so (specially not the StudentRate reps), but it was a wink-and-nod sort of thing. I started off w/the 15% and then applied for the 23% later; the Sprint store approved it without any questions, didn't even reset my contract dates.

You should try it out if there's still an option to do so, nothing to lose. I think they had two different links within the window that pops up on the offer page (after you've clicked the box that says "Click for Code")... One would take you to the Sprint store w/the 15% code applied and the other would take you to the same page w/23%. They weren't very clearly labeled either. If you were already a Sprint customer it works the same except it's worded differently at the Sprint web store, but it gave the option to switch over from whatever you're at.

I skipped over to the last page of the thread on their message boards and it seems some people have had issues getting all their discounts in order but I'll tell ya what... It went thru without a single issue for me. The only problem I had was that I originally ordered my phone to my P.O. Box so Sprint called me that very morning (the day it launched) to re-do the order w/a different address, but they correctly re-entered my discount codes and whatnot.

Worth mentioning that SR also waives activation fees for ya, altho the standard Sprint online store also does that... But that's another $20-30 saved vs just going to Best Buy and getting the phone for $200 minus rebates. Sure it's cheaper up front, but you save a heck of a lot more w/SR.
 
Hmm, looks like they've re-formatted the page, maybe they're not doing the 23% as widespread anymore... Dunno, you'll have to read thru the thread at SR to figure it out. The difference isn't huge either way, it's like $16 off vs $10 of on the basic 450 plan... I think even the 15% is higher than the discount they're doing for other carriers, kind of makes up for Sprint's generally higher phone prices imo.
 
dr.stevil said:
I agree

MIRs are a waste of time. They're unreliable and not worth the hastle unless you're getting a large chunk of cash back (more than $80.00)... and even then, 9 times out of 10, you're lucky to even get it. Out of all the MIR's I've sent out in the past, I've only ever recieved a small handful of checks to cash.
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I really don't understand this attitude. I've used MIR for years and received every single one. I'm very confident in receiving them back and am definitely not afraid to use the cost after rebate as a purchase point since I've never missed one. I've bought from Newegg, ZZZ, Amazon, MWave, Tiger Direct, etc., and never missed out on a single one.

I also follow directions exactly and don't uses MIR's from companies I don't know. Corsair, OCZ, Asus, GB, and the rest of the top brands have quality MIR's.

A year or two ago there was a $79 PSU on Newegg from some no-name company. Everyone was fired up over it because the MIR was for the exact amount that it cost ($79). It was obviously a scam and people didn't receive the rebate. Point is, you gotta use comon sense when choosing who you trust for MIR's.
 
MavericK96 said:
The website for that program is no longer up. Do you have a link or a download for it? I'd like to try it.
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Sorry, didn't see this before. http://files.invisibill.net/URT108Setup.zip


alienate said:
Rebates are generally used by smaller companies who need the extra cash now. For instance to prop up their revenue for an earnings report. You will never see Intel, for instance, offering rebates. I try to avoid them unless the deal is too good to pass up (at least $20 savings over a non rebate product).
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I've received three Intel rebates in the past year. Two on SSDs and one on an i3, $30 each. http://intel.4myrebate.com/
 
If its a good deal I will usually bite if I can afford to pay the price before rebate. Why does everyone act like its such a hassle to send them in? You cut the upc off the box fill out a short form and put it in the mailbox sitting right outside your house. Its not a big deal.
 
darkhunter139 said:
If its a good deal I will usually bite if I can afford to pay the price before rebate. Why does everyone act like its such a hassle to send them in? You cut the upc off the box fill out a short form and put it in the mailbox sitting right outside your house. Its not a big deal.
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Why do you feel it is reasonable to go through that hassle, no matter how small? The way I see it my time is worth something. If I can pay for the item and walk out of the store satisfied, that's a good deal to me. If I have to walk out, make sure not to toss box or receipt, make sure to follow all directions carefully, and be sure to mail it off in time.....that's entirely too much to ask to me.. if you want to sell a $300 item for $275, I will give you $275 now and we're done. Anything else requires far too much effort on my part. I don't want a relationship with the company, just a quickie. The only ones I ever bothered with were the ones I got from Verizon and they make it so easy with the money being sent on a prepaid card and all....it was virtually no effort but even as I mailed that one off I felt like a cheap whore.
 
nobody_here said:
Why do you feel it is reasonable to go through that hassle, no matter how small? The way I see it my time is worth something. If I can pay for the item and walk out of the store satisfied, that's a good deal to me. If I have to walk out, make sure not to toss box or receipt, make sure to follow all directions carefully, and be sure to mail it off in time.....that's entirely too much to ask to me.. if you want to sell a $300 item for $275, I will give you $275 now and we're done. Anything else requires far too much effort on my part. I don't want a relationship with the company, just a quickie. The only ones I ever bothered with were the ones I got from Verizon and they make it so easy with the money being sent on a prepaid card and all....it was virtually no effort but even as I mailed that one off I felt like a cheap whore.
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It takes two minutes to do that, its not a big deal. If you want to pay more for an item just so you don't have to spend two minutes of your precious time filling out a small form then okay.
 
eventhough i've went for good deal with MIR, i do agree, life is too short for rebate. the major deal with rebate is probably 25% (or more) either forget to fill out the rebate form or too late and another 25% (or more) make some mistake. so they end up making full profit on those items. that's the main deal and a very smart business strategy for profits.

True Story: a friend of mine bought Yamaha bike and it had $1500 rebate, great deal right, he got it and before he can fill out the rebate he had an accident and DOtS. bike is worthless and rebate is gone. i feel bad for him but life has to go on.
 
I used to do MIR's but not anymore. Generally the only time I buy something that has a rebate I end up just giving the rebate form and receipt to my mom and let her keep the rebate when it comes in cause I'm too lazy to mail it back.
 
Just got back the last of my three rebates from my new build. Sent them all out on 12/21/2010. Received the XFX rebate on 1/22/2011, got the Antec rebate on 2/26/2011, and got the MSI rebate on 3/5/2011. I got a total of $85 back, so thank you to those who choose not to do them so I can get money back. :D
 
If I see a "Hot Deal" that involves MIR, I don't go there. Especially T.D. I have forgotten how many times I never recieved a rebait from them.
FUCK MIRs!
 
darkhunter139 said:
It takes two minutes to do that, its not a big deal. If you want to pay more for an item just so you don't have to spend two minutes of your precious time filling out a small form then okay.
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What if I lost the receipt? What if I tossed the box because I opened it in the mall or something like that and then got home to find out there was a rebate? My point is if they want to sell it for $20 less than a week ago, don't even ask me to do anything for it. I simply cannor be bothered. I would rather pay $20 more than have to remember to keep the junk and mail it off and so forth. Yes.
 
Impulse said:
Hmm, looks like they've re-formatted the page, maybe they're not doing the 23% as widespread anymore... Dunno, you'll have to read thru the thread at SR to figure it out. The difference isn't huge either way, it's like $16 off vs $10 of on the basic 450 plan... I think even the 15% is higher than the discount they're doing for other carriers, kind of makes up for Sprint's generally higher phone prices imo.
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The 15% is what SR will initially set you up with but when you get your phone you can call them and they'll move you to 23%.
 
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