Are rebates still a scam? What % actually send a check?

[John Connor]

I've noticed Newegg has so called rebate cards. Does anyone have experience with those?

 

[Svnla]

I've noticed Newegg has so called rebate cards. Does anyone have experience with those?

Companies don't send out checks for rebate anymore unless they are less than $10. They send prepaid Visa/American Express cards.

 

[John Connor]

Oh cool! That makes it much easier then! I wasn't sure what a rebate card was.

 

[Raincity]

The rebate company processor for Seasonic screwed me out of $20 last year. They denied the claim due to being incomplete. When I question them on what was not submitted or incomplete, they could not provide an answer. I then resubmitted the claim with copies of the invoice and UPC that was later denied due to copies are invalid. When I requested the originals to be returned for another submittal. They where no where to be found and could not be returned. After talking to a supervisor about this catch 22 situation that they created. I was basically told to go pound sand. So you can get screwed even if you cross the eyes and dot the tees.

 

[splat_ed]

Well, I'm 100% on rebates - one for one

Doesn't figure into my buying. If I want the item and it's at the price I want to pay, I'll buy it. The rebate represents a nice bonus for me.

Doesn't help that rebates aren't that big (that I've seen) over here in Japan.

 

[Scooby Doo]

Canon does the AMEX rebate cards... hated the stupid thing, couldn't cash it out/transfer back to my bank. But for a Pro-100 for under $100, I would do it again lol.

 

[Meghan54]

I've had tons of rebates come through. Really, the only "scam" rebates I can remember were the Tiger Direct crapola ones they finally got sorta busted for. But to this day, I won't shop Tiger Direct or their owned "store fronts", i.e. CompUSA and Circuit City. Left too much of a bad taste in my mouth to ever trust that company ever again.

 

[Bateluer]

They're all pretty much scams, even if they eventually send out payment. So many hoops to jump through, and if you miss a cross on a T, no payment for you.

When shopping Newegg, its always 'look at the pre-rebate price' or for instant rebates.

 

[feralkid]

Subtract from that the time you spent finding the deal, getting the rebate, and shipping the item and you've made less than minimum wage.

You're doing it wrong.

 

[allisolm]

Some stores and retailers have eliminated the hoops to jump through. Most of Staples rebates can be submitted online, no fuss, no muss and you can choose to get a check or a prepaid Visa. I just got back $120 in rebates (prepaid Home Depot GCs) from Behr for paint. Submitted everything online, got the confirmation that it was all okay, waited the 8 weeks and the cards arrived.

 

[JManInPhoenix]

I have gotten all of the rebates I have applied for

 

[WilliamM2]

I have gotten every rebate I ever sent in, except one.

It was a $10 rebate on a Diamond HD750 TV tuner card I bought last year. They sent an email saying it was denied because they do not accept copies of the UPC, only the original. Of course I DID send the original as clearly outlined in the instructions. They ignored any further communication.

I fully expected it though, as every review on Newegg and Amazon claimed they were denied the rebate. Apparently Diamond MM is famous for this behavior. Card works great though, and it was a great price without the rebate.

 

[Lanyap]

I used to do lots of rebates back in the day when Hot Deals was busy and I received all of them. I followed all of the rules and if I did not receive it I contacted the rebate company. That's why I started the rebate contact thread here years ago. I do a few now and then these days.

I don't like the cards they send out now because you can't always use up the entire amount. You might have a $10 card and it won't work after you get below $1. I think that's really a scam on the card provider's part to keep the leftover money on the card.

 

[Engineer]

I don't like the cards they send out now because you can't always use up the entire amount. You might have a $10 card and it won't work after you get below $1. I think that's really a scam on the card provider's part to keep the leftover money on the card.

On top of that, there are some rebate companies that will charge you a fee if you don't use the card by a certain date and if you don't have enough to cover the amount, they will send you a bill (because the cards are made out to you at your address). I always use my cards in full or know how much is on them (always higher than a dollar) and then do a split transaction at places like Walmart, etc. to finish them off.

 

[marvdmartian]

I've never sent in a rebate on anything, as I refuse to buy any product with a mail in rebate attached. Just say no, and they'll stop doing it.

Yeah, because stopping rebates worked out so well for Best Buy. That's why they're right on top of the heap of retail stores, right?

Like has been said, fill it in correctly, make certain you've included everything, scan copies of everything (I do mine in a PDF format, so it's all together in one file that's easily e-mail-able), and get it mailed in time.

The only rebate I ever had to wait for was from Xigmatek, for some fans I bought from Newegg. Suddenly, a few months ago, I got an e-mail from them, apologizing profusely for the screwup, and promising a check soon. I sorta shrugged, and said, "whatever". Imagine my surprise, when it actually showed up in the mail......over a year and a half after I'd mailed in the rebate forms!! :thumbsup:

 

[zerocool84]

I prefer not to buy things with rebates.

 

[Brainonska511]

I don't like the cards they send out now because you can't always use up the entire amount. You might have a $10 card and it won't work after you get below $1. I think that's really a scam on the card provider's part to keep the leftover money on the card.

I either cash them out at my bank, if they allow it (but it generally only works for Citibank-issued rebate cards). If not, then I go to the grocery store and use the rebate card in the process of buying groceries - eg: tell the cashier to put $10 on the rebate card and then cover the rest with another card, thus using the whole rebate at once.

 

[bryanl]

I've noticed Newegg has so called rebate cards. Does anyone have experience with those?

Those from American Express and some from Visa can be converted to cash at no charge.

Many stores, even major chains, have problems processing rebate cards for partial payment, i.e. you make a purchase for $47.58 but the rebate card is has only $19.72 left on it, in which case the store's computer may require you to first pay the $27.86, by using another means, and only then can you can use the rebate card for the remainder. However if you use a debit or credit card to pay the $27.86, the entire $47.58 is likely to be charged to it, yet the computer may still let you swipe the rebate card for the "rest" of the payment. Then the cashier may assume the rebate card has been used up and will offer to throw it away for you, despite it still being worth $19.72. Moral: Never let the cashier throw away a card for you.

Another problem is some rebate cards allow charging more than the remaining balance and will handle the excess as a cash advance, complete with handling fee and interest charge billed to you.

 

[flimsy]

i use the cards for gas. it's easy to get the exact amount.

 

[Eug]

I remember reading an article a while back stating that there is a measurable non-submission rate for rebates, so companies doing this know that a specific percentage of the maximum cost won't be redeemed. That is one reason why they like these rebate schemes. It's not that they are intentionally trying to scam you. It's because they know many people can't be bothered to even attempt to apply for the rebate. However, if you follow the instructions properly and actually apply, you will more than likely get the rebate (with occasional mistakes).

Also, stores love gift cards. There is a certain percentage of gift cards that are never redeemed. Also, even if gift cards are used, a portion of of those used gift cards are not fully redeemed. eg. You get $50 gift card. You go to store and spend $42. That leaves $8. You never bother going back and spending the remaining $8. Gift cards also used to expire, but now in Canada it is illegal to have cards that expire.

 

[MotionMan]

I've gotten every rebate , hundreds of them, you just have to track it all

This, every time.

MotionMan

 

[alkemyst]

i use the cards for gas. it's easy to get the exact amount.

QFT. Most stores can also do the exact amount left on the card if you tell them.

I don't tend to always go after a few cents though if I missed it.

 

[Vinwiesel]

I've gotten most all of the rebates I've applied for. For a while I boycotted them, but I use them again as long as there is a accelerated/cash card option, and the rebate is $15 or more. I've had no trouble with these, and you don't even have to make a trip to the bank. About 1/3 of the time you have to hound the company about the rebate status, or nothing will happen.

Of course, keep copies of all documents, and only do rebates if you don't mind the hassle. Don't use the cash card for partial purchases, use it for a single purchase large enough to spend the entire balance, and pay the remainder with cash/credit.

 

[ultimatebob]

I've received most of the rebates I applied for, but some of them took months to arrive.

I usually don't bother with any rebates under $15, since making copies of all of the receipts isn't worth the hassle for me anymore.

 

[philipma1957]

I have gotten about 80% of y rebates. didn't get 2 for tigers direct didn't get one from err kingston.

I fought with kingston. posted about it on this forum years ago. Nov 2011

They paid me after a while.