Newsweek article about rebates

[exit88]

Newsweek article about rebates

 

[orion7144]

Good read

 

[weepul]

interesting article. thanks.

//krunk (^_^x)

 

[JeffSpicoli]

Says Al Goldberg of the Express Group: ?If the consumer follows the rules, 99 percent of the time things go smoothly.?

How come I seem to be in that 1% about 35% of the time? Especially with Express Group.

 

[trinitroDynamics]

I think this part of the article was most interesting:


As rebates multiply, the practice could have implications that go beyond customer satisfaction. Tax attorney Sandy Botkin says many of his small-business clients are confused by how to treat rebates when they file taxes. If a real-estate agent buys a $150 printer for her office but gets a $50 rebate, can she deduct the whole $150 on her Schedule C? Or should she declare the rebate as taxable income? The rule, accountants say, is that a taxpayer usually should deduct the after-rebate ?net cost? of $100. But ?a lot of people are writing off the whole thing and ignoring the rebate... not because they?re trying to cheat the government, but because they don?t know,? Botkin says. He thinks rebate forms should explain that only the net purchase price of business expenses is deductible.

 

[huesmann]

How's the IRS gonna know that you got a rebate? Does the rebater send this info to the IRS?

 

[MontyBurns]

Originally posted by: huesmann
How's the IRS gonna know that you got a rebate? Does the rebater send this info to the IRS?

The IRS doesn't "know" much of anything about you unless you are audited. But if you are... you have to account for every penny listed on your tax return.

 

[GoatHerderEd]

I love the last line:

"And if tracking down a rebate turns into a goose chase, look on the bright side: if you bought that ?free after rebate? cordless phone, at least you?ll be able to roam your home as you spend hours on hold."

 

[stevejst]

Good read. I have to say -- everybody needs to be informed, in particular about TCA "New Rochelle" rebates. Everybody needs to know about these crooks because not all the rebates are the same.

 

[stevejst]

When Sean and Esther Verma went computer shopping in November, a $100 rebate offer from Dell helped convince them to spend $1,100 on a desktop PC. When the computer arrived, Esther says, she promptly filled out and mailed in the rebate forms. Seven months later, after numerous phone calls, faxes and e-mails, she?s given up hope. ?Companies should be held responsible for their end of the deal,? Esther says. So last month the Vermas became lead plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit charging Dell with a ?systematic and wholesale failure to honor its contractual obligations to pay rebates.? Attorney Natalie Finkelman Bennett has already received e-mail from 220 potential plaintiffs in the Dell suit.

And this also needs to be a warning against dummies here advertising Dell deals as $1000 - $X - $Z - $Y ...
Feel lucky getting it?

 

[Sophia]

The fact that Dell offers mail-in rebates AT ALL has always seemed deceptive to me. The "purpose" of a rebate, so they say, is for a manufacturer to lower the cost of an item while circumventing the store, because the store may not lower the price for the consumer even after the manufacturer lowered it.

Dell IS the manufacturer. There is nothing to stop them from lowering their own prices directly, yet they offer rebates instead...

 

[ReiAyanami]

actually i think one reason Dell does it is to prevent ppl from buying a bunch moreat extremely cheap prices and dumping them gray market style on the bay...

 

[stevejst]

The fact that Dell offers mail-in rebates AT ALL has always seemed deceptive to me. The "purpose" of a rebate, so they say, is for a manufacturer to lower the cost of an item while circumventing the store, because the store may not lower the price for the consumer even after the manufacturer lowered it.

Good point though they are not only ones doing it. How to explain Office Max and similar retailers offering "double" rebates, both manufacturers and their own. Nothing else than an attempt to torture you into giving up filling all the papers or to make a mistake with UPC.

Most of the "deal makers" keep on forgeting the cost of secretarial work to get the rebate back. That is what they are counting on -- that you will give up.

 

[InfiniteSadness]

?They are being sticklers,? says Frank Giordano, president of TCA Fulfillment Services.

Is this the same frank that's posting in the rebate tracking forum on fw?

 

[huesmann]

Originally posted by: MontyBurns

Originally posted by: huesmann
How's the IRS gonna know that you got a rebate? Does the rebater send this info to the IRS?

The IRS doesn't "know" much of anything about you unless you are audited. But if you are... you have to account for every penny listed on your tax return.

Right, but if you have a receipt for a $20 phone that you're deducting as a business expense, how's the IRS gonna know you got that $20 back from a rebate?

 

[Biel]

They won't unless your keep your rebates in the same box as your receipts, and that box is what you give them when they audit you.

 

[yusiye]

I find something very funny about rebates of my exp.
I have no problem with CircuitCity rebates, collect all of them with no problem. not even a phone call.
I just received a $10 check yesterday from TCA of my purchase of 4/12/03 @BB(8 weeks perfectly)
I have no problem w/ DELL, and it's the fastest IMO. I got my $50 check in less than 3 weeks, how sweet is that!

I don't know about you people. But they seems very nice to me after all.

 

[billjames310]

More reading:

The Great Rebate Scam
Rebate hassles bedevil consumers
Is a Rebate Program Right for Your Business?
The Fine Print of IT Rebates
Consumer Law - Problems with product rebates

 

[cyberia]

My rule of thumb is: Is the offered product worth the before-rebate price? If not, I won't bother with it. In other words, are you going to be really upset if the rebate does not come?

Example: If they offer an 80GB hard drive for $200 - $140 rebate = $60 AR, would you go for it? Or would you shop for a better before-rebate deal for say, $100 or even $80?

If you are willing to risk $140 (in this example) to save $20 or $40, then do not complain that it does not work out.

 

[ZowieHowie]

good read!

 

[markish]

Interesting article, but unless you've had no experience with rebates, this is no surprise. Manufacturers and especially retailers make their customers jump through as many hoops as possible to deter the customers from completing the rebate to maximize profit and/or minimize loss (is anyone surprised at this?). Personally, I had no problem with Dell, and I think I believe the spokesperson when she says that if you call to speak to a CSR, you would likely resolve the problem before it materialize in court. Dell, at least has a phone number for us to call in while some other companies not even have any. It all depends on which company you deal with. I personally had great experience with Dell, Staples, Verizon, BestBuy, and CircuitCity, to name a few.

 

[vkeks05]

Originally posted by: cyberia
My rule of thumb is: Is the offered product worth the before-rebate price? If not, I won't bother with it. In other words, are you going to be really upset if the rebate does not come?

Example: If they offer an 80GB hard drive for $200 - $140 rebate = $60 AR, would you go for it? Or would you shop for a better before-rebate deal for say, $100 or even $80?

If you are willing to risk $140 (in this example) to save $20 or $40, then do not complain that it does not work out.

So you're saying that rebates should be a luck-draw on the customer's side?

That makes no sense at all and that's certainly what you're trying to say. The customer expects to receive a $140 rebate as advertised and has every right to complain.

 

[cyberia]

Originally posted by: vkeks05
The customer expects to receive a $140 rebate as advertised and has every right to complain.

I am not saying that the customer does not have a right to the $140. I am saying that each customer must decide for oneself how much effort and aggravation one is willing to invest to exercize the right.

Another way of looking at it: If a stranger borrows $140 from you with a written promise to return it in 8 weeks, and never is heard back from ever again, whose fault is it? Yes, you do have a legally enforceable IOU note, but maybe you should not have lent the money in the first place. So, think of the vendor as the stranger, yourself as the lender and the rebate coupon as the IOU.

Now, how much effort are you willing to invest in enforcing the IOU? My answer in my previous post was: almost none. That is why I won't touch a rebate if the before-rebate price is too high. However, each consumer's answer to the "effort" question is different.

EDIT: Can't spell 'exercise'.

 

[razor2025]

Originally posted by: cyberia

Originally posted by: vkeks05
The customer expects to receive a $140 rebate as advertised and has every right to complain.

I am not saying that the customer does not have a right to the $140. I am saying that each customer must decide for oneself how much effort and aggravation one is willing to invest to exercize the right.

Another way of looking at it: If a stranger borrows $140 from you with a written promise to return it in 8 weeks, and never is heard back from ever again, whose fault is it? Yes, you do have a legally enforceable IOU note, but maybe you should not have lent the money in the first place. So, think of the vendor as the stranger, yourself as the lender and the rebate coupon as the IOU.

Now, how much effort are you willing to invest in enforcing the IOU? My answer in my previous post was: almost none. That is why I won't touch a rebate if the before-rebate price is too high. However, each consumer's answer to the "effort" question is different.

EDIT: Can't spell '<EM>exercise</EM>'.

So, you see THAT's the whole problem with this rebate thing. Why does the consumer have to put up the time and effort to get the retailer/manufacture to FULFILL THEIR OBLIGATION. If they advertised something with rebate, THEY should be the one who should put the effort to get those rebates fulfilled. It's complete BS that the consumer HAVE to work to get the rebates back. The most aggrevating fact about rebates is that they want to keep your money for AS LONG AS possible. 6-8 weeks minimum? My @$$. How about I take that brand new PC out of your store and pay you 6-8 weeks later? Either way, rebates are the new trend in retailer trying to scam the consumers these days. Good thing I have a decent Circuit City around my town. If I see something on sale at a different store, I"ll just walk to my local Circuit City and Pricematch AFTER rebate. Now THAT"s how things should be done.

 

[SilverEdge]