Peter’s Place

Lately I’ve been shopping around for electronics.  We’ve been wanting an HDTV, as well as a new laptop to replace the aging/damaged one we’re using.  It’s tough to find decent prices, but it seems whenever I do find a good deal, there’s a pesky rebate involved… and I’ll tell you why I hate this.

First of all, why bother with the rebate?  If you’re offering to give people money back, why not just take the discount off immediately, at the time of sale?  It would be the most convenient thing for the customer. 

OK, the answer to that question is obvious — they know some people will forget to mail in the paperwork.  Rebates always have a deadline… you have to send in the paperwork before the deadline or you miss out.  I’d love to know how many people actually follow-up, and how many just forget about it.  (With smaller amounts, I’m sure many people just figure it’s not even worth their time.)

But, if it’s a $100 rebate, like in this example… you can bet your life I’ll be sending in the proper forms, and triple-checking to make sure I followed the directions to the letter.  Still, it’s a pain in the neck… you usually need to send the receipt and some other proof of purchase, like a UPC code.  Conveniently, these are 2 things you usually need to return the item, should anything be wrong with it.

But here’s the much bigger reason I avoid rebates whenever possible: if you look at the fine print (for the item I mentioned above, the fine print is in a PDF file), the rebate provider usually gives themselves several weeks to process the rebate and send you a check.  If you didn’t click the PDF file, this particular rebate will take 6-8 weeks.  Basically, I’m giving them an interest-free loan for as much as 2 months.

Why does it take 2 months for a major international corporation like Hewlett-Packard to cut a check?  Heck, the IRS only needs 6-8 weeks to send my tax return, and they’re processing MILLIONS of tax returns for the ENTIRE COUNTRY.  If I try to tell my credit card company they need to wait 6-8 weeks for me to mail a payment, they’ll just slap me with a late fee and finance charges!

Even though Staples has an “Easy Rebate” system — where some rebates can be submitted online, saving you the time of filling out forms by hand and physically mailing them out — you still have to wait forever to get a check in the mail.

Oh yeah, the check in the mail.  There’s another thing.  No matter how you get the rebate, you still have to make a trip to the bank to cash a check.  More time being wasted, when they could simply just knock the $100 off the price from the beginning, bypassing the entire dog-and-pony show.  Some people don’t mind going to the bank… if you get your paycheck the old-fashioned way and the bank is conveniently located, that’s great.  But I get direct deposit, and going to my bank requires me to go out of my way… so I generally avoid going to the bank unless absolutely necessary.

Besides, don’t these company have to pay people to create the rebate literature, and other people to process the rebates?  What about the money they spend on printing said literature, plus printing and mailing the rebate checks?  They could skip these expenses by just giving out flat discounts… but the costs must be paid for by all the people who forget to claim their rebates!

In the end… yeah, sometimes rebates can be a good deal, and they can make the difference between two competing products of equal capability.  But seriously, let’s skip the games and just make the price lower.  No BS.  No jumping through hoops.  I hate gimmicks.  Suppose Laptop A and Laptop B had similar specs and a similar base price.  Laptop A is offering $100 instant savings.  Laptop B is offering a $100 mail-in rebate.  I’m going with Laptop A.  End of story.  Sorry, Laptop B.