I thought this article in their March 2004 issue was kinda interesting - it even mentions Fat Wallet:
Rebate Roulette
Rebate Roulette
Good PC World article about rebates
- Thread starter Rupster
- Start date
Thanx for the link on the rebate info. Really a pretty good article with decent advice and tips. A must read for all of us who scan the net for that "best deal" and are forced to play the rebate game...
OT but great article.
Another tip:
Always submit your rebate online whenever possible. Fullfilment houses make lots of mistakes when they have to manually enter info from a coupon.
The other thing they kind of touched on was Costco but they failed to mention that Costco's rebate approach is quite different from the industry. Costco pays all rebates "out of their own pocket" and debits their suppliers. I think Sam's also uses this approach.
Another tip:
Always submit your rebate online whenever possible. Fullfilment houses make lots of mistakes when they have to manually enter info from a coupon.
The other thing they kind of touched on was Costco but they failed to mention that Costco's rebate approach is quite different from the industry. Costco pays all rebates "out of their own pocket" and debits their suppliers. I think Sam's also uses this approach.
Here's another tip:
The squeaky wheel gets the grease!
Complain complain complain complain to everyone when your rebate doesn't arrive on time. I've gotten several large rebates doubled when I complained enough.
The squeaky wheel gets the grease!
Complain complain complain complain to everyone when your rebate doesn't arrive on time. I've gotten several large rebates doubled when I complained enough.
Here's another tip:
The squeaky wheel gets the grease!
Complain complain complain complain to everyone when your rebate doesn't arrive on time. I've gotten several large rebates doubled when I complained enough.
The squeaky wheel gets the grease!
Complain complain complain complain to everyone when your rebate doesn't arrive on time. I've gotten several large rebates doubled when I complained enough.
Here is something from the sleazy TCA (New Rochelle) CEO:
Some angry consumers have even accused TCA and other vendors of deliberately losing rebates owed.
"That is such urban folklore," counters TCA founder and CEO Frank Giordano, explaining, "We are a service organization. We get paid for every redemption request we enter in the system. If we don't put it in the system, we don't get paid."
The BBB reports that TCA has exhibited a pattern of not responding to consumers' complaints. "More than 90 percent of [these complaints] were from irate consumers who'd been denied [a rebate], usually for good reason," says Giordano. "We thought it was a waste of time to explain through a middle party, like the BBB, why their rebate was rejected."
_______________________________________
I sent one Viking rebate in three times to TCA. All three times, I called later and they said "we have no record of the rebate." During all of these calls they refused to take any of my personal information over the phone. They didn't even keep track of the phone calls. It really pisses me off when this bozo says "more than 90 percent of these complaints...denied, usually for a good reason." What a liar.
Some angry consumers have even accused TCA and other vendors of deliberately losing rebates owed.
"That is such urban folklore," counters TCA founder and CEO Frank Giordano, explaining, "We are a service organization. We get paid for every redemption request we enter in the system. If we don't put it in the system, we don't get paid."
The BBB reports that TCA has exhibited a pattern of not responding to consumers' complaints. "More than 90 percent of [these complaints] were from irate consumers who'd been denied [a rebate], usually for good reason," says Giordano. "We thought it was a waste of time to explain through a middle party, like the BBB, why their rebate was rejected."
_______________________________________
I sent one Viking rebate in three times to TCA. All three times, I called later and they said "we have no record of the rebate." During all of these calls they refused to take any of my personal information over the phone. They didn't even keep track of the phone calls. It really pisses me off when this bozo says "more than 90 percent of these complaints...denied, usually for a good reason." What a liar.
Since companies seem to think rebates are so cool I'd like to propose a "reverse-rebate".
In this case, let me hold an object( harddrive, LCD whatever) and I "promise" to pay the company for the object in, oh say, 3-6 months provided they send me various pieces of paperwork.(of course, I get to specify what paperwork is acceptable). Wonder how much trust these companies would have for you to hold their money(product) and "promise" to pay for it later.
Pfft....fvck rebates.
In this case, let me hold an object( harddrive, LCD whatever) and I "promise" to pay the company for the object in, oh say, 3-6 months provided they send me various pieces of paperwork.(of course, I get to specify what paperwork is acceptable). Wonder how much trust these companies would have for you to hold their money(product) and "promise" to pay for it later.
Pfft....fvck rebates.
Unfortunately that is a head-in-the-sand attitude. Almost all the really white hot deals involve rebates. The best ones involve using a dollar off coupon in conjunction with rebates. If you are going to "stay away" from rebates, you are going to miss out on some of the deals of the century. This is the way hot-deals work right now.
Personally I have gotten every rebate I ever applied for. But some of them, maybe 5%, have required filing complaints with the Attorney General of the home state of the rebate processing company. I usually complain to the BBB also. To avoid this, read the rebate form closely before submitting. Make copies of everything. When you don't get it within the specified time frame, complain. Many good rebate companies cave almost instantly. Others, like the aformentioned TCA, like to give you grief. Just stick to it.
When a shyster company called Newcom denied three different rebates to my brothers and me, I filed a complaint with the CA Attorney General, mentioning all three rebates. A few months later, we got an apology from Newcom and the rebates. Sometimes after these complaints, I got more than I wanted, amounting to double rebates.
One thing I disagree about in the article is using "certified mail" when submitting rebates. Lots of rebate companies will refuse to accept these. I just sent in an Intuit/Quicken rebate and they specifically said no certified mail. In case you think Intuit is sleazy, they are one of the fastest and most reliable rebates you can get. Microsoft are also excellent. Staples have been very fast lately.
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