Rebate's Extinction is Near

Here was a story I was thrilled to see!!!

It's from Consumerist and says that the rebate's extinction is near:

Soon, we may be able to visit the Museum of Natural History and point and guffaw at an ugly, overstuffed, extinct beast: the rebate.

Turns out, rebates weren't always such a good deal for consumers. Manufacturers and retailers purposely designed the system to appear user-friendly, yet difficult for consumers to successfully complete (a process called "breakage").

Yeah, I know. "Breakage" is just one reason I hate rebates -- and why I try to avoid them at all possible costs. For details on why rebates are on my "bad" list, see these posts:

• Rebates are a Scam

• Why I Hate Rebates

• Why I Hate Rebates, Part 2

• How to Avoid the Rebate Runaround

I hope it's true that their end is near!!!!

Comments

[bluntmoney]

Hm, I guess you've probably had bad experiences with rebates? I've only ever once had any difficulty getting a rebate back, and I got that one after 2 quick emails. (And I've turned in a lot of rebates...)

I will say, having also done PT work in rebate fulfillment, that a lot of people probably don't get their rebates because their handwriting is so unclear, or they don't include the UPCs or their ADDRESS. Seriously, you wouldn't believe how many forms were illegible or missing basic information like the address.

[Allan Drake]

yea, you just have to follow the instructions and the fine print to get your money. Its worth it....you can get free stuff with the amount of discounts and rebates & price mistakes on the internet. Its fun. I hope they don't do away with them.