Why I Hate Rebates, Part 2

This past July I detailed why I hate rebates (and pointed to some potential ways to avoid the rebate runaround as well.) At that point, I still had one rebate outstanding, and little did I know but it was going to be one of those painful, aggravating rebates that it seems are part of the rebate business. Here's what happened:

• I purchased a Sandisk memory stick from Best Buy in mid-June.

• A few days later, I mailed out the $20 Sandisk rebate (on 6-22) along with all the appropriate materials.

• Two months later, I hadn't heard a peep from Sandisk. I went to Best Buy's website, and they didn't even list the rebate on their website any longer. I emailed them and they told me to call Sandisk. Thanks for the help, Best Buy. :-(

• On September 5, I called and talked to Sandisk customer service which is, I'm sure, some call center in India (the rep had a deep Indian accent and it was clear that English was not her first language.) Anyway, she told me I had to re-send in everything (at least that's what she thought I should do) so that's what I did. I re-sent copies of everything to Sandisk the next day.

• On October 5, I got a check for $15. As noted above, it was supposed to be for $20. So I called the Sandisk customer service number in India again and again got a person who didn't speak English that well. We muddled through a conversation until she told me that the other $5 was sent out on October 3 and I should get it soon. Why they sent out two checks is beyond me and it aggravated me because I had to call again to see what was up, so I was even more frustrated at this point.

• The next day, I got a $5 rebate check to bring my total up to $20. Yes, three and a half months later I had my money. What a pain.

Here's what I took away from this experience:

1. I still hate rebates -- even more now than before. I will be avoiding them in the future unless it's a really, really, really good deal to use one.

2. Sandisk is the worst -- from the hassle to the customer service. I will not use them for rebates again.

3. Best Buy took a hit in this experience too. Sure, it was out of their control, but they offered (and profited from) the Sandisk rebate, so a bit of the bad will goes to them. Plus, they could have been a lot more helpful when I contacted them for help.

4. I'll stick with Costco if I can for rebates. They have a slick system that can all be done online (from your register receipt they can tell if you've purchased an item or not -- no messy sending in UPCs, receipts, etc.) -- both submitting rebates as well as tracking them. It's very easy to use and I've always had a great experience with it.

Comments

[Mark Ingle]

I very suprised that Best Buy helped you at all. Did you know that they have a return policy that won't let you return anything after 30 days even if you have a reciept for it. I just went through this with them on a returned gift I gave someone. I think also i'm going to stick with Costco like you for they will return anything even without a reciept.

[Blaine Moore (First Time Homeowner)]

Staples has an online rebate system tied to your receipt as well. I have never had any trouble with getting rebates from them.

[SteveK]

I'd be interested in seeing data on the economics of rebates. I'm guessing that plenty of people a) forget to submit rebates, b) procrastinate until the deadline, c) decide it's too much trouble to fill forms, cut out UPC codes, address envelopes, etc., or d) give up because it's a hassle to deal with trying to track down a rebate status. Do you want to spend 30 minutes trying to get a $20 rebate?

That being said, I've had a 100% success rate on rebates that I've submitted (to the best of my recollection :-). I agree that the Costco rebates are the best, because it's all web-based.

[Cleophus]

Consumerist is of the opinion that rebates are generally scams and should not be taken into account when making a purchase:
http://consumerist.com/consumer/rebates/

I don't agree 100% but they have a few great points.

[FMF]

Cleophus -- I saw that post and think I'll be doing my own post and linking to that one. Generally, I'm in agreement with them/you.

[Ashley]

Not all rebates are bad--Every month at Walgreens they offer a few items you can get for free after you mail in the rebate form from their EasySaver Catalog. It is such a good deal, although I don't completely understand why they do this. I have gotten free mouthwash, makeup, medicine, body wash, toothbrushes galore, and lotion, to name a few. Otherwise Walgreens is a rip-off, I don't buy anything else there.

[Ashley]

Not all rebates are bad--Every month at Walgreens they offer a few items you can get for free after you mail in the rebate form from their EasySaver Catalog. It is such a good deal, although I don't completely understand why they do this. I have gotten free mouthwash, makeup, medicine, body wash, toothbrushes galore, and lotion, to name a few. Otherwise Walgreens is a rip-off, I don't buy anything else there.