I'll get right to the point. I consider rebates in almost all cases to be a deceptive and unethical marketing practice. That's why you rarely, if ever, see Computer Exchange offer rebates. We have access to them... We could advertise them... but we don't because we believe in "truth in advertising" not only to the letter of the law, but to the spirit of the law. The price you see in our add is the price you will pay... without going through a byzantine process to get YOUR money back. As for the stores that aggressively market this way... shame on them.
Consider this — Rebates give the perception of savings without requiring a company to actually drop prices. Big Box Retailers advertise rebates aggressively to draw traffic into their stores. Their Sunday circulars typically feature the post-rebate price in big, bold type, with only a small notation that the highlighted price is "after rebate."
You find an ad for a badly needed computer
component at a bargain basement price, rush to the store to buy it and and
discover that you didn't read the
fine print.
You have to pay full price, then fill out a ridiculously complex rebate form
and wait... And wait and wait...
If you miss one step you are out your rebate. If you don't attach the ORIGINAL receipt you are out your rebate. (If you DO attach your original receipt you are out your warranty at many places) If the rebate company goes out of business (more than one has) you are out your rebate. If the rebate company loses your rebate form, you are out your rebate. If they don't feel like sending your rebate... guess what? You are out your rebate.
The fact is, that almost half of rebate forms never get filled out to start with. Of the half that do get filled out the percentage that actually get checks in a timely manner is unknown, but the fact that there have actually been class action lawsuits over rebates in the last year or two would indicate that the percentage is fairly low. The bottom line is that this allows these retailers to advertise these prices that are not really true in an aggregate sense. Sure, some people will get their money, but many others will not, many times through no fault of their own.
Life is complicated enough without one more redundant thing to do. Think about it... it's your money in the first place. The whole purpose of the rebate is to allow the companies to advertise a non-existent price and to keep your money. Do yourself and everyone else a favor. Vote with your dollars by refusing to fall for the rebate trap.