mail in rebate

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Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

"Thomas T. Veldhouse" <veldy71@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:428a33fd$0$1956$8046368a@newsreader.iphouse.net...
....
> I have had several small rebates seemingly just "disappear". You send
> them in and never get anything back. Not much you can do once you have
> sent in the UPC. However, I have not had this happen on any large
....

Sure there is.

1. Make a complete copy of everything you send.
2. Record when you sent the materials.
3. When the time period has elapsed, contact the rebate handler, preferably by
telephone and ask, "Where is my rebate?"

I've done probably 50 rebates over the years, and I've received every one. I'd
guess that some 80% did *not* arrive within the stated time. Of those 80%,
90% of the time, when I called, be it on the last day or sometimes months
later, I was told "Your rebate is in the works." Then I received the check the
next week. My guess is that the rebate handler actually is sitting on the
rebates until the consumer calls and complains. (I'm sure this varies by
company.)

Anyway, a statistic I recently saw said that of the total products bought
during a rebate offering, less than 10% actually attempt to claim the rebate.
And a significant number of claimants don't follow the directions: don't include
the UPC, wait too long, etc.

I've also heard that the way the rebate game works, the Selling Company
actually pays the Handling Company the amount of expected rebates in
advance (plus some premium). Clearly there is a large temptation on the
part of the Handling company to pay as few rebates as legally possible,
and to take as long as possible to do so.


--
Dan (Woj...) [dmaster](no space)[at](no space)[lucent](no space)[dot](no
space)[com]
===============================
"I like smoke and lightning / Heavy metal thunder
Racin' with the wind / And the feelin' that I'm under
Yeah Darlin' go make it happen / Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once / And explode into space"
 
Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Dan Wojciechowski wrote:
> "Thomas T. Veldhouse" <veldy71@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:428a33fd$0$1956$8046368a@newsreader.iphouse.net...
> ...
>> I have had several small rebates seemingly just "disappear". You
>> send them in and never get anything back. Not much you can do once
>> you have sent in the UPC. However, I have not had this happen on
>> any large
> ...
>
> Sure there is.
>
> 1. Make a complete copy of everything you send.
> 2. Record when you sent the materials.
> 3. When the time period has elapsed, contact the rebate handler,
> preferably by telephone and ask, "Where is my rebate?"
>
> I've done probably 50 rebates over the years, and I've received
> every
> one. I'd guess that some 80% did *not* arrive within the stated
> time. Of those 80%, 90% of the time, when I called, be it on the
> last day or sometimes months later, I was told "Your rebate is in
> the
> works." Then I received the check the next week. My guess is that
> the rebate handler actually is sitting on the rebates until the
> consumer calls and complains. (I'm sure this varies by company.)
>
> Anyway, a statistic I recently saw said that of the total products
> bought during a rebate offering, less than 10% actually attempt to
> claim the rebate. And a significant number of claimants don't follow
> the directions: don't include the UPC, wait too long, etc.
>
> I've also heard that the way the rebate game works, the Selling
> Company actually pays the Handling Company the amount of expected
> rebates in
> advance (plus some premium). Clearly there is a large temptation on
> the
> part of the Handling company to pay as few rebates as legally
> possible,
> and to take as long as possible to do so.

That last point - rebate company benefitting from unfulfilled
rebates - is what I suspected (well, alleged, anyway) on a Costco
rebate. Yes, one of the ever-so-simple online rebates.

Ordered from Costco.com, waited for a shipping date message, made the
application online, and two days later, " ... we can't locate your
order in our information ... download a rebate form and send the stuff
.... or call us at our Scottsdale number ... " Uh huh. I could find the
order and the delivery message online. Why couldn't they? There is no
way to re-submit on line if you did it correctly the first time.

Today I mailed copies of the order - complete with rebate offer - the
Thanks-For-Your-Order message, the Your-Order-Has-Shipped message, the
Packing Slip (they delivered FAST), the rebate form, and my note with
words to the effect that they should revamp their computer and
procedures, as this was apparently a fraud and a scam. And I indicated
cc: CEO, Costco, and District Attorney, Scottsdale AZ.

First such glitch in a dozen or more Costco rebates.

--
Frank ess
 
Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

"Dan Wojciechowski" <too.much@spam.com> wrote in message
news:d72evg$5ng@netnews.proxy.lucent.com...
> "Thomas T. Veldhouse" <veldy71@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:428a33fd$0$1956$8046368a@newsreader.iphouse.net...
> ...
>> I have had several small rebates seemingly just "disappear". You send
>> them in and never get anything back. Not much you can do once you have
>> sent in the UPC. However, I have not had this happen on any large
> ...
>
> Sure there is.
>
> 1. Make a complete copy of everything you send.
> 2. Record when you sent the materials.
> 3. When the time period has elapsed, contact the rebate handler,
> preferably by
> telephone and ask, "Where is my rebate?"
>
> I've done probably 50 rebates over the years, and I've received every one.
> I'd
> guess that some 80% did *not* arrive within the stated time. Of those
> 80%,
> 90% of the time, when I called, be it on the last day or sometimes months
> later, I was told "Your rebate is in the works." Then I received the
> check the
> next week. My guess is that the rebate handler actually is sitting on the
> rebates until the consumer calls and complains. (I'm sure this varies by
> company.)
>
> Anyway, a statistic I recently saw said that of the total products bought
> during a rebate offering, less than 10% actually attempt to claim the
> rebate.
> And a significant number of claimants don't follow the directions: don't
> include
> the UPC, wait too long, etc.
>
> I've also heard that the way the rebate game works, the Selling Company
> actually pays the Handling Company the amount of expected rebates in
> advance (plus some premium). Clearly there is a large temptation on the
> part of the Handling company to pay as few rebates as legally possible,
> and to take as long as possible to do so.
>
>
> --
> Dan (Woj...) [dmaster](no space)[at](no space)[lucent](no
> space)[dot](no
> space)[com]
> ===============================
> "I like smoke and lightning / Heavy metal thunder
> Racin' with the wind / And the feelin' that I'm under
> Yeah Darlin' go make it happen / Take the world in a love embrace
> Fire all of your guns at once / And explode into space"
>
>
I'm having terrible problems getting a rebate from "onrebate.com"
Fortunately, I send it registered mail. They deny receiving it.
-Pete
 
Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

On Wed, 25 May 2005 18:42:01 GMT, "Pete" <Pete@nospam.com> wrote:

>I'm having terrible problems getting a rebate from "onrebate.com"
>Fortunately, I send it registered mail. They deny receiving it.

Unfortunately, registered mail just helps prove they received an
envelope, it doesn't prove anything regarding the content.

It's really nothing more than a postal scam.

--
Owamanga!
http://www.pbase.com/owamanga
 
Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Owamanga wrote:
> On Wed, 25 May 2005 18:42:01 GMT, "Pete" <Pete@nospam.com> wrote:
>
>> I'm having terrible problems getting a rebate from "onrebate.com"
>> Fortunately, I send it registered mail. They deny receiving it.
>
> Unfortunately, registered mail just helps prove they received an
> envelope, it doesn't prove anything regarding the content.
>
> It's really nothing more than a postal scam.

Not really. There have been a couple of times when I was glad I'd sent
something via registered mail. Freed me of any perceived negligence, putting
the responsibility solely on the shoulders of the recipient.

--
John
 
Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

On 19 May 2005 01:43:02 GMT, "Thomas T. Veldhouse" <veldy71@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>kashe@sonic.net wrote:
>>>
>>>This is a misrepresentation of what actually is occuring here.
>>
>> It's the RATE, boy, the RATE. Duration not implied.
>>
>
>The ONLY rate that it is measuring is the rate at which you can get your
>money back if you are similarily spending $1200/hour ... which is
>assinine!
>
Par'me, but is the rference to "spending" intended to mean
anything? Rate is rate, without respect to any other activity.
 
Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

kashe@sonic.net wrote:
>>
> Par'me, but is the rference to "spending" intended to mean
> anything? Rate is rate, without respect to any other activity.
>

Your obtuseness is overwhelming.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1
Spammers please contact me at renegade@veldy.net.