Barry Watzman ) writes:
An "instant rebate" isn't a rebate at all, it's just a sale price. And
no doubt that it's better than a mail-in rebate of the same amount, but
you will NEVER find "instant rebates" that are the equivalent of the
larger mail-in rebates. The rebate "system" depends on the fact that
only a minority of buyers will ever apply for the rebate.


I'm glad you said that, because the whole "instant rebate" thing just
seems a renaming of "sale prices" because of the current trend to a lot
of real rebates.

I can remember decades ago, "rebates" were not common and you'd have
to buy six items to send off the box tops, or something similar, and
you didn't get much back. Yet, if you were lucky you'd know about
such a rebate, and it might give you something back if it was something
you actually were buying.

It's only in recent years that they've become a major "marketing tool".
And I think what irks many people is not the rebate thing, but the flyers
that make the rebate part of the deal. No longer is it a subtle matter of
finding a coupon somewhere and thinking "I was going to buy that anyway,
and getting a few dollars back would be neat". Instead, you see a great
price, and then the fine print says "after rebate". It is a promotional
tool, and the rebate becomes a far bigger part of the price and appeal
than those old coupons you might find somewhere. "That's on sale, I'll
buy it. Oh, I have to do a rebate".

The "instant rebates" are just the stores "cashing in" on the rebate craze.
The only reason I can think why they'd use the term is because customers
will think "Oh a rebate, but I don't have to do anything", which shouldn't
be necessary anyway except there are so many mail in rebates in the flyers
to begin with.

If everyone gets the "instant rebate" then there is nothing different
from an item on sale, because the company or store does not benefit
from only some people going after the rebate (but likely most buyers
choose that item based on the after-rebate price). They also don't
get the peripheral information that they may see as a benefit of
rebates.

Michael