"Michael Black" wrote in message
...
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".

I bought one product based on the rebate offered, got screwed on the rebate
(oh, that product isn't eligible for rebate), and decided that I'd never buy
a product again based on rebate. That should be every one's ideal.