Screwed by Canon Rebate

John wrote:
I know that the institution of rebates is meant to rip you off so I'm
quite anal about paying attention to the details and ALWAYS sending in
the rebate with delivery confirmation. The delivery confirmation at
least minimizes the "Sorry, we never received your rebate" or "Sorry, we
didn't receive your rebate in time" excuses.

I read the rebate forms several times looking for the "gotcha's". I know
I go through way more trouble than I should for $20-$50 but it's the
principle. They make it as annoying as possible to claim a rebate so
that most people won't bother. I'm the one that bothers.

I send in my rebate to Canon along with all the rebate form, purchase
receipt and I cut out the UPC code from the box and put that in the
envelope. My new tactic is to use wide tape and tape the UPC code to
the rebate form.

I checked on my rebate status just now.

Error(s): An original qualifying UPC was not included

Yep. No matter how hard I tried, Canon still managed to screw me over.

Since they want "an original" qualifying UPC", my copy won't suffice.

Canon, the next time I'm in the market for a product I'll remember this
incident.

Mail-in rebates are always a scam. Why do they do them? Because
people buy based on this.
50-80% never claim them.
Rebates take 8-12 weeks and often are never delivered, another 50%
forget about them.
They force you to call someone to fix the problem or ask where your
rebate is 16 weeks past due delivery time.
At the end of it all, according to various business studies, only 3% of
rebates are ever paid out. So, they can boost sales with what might
amount to a 0.5% overall discount paid.
It is business genius.

RichA wrote:

John wrote:
I know that the institution of rebates is meant to rip you off so I'm
quite anal about paying attention to the details and ALWAYS sending in
the rebate with delivery confirmation. The delivery confirmation at
least minimizes the "Sorry, we never received your rebate" or "Sorry, we
didn't receive your rebate in time" excuses.

I read the rebate forms several times looking for the "gotcha's". I know
I go through way more trouble than I should for $20-$50 but it's the
principle. They make it as annoying as possible to claim a rebate so
that most people won't bother. I'm the one that bothers.

I send in my rebate to Canon along with all the rebate form, purchase
receipt and I cut out the UPC code from the box and put that in the
envelope. My new tactic is to use wide tape and tape the UPC code to
the rebate form.

I checked on my rebate status just now.

Error(s): An original qualifying UPC was not included

Yep. No matter how hard I tried, Canon still managed to screw me over.

Since they want "an original" qualifying UPC", my copy won't suffice.

Canon, the next time I'm in the market for a product I'll remember this
incident.

Mail-in rebates are always a scam. Why do they do them? Because
people buy based on this.
50-80% never claim them.
Rebates take 8-12 weeks and often are never delivered, another 50%
forget about them.
They force you to call someone to fix the problem or ask where your
rebate is 16 weeks past due delivery time.
At the end of it all, according to various business studies, only 3% of
rebates are ever paid out. So, they can boost sales with what might
amount to a 0.5% overall discount paid.
It is business genius.

I get every damn rebate I file, so I'm saving money at the expense of
illiterates/incompetents - so what?

Bob (but not THAT Bob) wrote:
RichA wrote:

John wrote:
I know that the institution of rebates is meant to rip you off so I'm
quite anal about paying attention to the details and ALWAYS sending in
the rebate with delivery confirmation. The delivery confirmation at
least minimizes the "Sorry, we never received your rebate" or "Sorry, we
didn't receive your rebate in time" excuses.

I read the rebate forms several times looking for the "gotcha's". I know
I go through way more trouble than I should for $20-$50 but it's the
principle. They make it as annoying as possible to claim a rebate so
that most people won't bother. I'm the one that bothers.

I send in my rebate to Canon along with all the rebate form, purchase
receipt and I cut out the UPC code from the box and put that in the
envelope. My new tactic is to use wide tape and tape the UPC code to
the rebate form.

I checked on my rebate status just now.

Error(s): An original qualifying UPC was not included

Yep. No matter how hard I tried, Canon still managed to screw me over.

Since they want "an original" qualifying UPC", my copy won't suffice.

Canon, the next time I'm in the market for a product I'll remember this
incident.

Mail-in rebates are always a scam. Why do they do them? Because
people buy based on this.
50-80% never claim them.
Rebates take 8-12 weeks and often are never delivered, another 50%
forget about them.
They force you to call someone to fix the problem or ask where your
rebate is 16 weeks past due delivery time.
At the end of it all, according to various business studies, only 3% of
rebates are ever paid out. So, they can boost sales with what might
amount to a 0.5% overall discount paid.
It is business genius.

I get every damn rebate I file, so I'm saving money at the expense of
illiterates/incompetents - so what?

No problem, I'm just pointing out the differences between mail-in
rebates and instant rebates.
Having automatic computer verification of rebates at the time of sale
would increase payouts massively, but the companies don't want that at
all. Meanwhile, there is also the chance with instant rebates your
name and other information wouldn't be sold to a 1000 different
databases months afterward....

RichA wrote:

Having automatic computer verification of rebates at the time of sale
would increase payouts massively, but the companies don't want that at
all. Meanwhile, there is also the chance with instant rebates your
name and other information wouldn't be sold to a 1000 different
databases months afterward....

The problem with instant rebates is that there is no way they
could validate that you're not doing more than one like they can
when you have to mail it in. So people could easily end up with
multiples, and the companies do not want that, especially with
the free (after rebate) stuff. For stuff like giving $100 back
on an appliance, or Sears giving free shipping after rebate,
there's really no excuse for a mail-in rebate, other than
avoiding paying it.

BTW as someone who does a LOT of rebates, there is absolutely NO
evidence that my name is sold as a result of rebates (I do get
mail specifically from a couple of companies whose rebates I
claimed). And I don't think that anyone has been able to prove
this -- it's just paranoid people like you who keep claiming
that it is true. If you have proof, post it here.

Bill

"Bill" wrote in message
...


RichA wrote:

Having automatic computer verification of rebates at the time of sale
would increase payouts massively, but the companies don't want that at
all. Meanwhile, there is also the chance with instant rebates your
name and other information wouldn't be sold to a 1000 different
databases months afterward....


BTW as someone who does a LOT of rebates, there is absolutely NO
evidence that my name is sold as a result of rebates (I do get
mail specifically from a couple of companies whose rebates I
claimed). And I don't think that anyone has been able to prove
this -- it's just paranoid people like you who keep claiming
that it is true. If you have proof, post it here.

Bill

I used to agree but think it has changed. Recently bought a Ultra HDD
enclosure at CC. Didn't look closely enough at the rebate PDF until readying
the paperwork. The rebate has to go through an operation called
OnRebate.com. An obvious data mining operation. I refuse to do business with
an outfit like this and will relinquish the $20 to keep from it. I'll never
buy a product again with a rebate that goes through something like this.

T Shadow wrote:

I used to agree but think it has changed. Recently bought a Ultra HDD
enclosure at CC. Didn't look closely enough at the rebate PDF until readying
the paperwork. The rebate has to go through an operation called
OnRebate.com. An obvious data mining operation. I refuse to do business with
an outfit like this and will relinquish the $20 to keep from it. I'll never
buy a product again with a rebate that goes through something like this.

Onrebate.com is just a different rebate processing company (with
really picky rules about their rebate submissions and a
requirement that you submit it online and then print and mail
the form). Please tell us how you figured out that they are a
data mining operations any more than Parago (rebateshq.com) and
the other rebate processors??? Parago also lets you submit your
forms online.

Interestingly, Ultra seems to have switched to another company
as of December.

Bill

Bill wrote:
RichA wrote:

Having automatic computer verification of rebates at the time of sale
would increase payouts massively, but the companies don't want that at
all. Meanwhile, there is also the chance with instant rebates your
name and other information wouldn't be sold to a 1000 different
databases months afterward....

The problem with instant rebates is that there is no way they
could validate that you're not doing more than one like they can
when you have to mail it in. So people could easily end up with
multiples, and the companies do not want that, especially with
the free (after rebate) stuff. For stuff like giving $100 back
on an appliance, or Sears giving free shipping after rebate,
there's really no excuse for a mail-in rebate, other than
avoiding paying it.

BTW as someone who does a LOT of rebates, there is absolutely NO
evidence that my name is sold as a result of rebates (I do get
mail specifically from a couple of companies whose rebates I
claimed). And I don't think that anyone has been able to prove
this -- it's just paranoid people like you who keep claiming
that it is true. If you have proof, post it here.

Bill

Do I have proof that your name is sold? No, how could I. But, unless
the small print says they won't do this, it is likely that they do.

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.


RichA wrote:


No problem, I'm just pointing out the differences between mail-in
rebates and instant rebates.
Having automatic computer verification of rebates at the time of sale
would increase payouts massively, but the companies don't want that at
all. Meanwhile, there is also the chance with instant rebates your
name and other information wouldn't be sold to a 1000 different
databases months afterward....

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

"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.