Screwed by Canon Rebate

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

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

he said he followed the directions to the letter...

No, he didn't.

The OP stated that he sent in a COPY of the UPC when the rebate clearly
specified that he had to send in the *original*.

As such, the OP failed to follow the specified instructions, so he was
denied the rebate.


you're nuts if you think the rebate houses don't often
deny for bull**** reasons.

True, but it does not apply in this particular case.


-hh

You have missed a big part of the picture.

With mail in rebates, the store sales figures aren't
decreased as they would be with the instant reduction.
Localities like it because they get the full sales tax
amount.

In most cases the store doesn't pay the rebate, the parent
company or manufacturer does.


Barry Watzman wrote:
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.

James wrote:
As has been adequately explained here before, rebates are by their
very nature a scam. There is no logical explanation for a rebate
program other than being a scam.

Here's further proof:

I got a rebate check sometime back. It came in a nondescript envelope via
"Bulk Mail" (now known as "Standard Mail").

I normally toss snail-mail-spam. Probably millions others do too. Evidently
the rebate company tried to take advantage of this social engineering
concept.

-hh wrote:
anon wrote:
I get every damn rebate I file, so I'm saving money at
the expense of
illiterates/incompetents - so what?
he said he followed the directions to the letter...

No, he didn't.

The OP stated that he sent in a COPY of the UPC when the rebate clearly
specified that he had to send in the *original*.

As such, the OP failed to follow the specified instructions, so he was
denied the rebate.


you're nuts if you think the rebate houses don't often
deny for bull**** reasons.

True, but it does not apply in this particular case.


-hh


NO!

REREAD MY ORIGINAL POST! SHOW ME WHERE I STATED THAT I SENT IN A COPY.

I never said that I sent in a COPY. I sent in the original, genuine UPC
codes (actually, all the barcodes) cut off from the box.

I said that I had a scanned copy of the box (for my own records).

NO COPY OF THE UPC CODE WERE MAILED IN.

There's no other way of phrasing it: CANON RIPPED ME OFF EVEN THOUGH I
FOLLOWED ALL THE RULES.

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.

In article ,
Andrew White wrote:

If you're not Scott, let me tell you something: rebate are a scam only
if you're a stupid and lazy slob.

Everyone who has not gotten their rebate thanks you for setting them
straight with your two cents. All rebates are run by honest Abe
corporations. They are not simply a promotional scheme designed to sell
more products without losing revenue. Rebates are designed to give stuff
away. Rebates are for the CONSUMER, not for the company.

Rebate rules are necessary to keep consumers honest, not to shield the
company from having to honor them.

What a silly ****ing screed.

John wrote:

REREAD MY ORIGINAL POST! SHOW ME WHERE I STATED THAT I SENT IN A COPY.

My apologies.

I saw your statement of:

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

...which I interpreted to mean that you had originally sent in a copy
instead of the original.


There's no other way of phrasing it: CANON RIPPED ME OFF EVEN THOUGH I
FOLLOWED ALL THE RULES.

Actually, it is the Redemption company who is Canon's representative
who is doing the "ripping offing".

It would appear that their excuse was because they were able to "lose"
your UPC since you didn't physically attach it.

My suggestion would be for you to photograph your swiss-cheesed box and
send that photo along with the rest of your documentation to Canon and
ask Canon to contact their redemption company to provide *to Canon,
their customer* their documentation on precisely what they claimed that
they received from you. If they have absolutely none of the cardboard
(or all of the bar codes except the UPC), even though it is your word
against theirs, you have a pretty good case that you did send it and
you can ask Canon to ovrride the recommendation of their *service
provider* and cut you a rebate check.

If this doesn't work and you want to litigate, there was just a case
recently (I think in NJ) where the supoena was delivered to a local
employee (IIRC, a Verizon cellphone kiosk?) as a company
representative. What's clever about this approach is that if they fail
to show up in court or whatever, your *local jurisdiction* has the
authority to shut down the *local* store and possibly even sieze
merchandice to satisfy the legal lien.

Granted, you might not want to do this to your local Mom&Pop camera
store, but it is worth looking up this lawsuit to see what the
specifics were and if it could be applied.


-hh

In article ,
"anon" wrote:

The most recent example was with a Seagate hard drive.
They tried to claim my model wasn't eligible for a rebate,
despite the rebate form itself showing the model as
eligible.

HP did the same to me. Then they backpedaled and said, "Oh, the machine
is eligible, but you didn't included the UPC label."

Like hell I didn't. I will never buy another HP product again. Corrupt
business practices, corrupt executives, **** for products and ignorant
snowjob tech support.

But boy, they got **great** propaganda... oops, I mean "marketing"--
especially with rebates-- as all their defenders will show.

HeyBub wrote:

Here's further proof:

I got a rebate check sometime back. It came in a nondescript envelope via
"Bulk Mail" (now known as "Standard Mail").

I normally toss snail-mail-spam. Probably millions others do too. Evidently
the rebate company tried to take advantage of this social engineering
concept.

Actually, they do it to save money on postage. If you like to
toss unknown mail, then put a special middle initial on your
rebate forms and then you'll know when it's a check.

Let me guess that you also complain about postcard checks as
being too easy to steal, and you'd also complain about an
envelope that said "your rebate check is enclosed!!".

Bill