I always hated dealing with rebates ever since I started to do everything online. Jumping through the loops of making sure everything is done as the instructions stated, going to post office to buy stamps and waiting forever for the company check to come in and when check doesn't come by 6-8 weeks? It annoyed the hack outta me.
Dont get me wrong.
I love money but I paased on the Tigerdirect deals email on bare bone desktop that cost $190 with 5-6 rebates over $240 open box Dell outlet deals for less headache and easier one year warranty.
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It's a matter of taste and personal preference. CompUSA used to have rebates every week. I assembled a computer from their sale items and there were six or seven rebates. The checks started coming in after 5 weeks, with no indication what was the rebated item, By then, I had misplaced the register tape, but I got everything rebated within 12 weeks. I admit it is a pain. Compusa required a sales receipt, a special coupon and a proof of purchase for each item, so I had to Xerox the register tape.
The idea behind rebates is that there will be a large number of buyers who will toss the receipt, throw away the box and lose the coupon, or not have a stamp, that instead of selling a $40 item for $20, they will get $35 for it because the rebate is such a hassle.
The most annoying rebate was on motor oil, back when it came in cardboard cans. You had to cut out and send in a proof of purchase for each can. So unless you were changing your oil right away, or had somewhere to put the oil, you really could not follow the rebate. The proofs of purchase made the envelope all lumpy and greasy as well.