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Archive 2017 · Rebate Issue with Steadicam Merlin2

  
 
arnold1
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Rebate Issue with Steadicam Merlin2


I purchased a Steadicam Merlin2 from B&H which came with a $150 rebate. The rebate was an important factor for me to make this purchase. I filed my rebate papers about 3 and a 1/2 months ago but have not received anything yet. The paperwork says this might take up to 12 weeks and if you did not receive your rebate to contact them. I contacted the company by email (once) and phone (twice) since. No email response as of yet. The associate I spoke to on the phone told me that issuing rebate checks takes a while and that they have many customers and that I was not the only customer they had. I spoke with him on 2 separate occasions and requested to at least give me an update on this. I have not heard back as of this point yet.

Has anyone of you had a similar experience? Do you have any thoughts or suggestions for me? Should I contact anyone at B&H directly for help with this?

Thank you for your help!



May 23, 2017 at 12:40 PM
joel022484
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Rebate Issue with Steadicam Merlin2


It can't hurt to contact B&H. I hate rebates for this specific purpose. The majority I deal with requires me to at least contact them once. Good luck and don't give up!


May 23, 2017 at 12:48 PM
arnold1
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Rebate Issue with Steadicam Merlin2


joel022484 wrote:
It can't hurt to contact B&H. I hate rebates for this specific purpose. The majority I deal with requires me to at least contact them once. Good luck and don't give up!


Thank you for your reply. Most rebate deals these days can be completed on line and there is at least some communication on their part acknowledging that they have received your papers. In this case...nothing!

For those rebates that I remember to complete, or not miss the deadline , they fulfill their end of the deal within the window they gave you. 3 and a 1/2 months and nothing.... I don't know why they require so much time?

It makes you wonder, why can't they do an instant rebate like Costco?



May 23, 2017 at 12:59 PM
c.d.embrey
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Rebate Issue with Steadicam Merlin2


Rebates seem to be a scam. They have so many hoops you have to jump through that most people just give up. I've never received a rebate check from anyone, although I have tried several times. Now when I see a rebate offer, I run the other direction.


May 23, 2017 at 05:27 PM
sjms
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Rebate Issue with Steadicam Merlin2


i have had little to no issues withe rebates. i always have the backup docs as proof. some rebates are fairly quick some go out for 2-3 months for payment. as long as you have the proof you will be paid.


May 23, 2017 at 05:38 PM
arnold1
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Rebate Issue with Steadicam Merlin2


c.d.embrey wrote:
Rebates seem to be a scam. They have so many hoops you have to jump through that most people just give up. I've never received a rebate check from anyone, although I have tried several times. Now when I see a rebate offer, I run the other direction.


I remember that I bought a 5 gallon bucket of paint that came with a $40 rebate last year. All I had to do was to go online and in literally 60 seconds my rebate was submitted and I got an instant response confirming it. The rebate check itself arrived in less than two weeks. That's a rebate system that I call efficient and honest!



May 24, 2017 at 10:12 AM
arnold1
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Rebate Issue with Steadicam Merlin2


sjms wrote:
i have had little to no issues withe rebates. i always have the backup docs as proof. some rebates are fairly quick some go out for 2-3 months for payment. as long as you have the proof you will be paid.


Mine has taken 3 and 1/2 months so far, 3 phone calls/emails...yet no check. Again in this day and age it should all be done electronically and could be done a ton more efficiently.

Of course the company's motives are essential here....i.e. are they focusing on customer care and service through which they could enhance their sale; OR are they trying to increase sale through some rebate promise and make it so painful for people to receive them that customers forget, or give up, or both.



May 24, 2017 at 10:23 AM
sjms
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Rebate Issue with Steadicam Merlin2


yes it is a pain in the you know where but if you have the docs you'll get the check


May 24, 2017 at 12:49 PM
Gochugogi
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Rebate Issue with Steadicam Merlin2


I think I once got a Canon rebate mailed to me within 30 days but most took months, some were pushing a year but all eventually arrived. Most companies farm out their rebate processing to the lowest bidder so your rebate docs are probably aging well thousands of miles yonder.


May 24, 2017 at 03:07 PM
tntcorp
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Rebate Issue with Steadicam Merlin2


Gochugogi wrote:
I think I once got a Canon rebate mailed to me within 30 days but most took months, some were pushing a year but all eventually arrived. Most companies farm out their rebate processing to the lowest bidder so your rebate docs are probably aging well thousands of miles yonder.


+1... contracted 3rd party usually processes and issues rebate checks. imho, i believed they get to keep the left over funds not claimed or not properly submitted. so the incentive to drag out the processing time and require arduous requirements are justifiable so to discourage the buyers from following through with the rebate claims or follow-up inquiries.



May 24, 2017 at 04:33 PM
arnold1
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Rebate Issue with Steadicam Merlin2


tntcorp wrote:
+1... contracted 3rd party usually processes and issues rebate checks. imho, i believed they get to keep the left over funds not claimed or not properly submitted. so the incentive to drag out the processing time and require arduous requirements are justifiable so to discourage the buyers from following through with the rebate claims or follow-up inquiries.


Well put...I am with you totally.

As a Canon user, if I became upset over a rebate issue, having been invested in them by spending tens of thousands of dollars on Canon gear, leaves me very little choice. However, with smaller vendors out there, like with Steadicam in this situation, my future decisions to buy or not to buy from them can easily reflect the way I was treated by them.

The rebate processing firms incentive to potentially screw people out of their rebate checks, does not serve the interest of the companies who hire them to process their rebates. As we don't know who the rebate processors are, but would rightly blame the company who hired them.



May 25, 2017 at 11:17 AM





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