wickerprints
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I would contact SanDisk directly regarding your situation. Rebates are very often processed by a third party.
The economic theory of mail-in rebates is simple: by offering a discount to those who satisfy the criteria and send in the requisite paperwork, (1) the seller gets a boost in sales due to the lower advertised price; (2) not everyone sends in the paperwork, or does so properly; (3) those who do qualify are reimbursed some time later, thereby allowing the seller to earn interest on the excess paid up front. For high-volume rebate programs, this interest is significant.
However, this mechanism relies on consumer confidence that the rebate will be honored. Therefore, it is in the seller's interest to reimburse the money, even if the third party contractor refused the rebate. Very often, a company will honor the rebate if there is sufficient evidence that the consumer made their purchase in good faith.
"Instant" rebates have the advantage of eliminating the consumer confidence issue, as well as having to deal with a third party rebate processor (which is generally paid per application). The disadvantages are that virtually 100% of transactions are honored, and there is no interest accrued. However, sometimes an instant rebate behaves more like a coupon, in that the retailer or dealer purchases stock at a non-rebate level, and is then later reimbursed for the quantity sold (so the rebate is a transaction between OEM and retailer, not the consumer).
Just call up SanDisk and see what happens. If you are still refused, go back to Best Buy and see if they will refund you the difference. They probably won't accept a return if you cut the UPC off the box.
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couldn't resist 