Its my personal belief that mail in rebates should be illegal. If Canon or Best Buy want you to save money buying one of their products then you should save the money at the cash register. I no longer buy anything from Best Buy that has a mail in rebate due to the trouble involved. At one time B&H would do the rebate for you, but I don't think they do anymore. Your state government probably likes mail in rebates because you pay sales tax on the whole purchase price, not the rebated price. As far as Canon rebates go, I've only done one mail in, that was on a 550ex a few years ago and the check showed up in about 6 weeks.
John
Basically, everyone concerned counts on the fact that many people don't bother filing rebate requests for small amounts and that a significant percentage of those who do file will immediately give up when told there is a problem with their application. The way things are set up, they make a ton of money based on this - and would make very little if they were paid only for the processing work.
The best approaches for individuals faced with rebate deals are a) keep meticulous records, photocopy everything, fill out all forms very carefully, track dates and contact the rebate firm immediately if something is late, and be prepared to escalate the complaint quickly and with documentation; or b) don't succumb to rebate offers.
For my part, I don't even bother with rebate offers for small amounts - it isn't worth the trouble to get back $5-$10 dollars. On the other hand, I have bothered when the amounts were large - and they can be when you are purchasing photo equipment - but I planned on getting scammed and was careful and persistent about all parts of the process.
In my case, I have always been able to receive my rebate... eventually. But the process has not been easy and I frequently have had to do extensive follow up. In the case of my most recent Canon rebate I ended up having to contact Canon directly in order to get the rebate processing company to release the funds due to me. To Canon's credit (sort of*) at that point the rebate came quickly. And, yes, I was told that my codes were not valid, which was complete nonsense.
Dan
*Companies like Canon lose points for working with these sleazy rebate processing firms.
When ever you do Any Mail-In-Rebates remember to...
KEEP COPIES OF EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!
Canon tried screwing me out of $540 last year by claiming that I didn't send in ONE box top or bar code. So I ask them which one and sent the a copy of the copy. After calling back three weeks later the original some how showed up?? Go figure.
I have been doing Mail-in-Rebates for to many years now (for lots of customers at my former employer also) and you will get you money if you send everything, and...KEEP COPIES OF EVERYTHING!!
The company handling it looks for ANY excuse (even a made-up one) not to pay.
That company is Canon. Yes, they farm out the rebate management to another firm, but it is CANON's rebate program. Canon needs to be held accountable for it...not the company they contracted to. In my business, if I contract out some work, I am still responsible for the quality of that work, not the contractor. We need to put pressure on Canon. This Chuck Westfall guy needs to hear it from us and he needs to take that message back to headquarters. We can all complain on this board or to the company handling the rebate...but it is Canon that needs to hear the message.
Maybe I am lucky, but personally, I have never had to call Canon or the rebate centers - not once - with 5 submissions.
I totally agree, though, that generally rebates are a game. Its the same with all companies. Gift certicates too. Unclaimed = profit.
Just think about how many people buy under the rebate program and never send in their stuff at all.
I guess the point is you aren't going to change the world, or this system. Do what you need to do to get your money and be happy when you get it.
If you don't like the rebate program or its too much hassle to make a few telephone calls don't do it. But why leave hundreds of dollars sitting on the table just over a telephone call or a simple letter.
Your mistake is letting it get you angry. Roll with it.
gfiksel wrote:
Because it appears that every time around rebate time thousands of customers get screwed or attempted to.
And, actually, if you do everything right you DON'T get the money. Where in the rebate form is "We will try screw you but if you are persistent, maybe, you will get it?
What is the difference between that and attempted robbery? "Oh, sir, I was trying to pull your wallet out of your pocket but it's great that you've noticed it. You may keep your money. For now."
How long should I wait on the rebates? This is not looking good. Nobody should have to battle for the money promised to them by a company....you paid for the PRODUCT and expect a rebate as stated - you or I did not pay for the stress and time lost due to a tug of war with that company just to get your rebate that was promised to you in the first place. I hate all that bait and switch tactic.
adonis_abril wrote:
How long should I wait on the rebates? This is not looking good. Nobody should have to battle for the money promised to them by a company....you paid for the PRODUCT and expect a rebate as stated - you or I did not pay for the stress and time lost due to a tug of war with that company just to get your rebate that was promised to you in the first place. I hate all that bait and switch tactic.
I should be clear about something... when I say I've never had a problem getting the Canon rebates, I mean they've always sent them without any additional prodding via phone or e-mail or anything else. I have not had to "fight" for my rebates. I send in the paperwork, and some number of weeks later I get the check.
Again, I believe the reports of those who have had problems, or had to call and discuss the rebate paperwork before getting them. But I haven't had it happen.
gfiksel wrote:
So, a 5 min call and a short blood pressure spike is all I need to get the rebate ? I will try it. Would be better with without it, though:
Didn't even take 5 minutes.
Honestly, I was surprised that they didn't want me to fax the copy of the UPC code, though.
john_edwards wrote:
Its my personal belief that mail in rebates should be illegal. If Canon or Best Buy want you to save money buying one of their products then you should save the money at the cash register.
Honestly, I was surprised that they didn't want me to fax the copy of the UPC code, though.
That's because they knew you had it...and in fact they have it. It's just a game to wear your patience and they hope you'll give up and they get to keep the rebate amount. A real scam in my opinion.
I wholeheartedly disagree. The fact that a huge number of individuals never even send in the rebate, and another large percentage fail to follow the redemption instructions is what allows them to offer a larger rebate.
If all rebates were made to be instant, then everybody who buys the product would get a rebate, no matter how lazy or inept at following instructions they may be. If the pool of promotional money gets divided up more ways, that's less money for me.
I'll agree with the folks who hate rebates, it's a marketing ploy. I wont call them a scam exactly, but close. I buy gear when I need it, and try to get the best "overall" deal, including service and delivery. If I get some money back for some effort, well all the better.
On the side of the rebate fullfillment companies... can you imagine the amount of smoke that gets blown their way? A lot of talk goes on here about the sleezeballs trying to scam people out of cash on Ebay and the like, about the hundreds of different angles they work to get you to pay them for nothing, can you imagine the blizzard of crap they send into these fullfillment companies hoping to get one through?
chez wrote:
It's just a game to wear your patience and they hope you'll give up
If that were true, they'd have me fax it, then make me call again 6 weeks later to find out that they supposedly had lost the fax, repeat ad nauseum.
It's pretty silly to think that somebody expecting several HUNDRED dollars in rebates isn't giong to spend the phone call to call ONCE about getting it straightened out. Especially if its known that you don't even really need copies.
I can see this kind of tactic working relatively well when the rebate amounts are SMALL, though.
XsigmaSD wrote:
On the side of the rebate fullfillment companies... can you imagine the amount of smoke that gets blown their way? A lot of talk goes on here about the sleezeballs trying to scam people out of cash on Ebay and the like, about the hundreds of different angles they work to get you to pay them for nothing, can you imagine the blizzard of crap they send into these fullfillment companies hoping to get one through?
For the record, I did the triple rebates last year without problems. I've done many rebates for other items with no problems. This is the first time I have had a problem.
I have all copies of what I sent in so I'm 100% sure I'm not at fault.
What bothers me is I sent in the rebate correctly. A 10 minute call did resolve it, but it seems that many people here have sent in their rebates correctly, but for some reason the rebate center will not pay out stating "An invalid UPC was submitted" when it was.
There is something fishy going on. As with DavidP I didn't have to show them any evidence of "the invalid UPC". They couldn't even tell me what that meant. Was it because I didn't send one in? Was the UPC unreadable? Nothing!
I'm not against rebates as you do save money in the end. I'm not against Canon as I love my equipment.
maniaxe2000 wrote:
As with DavidP I didn't have to show them any evidence of "the invalid UPC". They couldn't even tell me what that meant. Was it because I didn't send one in? Was the UPC unreadable? Nothing!
Could it have been something as simple as the minimum-wage employee who entered your rebate made a mistake...which the supervisor immediately recognized and corrected.
Too much paranoid, conspiracy, scam talk surfaces every time a few people have a problem with their rebate. There are thousands of rebates submitted...and the majority (that we don't hear about) go through without issue (in my case, my girlfriend and I have participated in three over the past two years, and I'll be submitting a rebate after Christmas, and none of them have had any issues...two of them being over $600) but because a few people have a problem, the general consensus is that the rebate company is out to get us all.
C'mon people. This 'rebates are scams' nonsense is second in line next to all the 'rumor' threads.
DavidP wrote:
If that were true, they'd have me fax it, then make me call again 6 weeks later to find out that they supposedly had lost the fax, repeat ad nauseum.
I think only insurance companies stoop this low. My life in a nutshell.
Obviously if a lot of people are having issues with the Canon rebates, then there is a problem!
As I and other states, make copies of everything, keep on them, when the alotted time is up for the rebated, call them up, if that fails write a letter as I did.
PimpDaddy wrote:
Obviously if a lot of people are having issues with the Canon rebates, then there is a problem!
How do you know a lot of people are having issues? Conclusions cannot be drawn based on a couple dozen anecdotal reports here. People are unlikely to start a thread about how they got their rebate without problems. However people who do have a problem with the rebate are much more likely to start a thread or complain on an existing thread about it.
