Apr 10, 2006, 17:43
I bought a Canon IXUS 55 (more on this later!) for my wife on the weekend, and that came with a rebate from the store, in the form of $50 which I could spend on accessories, prints etc.. The funny thing is that I tried my hardest to get them to give me the discount up front - even saying that I'd buy a memory card as well - but no deal. Instead, I have to mail in the rebate claim form, and they say in a week's time I should have some store credit.
I've been reading some stories about rebates on other sites, though, and some are really evil. Apparently manufacturers love the rebate scheme because they claim the full revenue and then write off the rebate as a cost. They also count on consumers failing to claim their rebates, or more shoddily - reject rebates based on some some technicality.
This article really shines some light on their practices, with claims such as "Rebates are a good business plan only when consumers fail to claim them", and "Over $500 million in rebates go unfilled every year, many due to deceptive practices on the part of the companies or their "promotions companies."". Some shoppers swear by never buying a product if there's a rebate on it - they would rather shop around and find a cheaper non-rebate price.
What has your experience been with rebates? I've claimed 2 rebates in my recent history. The first one was a free TV tuner card bundle with a HP laptop that I bought. In all fairness I forgot about it and mailed the rebate in too late, so they kindly rejected my claim. My second experience has been with my Nikon D50 twin lens kit - the rebate was for a free flashgun. That was a real painless process - the flash came about 2 weeks after I submitted my claim form. In fact, I called them up and the lady was kind enough to check in their database, and said to me - "oh your flash was shipped yesterday", and sure enough, it turned up the very same day. I've got a feeling because it was handled through Nikon Australia and not some third party company.
I know the camera manufacturers usually have periods when they offer rebates on lenses and kits - usually in the form of cash back, but sometimes with free gifts... Is the camera industry better at honouring rebates than our computer or electronics counterparts? Any stories to share?
I've been reading some stories about rebates on other sites, though, and some are really evil. Apparently manufacturers love the rebate scheme because they claim the full revenue and then write off the rebate as a cost. They also count on consumers failing to claim their rebates, or more shoddily - reject rebates based on some some technicality.
This article really shines some light on their practices, with claims such as "Rebates are a good business plan only when consumers fail to claim them", and "Over $500 million in rebates go unfilled every year, many due to deceptive practices on the part of the companies or their "promotions companies."". Some shoppers swear by never buying a product if there's a rebate on it - they would rather shop around and find a cheaper non-rebate price.
What has your experience been with rebates? I've claimed 2 rebates in my recent history. The first one was a free TV tuner card bundle with a HP laptop that I bought. In all fairness I forgot about it and mailed the rebate in too late, so they kindly rejected my claim. My second experience has been with my Nikon D50 twin lens kit - the rebate was for a free flashgun. That was a real painless process - the flash came about 2 weeks after I submitted my claim form. In fact, I called them up and the lady was kind enough to check in their database, and said to me - "oh your flash was shipped yesterday", and sure enough, it turned up the very same day. I've got a feeling because it was handled through Nikon Australia and not some third party company.
I know the camera manufacturers usually have periods when they offer rebates on lenses and kits - usually in the form of cash back, but sometimes with free gifts... Is the camera industry better at honouring rebates than our computer or electronics counterparts? Any stories to share?
