Posted by Wayne Rhodus on February 17, 2007 at 11:03 AM
Have you purchased any cameras, lenses or electronics within the last 3 - 4 years when you didn't see that disclaimer?
I've purchased my share of computers, monitors, camera bodies, etcetra and rebate requirements seem to be the standard approach to retail marketing to get the advertised price. I just purchased a camera body (brand name withheld) and went through the mandated steps to receive my rebate, but this time I was thinking ahead.
I have been denied past rebates because the UPC code was "invalid" or "missing". Now I assure you I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer but I can follow instructions written in English. Each rebate form was correctly filled out and all the required sales receipts and UPC codes were included in my submission. But here's where it gets interesting.
Once I supply the original UPC code from the box, if my claim is denied because of an invalid or missing UPC code, how can I resend something I no longer have. Now, this is just speculation on my part(and I'm sure it NEVER happens) but what if my UPC code fell out of the envelope onto the floor, or even worse, into the trash can when the rebate center opened my return? Well, they certainly couldn't send me my rebate because I didn't comply fully, and I certainly could never resend the one and only original UPC code .... so I'm out of luck!
Soooo, any time I am "required" to apply for a rebate nowadays I videotape the entire process, from beginning to end, with closeups showing the sales receipt, serial number, process of cutting the UPC code from the box, everything, even sealing the envelope.
An when my lastest rebate was denied I simply contacted the Rebate Center and talked to the nice people there and politely informed them there must be a mistake because I know everything was done properly, because I have it on tape. Low and behold, my rebate submission was reviewed and the "invalid" UPC code miraculously was now right! Lucky for me they were so understanding!
Hope this has never happened to you! BTW, sorry for the dissertation, this is a topic near and dear to my heart.
Posted by Craig Thompson on February 17, 2007 at 11:49 AM
Hi Wayne,
I've noticed this phenomenon for several years now. 90% of the rebate offers I've sent in have been initially denied for some reason or another. I then go to the store where I purchased the item & demand they expain this. On ocassion I've had to raise a pretty big stink about it. Usually I've recieved the rebate in cash from the store. This has happened 2 or 3 times with Comp USA. (but in the case of CompUSA, I didn't need to raise a rukus. They looked at my copies & originals and just gave me the cash)
When this happens, I have no doubt that this is a scam on the part of the companies offering these rebates. I'm sure they're aware that a large percentage of customers will not pursue the issue any further. They get the sale & keep the rebate!! You can't even return the product because it probably took 3 months to be notified of the denial!!
This is why I only send copies of receipts and UPC codes and keep the originals I also keep records of all phone conversations with the partiies involved. It's a shame that this kind of excess @$# covering is necessary these days.
Some years ago I bought a Canon body and five lenses at the same time, with rebates adding up to the cost of a sixth lens I planned to buy. When I submitted them all, Canon responded that they only fulfilled one rebate at a time, and oh by the way, we're not sending you back all the ones we didn't apply. And of course the one they wrote the check for was the cheapest. That's part of the story why my Canon gear went up for sale and I went back to Nikon. Not saying Nikon is any better, but you present a good idea for covering yourself.
When I bought my Mamiya 645 camera a rebate was offered in the form of a choice between sevreal items. One of the choices was a 55mm lens (wide angle). I follwed the instructions to the letter, kept copies of everything, and then sent the package to Mamiya America.
I receivd a note from them saying they had received my materials and that the lens would be shipped. A few days later I had a shiny new lens and a 'thank you note' from them.
My experience with Mamiya certainly seemed to be out of the norm, and later dealings with them have ben very positive.
While I agree that it's a pain to deal with rebates and wish they'd just give you an upfront discount, I have submitted rebates to Canon at least three times in the last 18 months and had no problems. I received the check within 6 weeks or so of sending the materials in.
YMMV
Keith
Posted by Rick Dunn on February 17, 2007 at 1:10 PM
Sad fact of marketing...one of the reasons that companies prefer rebates over immediate discounts is because they know that a significant percentage of people will never cash in on their rebates due to: 1) not providing proper documents; 2) forgetting to fill out the paperwork in time; 3) deciding that often tedious process of downloading forms, following instructions and gathering the proper paperwork isn't worth the $10.
I make copies or scans of anything I send in, including the rebate form w/ instructions, but I've never had a problem. Numerous Nikon, Epson, SanDisk, HP, and Kingston rebates have gone smoothly. It's definitely a good idea to keep some record of what you're sending - especially if it's an original of anything - but, knock on electrons, I've never had a single problem.
Thanks for the "disertation" Unfortunately, we live in a VERY dishonest world. I, too. have been victimized by this "scam" that was never resolved to my satisfaction. I like your "remedy," and shall put it to use in the future.
On a slightly different note, since I first began photography over 35 years ago, I had always use Minolta cameras. Never had any problems until 1996 when the shutter broke on my 8000i . I took it in to a camera repair shop and they sent it off to Minolta. A short time late I received word that Minolta no longer had the parts to fix it. So, they offered my an 800si as a replacement. This was an upgrade of about two generations. Needless to say I quickly agreed. I continued with Minolta until 2 years ago when the company I shoot for went Digital.
Sadly, at that point, Minolta hadn't developed a "Pro" model digital, so I went with Nikon.
Truly sad, that Minolta went the way of the "DO DO BIRD" They produced a great product and I can't imagine Canon or Nikon offering to replace, free of charge, any of their cameras.
By the way, I now have three Minolta film bodies for sale, if anyone is interested. They are:
2 800si bodies, 1 Maxxum 9. Also 28-85 4.5 zoom, 35-105 macro zoom, 100-300mm 5.6 zoom, f/2.8 fish-eye, and 500mm f/8 AF mirror. Anyone interested can make me an offer at
SDicke1042@aol.com.
Posted by Kent Staubus on February 17, 2007 at 4:00 PM
I tend to not do business with the companies that do the rebate thing. For example, I longer buy ANYTHING at all from Best Buy. The hassle of trying to do the rebate in the first place is a turn off for me, and having to follow up several times to get it pretty much guarantees I'm not buying from them again.
Kent in SD
Posted by Kelly Rowe on February 17, 2007 at 5:45 PM
I bought a couple of qualifying bodies and lenses during the fall/winter 2005 Canon rebate program. I dotted the i's and crossed the t's, made copies of everything, did the pre-submission on the rebate processor's website, and in about 8 weeks I had a check for $735 in the mail. Keep in mind, most manufacturers do not process their rebates; that is done by a rebate clearing house. Depending on the terms of the contract, there may be an incentive for the clearing house to DQ as many applicants as possible. Some are just thieves and will submit a valid application to a manufacturer for reimbursement, when in fact they sent the applicant a denial letter. You'll see this topic on 60 Minutes in a few years. It's the store coupon/product coupon scam all over again. Same players, just in a different arena.
Posted by Fred Stearns on February 17, 2007 at 5:57 PM
I haven't had any problems with rebates, except when I don't make the time deadline. I always worried about keeping all the parts together, so I ALWAYS staple all the parts and pieces that make up the submittal. It seems to me that the UPC code is the easiest to get lost. I do remember one time where the store I bought the product from made me sign away the rebate so that they could offer me an instant rebate and they sent in the rebate themselves. This beats the normal way. However, I only remember that on one occasion. I agree that they use rebates because only a small fraction ever get submitted. Of course the states love them. If the price is reduced, you pay sales tax on the reduced price. If you have to go for the rebate, the states collect sales tax on the full price.
Posted by Bill Chambers on February 17, 2007 at 6:13 PM
Boy oh boy have you touched a raw nerve with me! I too have had more rebates than I care to think about denied because of one bogus reason or another. I think this is probably one of the biggest scams going, and there's little you can do about it (unless, like yourself, you videotaped it). Unfortunately, you usually get scammed a few times before you come up with that solution. Like some of the others here I now multi-staple EVERYTHING required on one piece of paper so nothing can "get lost". I also inform them on that paper I have made a copy of it; so far, I haven't had any more lost rebates since doing this.
Posted by Wayne Rhodus on February 17, 2007 at 7:22 PM
Well I'm sorry to hear I'm not the only one who's been victimized by this corporate greed when it comes to rebates, but I figured as much. It's good to hear how others are improving their odds when it comes to playing this "game" and getting a justly deserved rebate (stapling, I never thought of that).
I guess I won't call the Call-for-Action team at a local TV station just yet. Thanks everyone, have a great weekend!
Posted by Buck Ward on February 18, 2007 at 10:02 AM
I would much pefer to get a discount rather that a rebate, but I won't turn my back on a rebate if one is offered for a product I want to buy. Canon's rebates have a terrible reputation but I haven't had problems with them the couple of times I've used them. I have had trouble with Sears and Dell, both of which were satisfactorily resolved after some hassle. I always make copies of all the stuff they required and all related correcspondence and put them in a file.
In the case of the Sears rebate, I had completely forgotten about it until I checked that file. When I contacted them, of course, the envelope had been torn open and its contents had been lost. I got the rebate check after sending them replacment documents.
One would think that a big consumer product corporation would want to protect their image from being tarnished by these rebate scams.
Posted by Jennifer Geck on February 18, 2007 at 11:05 PM
I recently read an article on rebate processing...
I agree, and I just hate it. There seem to be a million reasons to deny us legitimate rebates.
One bright light I have found is the local Camera World (also online nationally). They supply all the needed rebate stuff to you, and will go to bat FOR you with a dedicated "rebate-facilitating " dept if you have trouble. My last denial was for a lens that was clearly eligible and I had supplied everything needed. The Camera World people called the nikon rebate dept and I had my large rebate within a week.
Sandy R
Posted by Mel Ladewig on February 20, 2007 at 12:53 PM
I had trouble with a Canon rebate. It sat in a queue to get a check cut for 3 months. I finally had to call them in order to have the check sent. It was not easy to find a number to call them.
Rebates are often run by 3rd party companies. From what I understand, they charge a flat rate for the rebate, and take care of sending the rebates to the customers. If the rebates get denied, the company makes more profit.
Personally, I've had enough bad experiences with rebates that I no longer make a point of trying to get them unless alot of money is involved. By that, I mean that I don't generally buy products that are offering a rebate.
Posted by John W. Wall on February 20, 2007 at 4:50 PM
I've had a camera store tell me they sent in my rebate for me for an SB-600 flash, but I kept my records, including of phone calls to their store, and finally got my lousy $15 (from them, not Nikon) only after threatening to report them to Nikon USA. But my AT&T DSL rebate took the cake, with an unbelievably mazelike, Catch-22, Kafkaesque rigamarole that only ended in my favor after reporting them to the Better Business Bureau. The BBB really moved on 'em, and I'm sorry I waited so long before going that route. I even got a phone call from an apologetic flak at AT&T.
Discussion
16 repliesI've purchased my share of computers, monitors, camera bodies, etcetra and rebate requirements seem to be the standard approach to retail marketing to get the advertised price. I just purchased a camera body (brand name withheld) and went through the mandated steps to receive my rebate, but this time I was thinking ahead.
I have been denied past rebates because the UPC code was "invalid" or "missing". Now I assure you I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer but I can follow instructions written in English. Each rebate form was correctly filled out and all the required sales receipts and UPC codes were included in my submission. But here's where it gets interesting.
Once I supply the original UPC code from the box, if my claim is denied because of an invalid or missing UPC code, how can I resend something I no longer have. Now, this is just speculation on my part(and I'm sure it NEVER happens) but what if my UPC code fell out of the envelope onto the floor, or even worse, into the trash can when the rebate center opened my return? Well, they certainly couldn't send me my rebate because I didn't comply fully, and I certainly could never resend the one and only original UPC code .... so I'm out of luck!
Soooo, any time I am "required" to apply for a rebate nowadays I videotape the entire process, from beginning to end, with closeups showing the sales receipt, serial number, process of cutting the UPC code from the box, everything, even sealing the envelope.
An when my lastest rebate was denied I simply contacted the Rebate Center and talked to the nice people there and politely informed them there must be a mistake because I know everything was done properly, because I have it on tape. Low and behold, my rebate submission was reviewed and the "invalid" UPC code miraculously was now right! Lucky for me they were so understanding!
Hope this has never happened to you! BTW, sorry for the dissertation, this is a topic near and dear to my heart.
I've noticed this phenomenon for several years now. 90% of the rebate offers I've sent in have been initially denied for some reason or another. I then go to the store where I purchased the item & demand they expain this. On ocassion I've had to raise a pretty big stink about it. Usually I've recieved the rebate in cash from the store. This has happened 2 or 3 times with Comp USA. (but in the case of CompUSA, I didn't need to raise a rukus. They looked at my copies & originals and just gave me the cash)
When this happens, I have no doubt that this is a scam on the part of the companies offering these rebates. I'm sure they're aware that a large percentage of customers will not pursue the issue any further. They get the sale & keep the rebate!! You can't even return the product because it probably took 3 months to be notified of the denial!!
This is why I only send copies of receipts and UPC codes and keep the originals I also keep records of all phone conversations with the partiies involved. It's a shame that this kind of excess @$# covering is necessary these days.
Glad to hear you got your money this time!!
Some years ago I bought a Canon body and five lenses at the same time, with rebates adding up to the cost of a sixth lens I planned to buy. When I submitted them all, Canon responded that they only fulfilled one rebate at a time, and oh by the way, we're not sending you back all the ones we didn't apply. And of course the one they wrote the check for was the cheapest. That's part of the story why my Canon gear went up for sale and I went back to Nikon. Not saying Nikon is any better, but you present a good idea for covering yourself.
I receivd a note from them saying they had received my materials and that the lens would be shipped. A few days later I had a shiny new lens and a 'thank you note' from them.
My experience with Mamiya certainly seemed to be out of the norm, and later dealings with them have ben very positive.
-PB
YMMV
Keith
I make copies or scans of anything I send in, including the rebate form w/ instructions, but I've never had a problem. Numerous Nikon, Epson, SanDisk, HP, and Kingston rebates have gone smoothly. It's definitely a good idea to keep some record of what you're sending - especially if it's an original of anything - but, knock on electrons, I've never had a single problem.
On a slightly different note, since I first began photography over 35 years ago, I had always use Minolta cameras. Never had any problems until 1996 when the shutter broke on my 8000i . I took it in to a camera repair shop and they sent it off to Minolta. A short time late I received word that Minolta no longer had the parts to fix it. So, they offered my an 800si as a replacement. This was an upgrade of about two generations. Needless to say I quickly agreed. I continued with Minolta until 2 years ago when the company I shoot for went Digital.
Sadly, at that point, Minolta hadn't developed a "Pro" model digital, so I went with Nikon.
Truly sad, that Minolta went the way of the "DO DO BIRD" They produced a great product and I can't imagine Canon or Nikon offering to replace, free of charge, any of their cameras.
By the way, I now have three Minolta film bodies for sale, if anyone is interested. They are:
2 800si bodies, 1 Maxxum 9. Also 28-85 4.5 zoom, 35-105 macro zoom, 100-300mm 5.6 zoom, f/2.8 fish-eye, and 500mm f/8 AF mirror. Anyone interested can make me an offer at
SDicke1042@aol.com.
Kent in SD
I guess I won't call the Call-for-Action team at a local TV station just yet. Thanks everyone, have a great weekend!
In the case of the Sears rebate, I had completely forgotten about it until I checked that file. When I contacted them, of course, the envelope had been torn open and its contents had been lost. I got the rebate check after sending them replacment documents.
One would think that a big consumer product corporation would want to protect their image from being tarnished by these rebate scams.
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1032&message=21962854
Interesting and a bit scary!
One bright light I have found is the local Camera World (also online nationally). They supply all the needed rebate stuff to you, and will go to bat FOR you with a dedicated "rebate-facilitating " dept if you have trouble. My last denial was for a lens that was clearly eligible and I had supplied everything needed. The Camera World people called the nikon rebate dept and I had my large rebate within a week.
Sandy R
Rebates are often run by 3rd party companies. From what I understand, they charge a flat rate for the rebate, and take care of sending the rebates to the customers. If the rebates get denied, the company makes more profit.
Personally, I've had enough bad experiences with rebates that I no longer make a point of trying to get them unless alot of money is involved. By that, I mean that I don't generally buy products that are offering a rebate.
"Rebates: the new Extended Warranties"?