The 411 On Rebates

Mail-in rebates. Sometimes these enticing incentives to buy a product can be to good to resist. A good deal for the most part, but in some cases can be a hassle and more trouble than they are worth.

My particular gripe comes with a company named myrebates411.com. We bought a replacement motherboard from Newegg.com. It was a Foxconn 661GX7MJ-H with a $25 rebate. It may not sound like a lot, but we buy a lot of equipment and these rebates add up to a good bit of cash.

First of all, the rebate submission is ridiculous. They have you sign up on there website, enter promotional codes, copy a generated code from their website, fill in their form, clip UPCs, and write the promotional code on the back of the envelope. Yes, it is a hassle.

They will absolutely not contact you if you fill in their request for status. After multiple attempts to contact them, we have pretty much given up. Lesson learned.

My advice to companies such as Newegg and the manufacturers that sell their wares to them, is too make sure the rebate companies handling rebate submissions be thoroughly checked out beforehand. Even though it is not their fault the customer may not get their rebate, the customer may not realize that and place the blame on them. IT's not good business, in my opinion. At least for generating goodwill.

Here are a few tips to follow for filling in rebates. In the long run (and sometimes it is a LONG run), they can pay off.

1. Always make a copy of anything you are sending to the rebate company. If the company claims they never got your submission, you have proof that you at least filled out their forms. Here they are in no particular order:

2. If the rebate is substantial enough, get delivery confirmation on your packet. This will give you proof that the packet got to it's intended destination. The rebate company cannot claim that they never received your submission.

3. Do some due diligence on the company handling the rebate. More often than not, the manufacturer is NOT the same company that will be handling your rebate. The rebate company is usually printed on the submission form somewhere, or the mailing address will have the companies name. Doing a simple search on the internet can give you some information about the company. There are a lot of forums dedicated to getting good deals. Users often post about their experience with a particular company.

4. Check to rebate submission process on the rebate form before you buy a product. If it is too complicated, there is reason why it is too complicated. They want you to mess up. Make mistakes. That way, they can deny your submission. They get paid to process rebates, not write checks.

5. In case you run into trouble with a rebate, it doesn't hurt to contact the retailer about your dissatisfaction. If enough customers complain about a rebate processor, the company may refrain from using them on their next promotion.

So, in conclusion, be smart about rebates and you will save some money and time in end.