Anyone that reads this blog semi-regularly knows I have a love-hate relationship with rebates; I love to hate ‘em.
I do rebate forms because it is a great way to stretch my shopping dollar as well as try items for free. There is minimal risk because the slippage comes prior to mailing. Most clearinghouse do send the cash when a legitimate claim is made.
Slippage, for those wondering, is the industry term for unredeemed rebates by consumers. The manufacturer counts on a huge number of people not redeeming an offer. They ask for a number of different items, UPC, CRT, CRTs dated between 1 and 3 on a evening before a full moon, to make it difficult for the consumer to redeem. Most folks feel personal responsibility when they forget to mail an offer or toss that register receipt that was needed. They seldom blame the manufacturer for “their” mistake. That means a lot of $2 and $3 items are purchased and never redeemed. A few thousand three dollars add up!
There are statistics that show the higher the rebate value, the higher the redemption rate. Many people have a minimum amount they need the rebate to be worth before they “make sure” they send for it. My personal threshold is $5. Anything under that may/may not get sent, so I long ago decided not to buy anything that was free after rebate (FAR) and under $5 unless I really, really, REALLY mean to send for the redemption. That works for me but other people have different thresholds, some higher, some lower. With the price of postage now I don’t know anyone that mails in a rebate for under $2. When I first got in to couponing/rebating over 25 years ago $2 was a HUGE offer! No one wanted a cash register tape back then either, and most of the packaging was good for some rebate, be it the box top, net weight or UPC.
I try and keep a log of printable rebate forms for other people that love (or hate) them too.
So why am I rambling!? I got fifty bucks in the mail today!
Today I definitely do not hate rebates!
