A discussion about sales, sales tips and advice, and about those who land the deal

I'm waiting on two rebate checks that, truthfully, I never expect to see.  But it makes going to the mailbox everyday a little more fun, so I'll keep on checking.

To get to the point of waiting two months for the two rebate checks, one for $50 and the other one for $25, I had to fill out more paperwork than if I had purchased a 747, cut and attach numerous parts of boxes and receipt copies, and then mail it all to a PO Box with 17 numbers after it.

All this is the perfect lead-in for a post from the Church of the Customer blog on "Why Rebates Will Die".  They're complicated, disingenuous, and a down-right hassle. 

Here's a sample from the post, which details a newspaper account of one unfortunate rebate hunter:

In March she had received a notice that her application was denied because the wireless bill wasn't submitted within the proper amount of time. So, as advised, she resubmitted everything, but she never heard back. She called in May and was told the company would have to pull her paperwork from the warehouse, which would take two weeks. That period elapsed, so she called again, and a rude customer service rep told her to now send everything in via fax. Logan finally asked for a supervisor, who was very friendly and assured Logan she'd call back — but she didn't. In June, Logan called again and again, leaving messages, but no one responded until the Watchdog got involved.

Lovely.

Why do rebates exist?  To entice us to buy something (i.e., "Regularly $99, but just $39 after the rebate!").  

Of course when you get to the register, you still pay $99.  So what's in it for the seller?  They know that the vast majority of people never take the time to fill out the paperwork and send it to the PO Box with the 17 numbers after it.  And, it happens a lot.

Sure, you can sell like this.  But not for much longer.