News Return to Sender: Mail-in Rebates Are Bad Deals for PC Builders

[Admin]

Mail-in rebates aren't the best way to get a deal on PCs or components. They're difficult to redeem and easy to forget, so stores should switch to outright sales.

Return to Sender: Mail-in Rebates Are Bad Deals for PC Builders : Read more

 

[Aaron44126]

...Isn't this kind of the point? I always sort of figured that this was by design. It would be easier for companies to just offer a discount rather than a rebate.

If the rebate process is cumbersome and difficult, and people are apt to not complete it, then the company ends up selling products "on sale" but the actually get to charge the not-sale price. Why would they make it easier to get less money from you? :-\

 

[KananX]

MIR are a elaborate half-scam, good article btw. These things are typically American too, never saw them here in Europe. I don’t think it would fly here, we have rebates too, but it’s just via coupons or rebate on bundles, or directly serviced via internet. MIR are definitely strange.

 

[XaveT]

Yes, that's the point. I haven't sent in a mail in rebate in years, and to be honest, I don't even look at items that offer them anymore. If I do end up buying something that offers one, I add that back to the cost so I'm actually buying whatever it is assuming that isn't going to come back.

I started doing that several years ago after three in a row never came back after I followed the instructions to the letter.

We need to do stop buying this crap as a society so this practice stops.

 

[KananX]

This is also one of the reasons people dislike Newegg. It’s typically Newegg and I didn’t see it anywhere else tbh. Among other scandals they had recently they still offer this half-scam.

 

[USAFRet]

Its not just PC parts, but MIRs in general.
And NOT just newegg.

A bad deal all around.

Buy this! $90!!
Actually, give us $100 and we'll give you $10 back, eventually, maybe. If you jump through the proper hoops.

If you can afford to sell it to me for $90, then just do that.

Why am I loaning $10 to a billion dollar company, in hopes that they will give it back in 4 months.

 

[bigdragon]

I really hate MIRs. I'd much rather see an instant rebate. If the MIR is entirely online, then sometimes it's ok...annoying, but acceptable. The main-in stuff is a non-starter. It's also a pain in the butt to redeem an MIR debit card. The only place that can reliably process those is the grocery store, assuming there is staff running the registers and not just self-checkout.

MIRs are also common on major appliances. I see them on washing machines, refrigerators, and more especially around Memorial day and Labor day.

 

[thisisaname]

GPUs have reached sane prices

I would call it saner prices but at this point in the cycle the prices
should be lower.

 

[Alvar "Miles" Udell]

Don't forget the worst part of a mail in rebate: You cannot return the product because you adulterated the packaging.

Personally I think they should be banned by the federal government.

 

[GenericUser]

I remember sending in several rebates from purchases made via Newegg back around 2010 or so. Did everything to the letter, and never heard anything back.

 

[JamsCB]

Well, as he said, he mailed it in to Corsair, which completely fits my experiences with that company. They are pretty scummy, refusing to honor warranty repair on my wife's MMO mouse purchased direct from them (which they fully acknowledge and could see the order) because they require "original packaging" like the packaging has anything to do with the mouse. There's another scam for you to report on with them. They'll never see another dime from us, and I have always recommended against getting anything from Corsair to others after that.

 

[peachpuff]

Don't forget the worst part of a mail in rebate: You cannot return the product because you adulterated the packaging.

Not only that, they usually want you to send it out quickly, meaning your window to test out the hardware is cut dramatically.

 

[hotaru.hino]

Reading through some of the points on the "benefits" of rebates on Wikipedia... I'm led to believe these weren't really consumer friendly at all:

Especially mail-in rebates, one point they make is you're giving a company basically a ton of PII that marketing can use to their delight.

 

[1_rick]

This is also one of the reasons people dislike Newegg. It’s typically Newegg and I didn’t see it anywhere else tbh.

Circuit City was big on mail-in rebates back in the day. There was a time where it wasn't uncommon to see an OEM PC bundle with 6 separate rebates.

 

[1_rick]

It's also a pain in the butt to redeem an MIR debit card

The last time I got one of those--several years ago, I don't remember how long--it was just a Visa debit card, usable anywhere.

 

[escksu]

The main purpose of MIR is to get your personal information. If they offer instant rebates as a code or straight discount, they don't get your name/address and other stuff.

Not item you bought requires you to register online for warranty. Some don't even have any warranty (esp. non-electronic items). So MIR is an effective way to get info from you.

the down side with personal info is that not all are handled the correct way. Some were stolen, some sold to other companies etc....

 

[Hella_D]

Coulda told yall that years ago. but nah tried a rebate once back in like 2005, never recieved it, Not worth doting over, Never tried another one again.

Don't forget the worst part of a mail in rebate: You cannot return the product because you adulterated the packaging.

Personally I think they should be banned by the federal government.

AGREED! on that last line; "banned by the federal government"

 

[GeekyOne]

The computer I built last year, I sent in 2 rebates and never heard back from 1 vendor. Totally agree with author and probably won't mess with MIRs next time.

 

[dtemple]

The statistic that I read about years ago is that around 50% of mail-in rebates are not even submitted, and around 50% of the ones which are submitted have some kind of error in the form invalidating the rebate. So, compared to a sale of say, $5.00 off applying to all customers, the same item could be offered with a $20.00 mail-in rebate that would only apply to around 25% of customers. The $20 mail-in rebate sounds more enticing than $5.00 off up-front, so it lures in more customers, and costs the company the same amount in the end. I mention this because in the article, the writer states he'd rather receive $15.00 off up-front than $20.00 off through mail-in rebate; in reality you'd be more likely to receive $5.00 off up-front if there was an equivalent option to a $20.00 mail-in rebate. They fall into that gray area where it's difficult but not impossible to receive.