Why do rebates even exist?

[John Bennett]

Why do we have to put up with these mail-in rebates?

What advantages do they give sellers and manufacturers other than the obvious "sometimes people forget to send them in"?

I could better tolerate them if I knew why they are so popular.

[XxCowOfChaosxX]

I think they allow the compainies to show thier prices lower with "with rebate" in fine print
then, some people may just be too lazy to send in for the rebate, which means more profit for them

[J-Excel]

Also, they get people to make a purchase, and a lot of times when people make a purchase they buy more than just the sale item.

[elmers]

Yeah and also most people dont get the rebate. A friend of myn, an economics major told me that only 10% of people return defective products to get a rebate. I think the mail in rebate percentage is even lower.

[Xeroid]

Why do rebates even exist?

To frustrate me!

Yeah, I also think it's an advertising trick. I avoid rebates whenever possible.

[John Prophet]

I heard that only 3-5 out of ten peeps actually turn em in...then you have to thin it out some for the people who fill em out wrong etc.....overall a great way for the manufacturers to make $$$

[setth84]

It's hard to even get your rebates from companies.. sometimes they fight you for it.. especially sprint.. i know lol.

and its true.. the sale items are just to drag ppl into the store

[haxxorpoop]

They want you in their store, becuase then you'll be like "hey thats nice" and buy 1000 bucks worth of stuff vs. the 20 cd you came for :\

[Shawn711]

Kinda an interest free loan on the increased sales too......and even better for them when people don't send in the rebates, as everyone else noted...........not to mention the "since I am here, I might as well get this too" side purchases to the advantage of the retailer.........

Shawn

[monodax]

Well I will say I have been following up on this issue for several months now and have been down to paths not discussed here.

1. is that the rebates are even more profitable to the companies using them as they are generally companies that are "Promotion" companies and guess what. They "SELL" Mailing list and they have all your contact information with items you actually spent time sending in for a rebate so they know you are interested in the item. So it seems to be a WIN-WIN for the manufacturer/rebate house.

2. The rebates are generally used to determine where the pricing point for the item needs to be. They can determine where people will start spending for an item based on the amount of the rebate. Have you noticed that by the time you get your rebate check the product is already priced at the price you got it at minus the rebate.

To me based on all the information I have obtained about the rebate "scams". I just don't fall for it. It is just like the warranty card you "Think" you are supposed to send in to have a warranty. This information is SOLD just like anything else, most have questions about your marital status, inccome, etc.. NOTHING related to the requirements of fulfilling a warranty. They make money off you information. Just remember NOT to send the warranty cards in and just keep the reciept with the warranty card. That is all you need, In (Georgia Anyways). They cannot change the warranty since you didn't send the card in as long as you have you receipt.