Stop with BOGUS REBATES

An Open Letter to the Users of Rebates:

To all you company's using rebates on your products to get people to buy things.

STOP!

We know it's bull. We know you only deliver on a small percentage of rebates sent in. We know it's a scam.

When I see a 1GB SD card for 'only' $39 (after rebates) I skip right on by. I ignore the ad, delete the email and keep walking by the disply. I know I have, if I'm lucky, a 1 in 5 chance of getting that $50 rebate. That, assuming I go to the trouble of filling out the paperwork, finding the secret bar code on the box and including my original reciept and mailing it to you. Actually getting around to filling out the rebate is only a 50/50 chance thing for me anyway, so that lowers my chances to 1 in 10 of getting that money back.

And, if it's a small rebate, it's even less likely I'll get around to it.

So quit thinking we're fooled by this stupid scam.

When I buy a product nowadays, I NEVER EVER count the rebate into the price. I always figure the price to be WHAT I PAY AT THE REGISTER or ONLINE CHECKOUT CART. Period.

Here is a partial list of companies that have denied me a rebate for reasons that simply make no sense (like: you didn't include the right version of the bar code, even though there was only ONE on the box):

Best Buy (the worst)
CompUSA (the 2nd worst)
Curcuit City
HP
Nikon
Dell
Costco
Safeway
Energizer
Linksys (the 3rd worst)
Toshiba (the 4th worst)
Best Buy (did I mention BEST BUY)...

Don't bother guys. We know it's a scam. And we're dead sick and tired of it.

S