[cron]

• NINE STEPS to Successful Rebates
• Tips on Copying and Keeping Track of Rebates
• Tips on Mailing Rebates
• Phone Numbers and Where to Complain

[cron]

NINE STEPS to Successful Rebates

1) Read all rebate terms and make sure you understand them.
Some rebates expire very quickly. For example, some rebates must be postmarked within seven days of purchase. Check rebate quantity limits. Make sure the rebate hasn't expired already. Other rebates require special information or documents like serial numbers, registration numbers, title pages to manuals, or old installation CDs. Some rebates are specific to certain retailers.

2) Immediately print out or save any rebate forms/receipts associated with a product.
I usually print out or save rebate forms BEFORE ordering a product. Rebate forms disappear very quickly from websites. This was a problem in previous years with Staples when they remove rebates during the middle of the promotion or alter limits. For online orders, you could also save the rebate forms to your hard drive at the same time as the online receipts. CutePDF is an easy to way make PDF copies to your PC. Most B&M stores have copies of rebate forms at the customer service desk. Many B&M stores, such as Best Buy, have the rebate form in their computer. Just ask for extra copies.

3) Make copies of rebate forms, UPC's, receipts, and rebate receipts.
You may be asked to resubmit it in case your information is not clear or the rebate company screws up. Often times the rebate company can "lose" your rebate or "lose" your UPC. Also, copies of rebate forms are helpful because they contain phone numbers and websites. Some B&M stores are nice enough to print out extra copies of many of these things at the cash register.

4) Staple the UPC to the rebate form or receipt.
Circle the UPC in red to make sure they don't miss it. Staple all of the rebate forms and receipts together so that they cannot be "lost" by the rebate center. Tape is fine also, but glue can be messy and smear ink. Make it one big package that doesn't come apart.

5) Circle/Highlight Purchase Date, Name of the Item, and the Purchase Price on the Receipt.
Circle it in red or another bright color to make sure they don't miss it.

6) Fill out rebates in Capital Letters so that the form is easy to read.
Use online rebate submissions when possible for more accurate rebate processing.

7) Fill out the ENTIRE rebate form.
Some rebate companies reject rebates for small details. Please make sure you sign all areas of the form requiring a signature and write clearly so the rebate company won't have to obtain more information. Make sure all fields on the rebate form are filled out, including PHONE NUMBER and EMAIL ADDRESS. A few companies have even added requirements about information on the envelope.

8) Don't give them an extra minute.
If your check doesn't arrive on time, then check the status on the web or call them up. This is especially important for high value rebates. Most of those details (phone numbers and web address) can be found on the copies of the rebate form. Most other phone numbers and web addresses can be found in HERE.

9) Fight for those denied rebates!!! (Ways to Collect your Money Thread)

Any other suggestions are greatly appreciated......

[cron]

Tips on Copying and Keeping Track of Rebates:

1) Make your scanner and printer into a photocopier by using this free software Photocopier 3.02

2) You could keep track of your submissions by making paper photocopies and filing them by the due date. Use post-it notes and write notes about the submissions. (For example, Mark all Hi-val rebates with a note to call them within a certain # of weeks.) Even if you do keep paper copies, it is still a good idea to keep a saved copy of the online rebate forms on your computer.

If you keep paper copies, you can write the date you mailed on the corner of the rebate. Extra info like that can be handy when a company tries to invalidate your rebate for postmark.

3) You could also scan all of the rebate submission information into the computer and keep track of them in folders instead of having physical copies. Organize by due date. The only problem with computers is that you should make backups of the rebate submissions because of the amount of money that can be involved.

4) A lot of people use excel or create databases to keep track of due dates and received rebates. Many also use a program called RebateRebate.

This post has been edited by cron: 6-18-08, 8:05pm

[cron]

Tips on mailing rebates:

1) Print out the mailing address on envelopes, instead of hand writing. (You could use one of the promotions for free postage like the $25 in free postage from Stamps.com)

2) For high dollar value rebates you could use USPS First class with delivery confirmation. Which is 55 cents extra per rebate at the local post office.

If you use USPS Shipping Assistant, then delivery confirmation is only 14 cents extra for first class mail.
Download the USPS software and instructions

Delivery Confirmation for first class mail requires an envelope that is at least 3/4 inch thick. To make the 3/4 inch requirement, you can also just wad up a small piece of paper and stick it inside the envelope. That should make the envelope wide enough. Many people use bubble wrapped envelopes to meet the 3/4 inch requirement.

You can check delivery confirmation online at USPS.

3) Some people mail rebates through certified mail or use priority mail with free delivery confirmation. These are expensive options ~ up to $5 per rebate.

4) If you use some sort of postal service tracking, it is probably a good idea to print out some of the tracking information when rebates are delivered. USPS deletes records after 180 days.

[cron]

PHONE NUMBERS AND WEB ADDRESSES FOR REBATE COMPANIES

WHERE TO COMPLAIN IF YOUR REBATE DOESN'T ARRIVE

That thread has fairly in-depth information on how to collect rebates from a rebate processing company, retailer, or manufacturer

[cron]

Links to Promotion Pages

Manufacturer "Promotion Page" Links Thanks Mackerdack

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Articles about Rebates:

PCWorld.com: Rebate or Rip-Off?
www.pcworld.com/resource/printable/article/0,aid,7957,00.asp

PCWorld.com: Consumer Watch: Bait and Rebate
www.pcworld.com/resource/printable/article/0,aid,55310,00.asp

[dejavu]

I Love this thread!!

Thanks cron!

[aranjit]

I find keeping track of rebates with myrebates.com to be convenient, they will email you when the rebate is past due.

[java007]

I find keeping track of rebates with myrebates.com to be convenient, they will email you when the rebate is past due.

Another tracking method is to use a product I think is now discontinued, but still available at selected locations, "Rebate! Rebate!" - see PC World download page. This is an MS Access based program and runs on Windows platforms. See PC World description for more information.

[alphnasx]

i think we should add fax # for the rebate centers too, so we can resubmit rebate info. if some how it got loss or they rebate processing center never recieved the rebate info

[cron]

i think we should add fax # for the rebate centers too, so we can resubmit rebate info. if some how it got loss or they rebate processing center never recieved the rebate info

Not a problem, just post them as people find them.

[StrawberryShortcake]

wow Thank you Great thread!!! This will be very helpful in the future..

Thanks again~

[cron]

New Rebate Tip from AMS

This sounds like a great tip of Grocery-type refunding. Just because of the amounts and the number of rebates that you have to send for Grocery Refunding.

I only keep copies of the high value ones... and I write "make copies" on all submissions , whether or not I actually do make the copies. I notice if I write that on submissions, I receive the $$.
 
Dr Scholl's NEVER pays. Because I wrote "copies made" this time, I got the check without contacting the company.

[myth465]

this is great i was working on my own faq but im ganna just store and use the B$ collection

[Monga]

Excellent thread, very informative, thanks a million!

[newlu]

thanks!!!!

[cron]

Another Rebate Tip:

If the product you are purchasing has a poor warranty, then make sure the product works properly before removing the UPC for a rebate.

That way you can exchange/return a defective product at the store. Most stores will not accept returns without a UPC.

[igotnothin]

Sorry if this belongs in a different forum, but I figured that everyone here specifically has to deal with rebates.

Anyway, I saw this in a PC World article and thought it was interesting.

Rebate! Rebate!

Do you need to remember how much money you've saved using rebates, and which ones are still pending? Or maybe how much you actually paid for items after rebate, coupons, and postage costs are deducted? This freeware will enable you to better track your rebate mailings. After entering the what, where, when, and how much of your rebates, you'll have a clear record of your rebate activity, as well as the net costs of your purchases.

I just downloaded it, and started entering info for one of my rebates. Seems to have potential, but I'll have to do some major data entry (though not as much as some of you LukFilm ) moving my info from a homemade Excel spreadsheet.

Was wondering what you guys do to keep track of your deals in process.

Mods: Please move this if I'm in the wrong forum. I did a search for "Rebate Rebate" and "Six International" but didn't come up with anything. Sorry if this is old news.

[mephisto]

I use an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of my rebates.

[ludeless]

i use it myself and like it a lot more than my own personal homemade spreadsheet that i used to use

I think it could definately use some improvements to it (such as dealing w/ multiple rebates for the same product), but there are ways to do this anyways.

The program does work well for what it's designed to do. The stats page is nice to see how much you've saved from coupons, rebates, etc..

[zarraza]

i used to use one for my palm - again, it lacked a few things, but all in all it did what i needed it to do - until my rebate totals started to exceed a few thousand dollars!

[idliiyer]

I use this program myself. Yes it could not handle multiple rebate option for the same product automatically. You have to enter the full price for one rebate and $0.0 for the second rebate and so on. Vey simple program written 2-3 years back.

It serves its purpose. It keeps track of the time and helps you to decide when is the good time for a followup action. Good for people who deal with a lot of rebates.

You have to enter each and evey data field yourself. So you may have to spend some 3 to 5 minutes, entering the data for each rebate. Once that is done, you are all set.

It is also portable. You just need to copy one data file and you can see your rebate data in another machine.

[igotnothin]

Thank you Cron!!!

You're a gentleman and a scholar!



edit:

And thanks to everyone who stopped to answer my question of how they keep track of all of this stuff. Mephisto, I shudder to think of what your spreadsheet looks like! Is this your day job?

This post has been edited by igotnothin: 2-25-04, 1:57pm

[Frank]

I use this program myself. Yes it could not handle multiple rebate option for the same product automatically. You have to enter the full price for one rebate and $0.0 for the second rebate and so on. Vey simple program written 2-3 years back.

It serves its purpose. It keeps track of the time and helps you to decide when is the good time for a followup action. Good for people who deal with a lot of rebates.

You have to enter each and evey data field yourself. So you may have to spend some 3 to 5 minutes, entering the data for each rebate. Once that is done, you are all set.

It is also portable. You just need to copy one data file and you can see your rebate data in another machine.

Yeah, I've been using the program myself, but I've gotten frustrated with some of its shortcomings, so I've decided to write my own program with the feedback of people on these fori.

I'm still in the design stage as I've been quite lazy, but I've been pretty productive this week. I'll keep you guys posted in my other thread about progress.

F

[Monga]

Frank, I would be happy to be your "guinea pig" or beta tester on your project.

[MuldrzSiS]

Same here!

[cron]

Rebate Roulette - March 2004 Issue of PCWorld Magazine

[intrigedbyu2]

WHAT A GREAT THREAD, I LEARNED ALOT OF THINGS HERE I DIDNT KNOW. I AM JUST GETTING INTO REBATES AND ALL SO THIS WAS A BIG HELP. THANKS!!!

[H2K]

Is it better to send in multiples rebates with 1 receipt and 1 envelop or send each rebate separately and all the copies of the receipts? Has anyone tried doing like 3 rebates in one envelop?

[WingsOverVA]

Is it better to send in multiples rebates with 1 receipt and 1 envelop or send each rebate separately and all the copies of the receipts? Has anyone tried doing like 3 rebates in one envelop?

Totally depends on the conditions on the individual rebate, and which rebate house is doing the processing. The "all on one page" rebates from OfficeMax can be sent in one envelope with one receipt, but any others will depend on the offer's restrictions.