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OfficeMax Getting Rid of Mail-In Rebates
OfficeMax said it will eliminate its mail-in rebate program beginning this weekend. They plan do do away with them in favor of in-store discounts. This is a great move for the company, as mail-in rebates are a pain and sometimes don’t result in payment. I am always extremely careful when filling out a form, and I generally receive my rebates (I think). Too bad they closed the OfficeMax that was practically right outside my house.
I also read that Best Buy said in 2005 that they would end their rebate program in two years. Now we just need to get Staples, Circuit City, and any other big stores to end their programs. Mail-in rebates are all a sham to make products look more attractive while they gain interest on your money. And most people don’t even send them in when they are for less than $50 (1/3 of shoppers according to the article). If the rebates are from $50 to $100 shoppers will send away for 50% of them.
Your comment refers to Staples as still needing to get away from mail in rebates, but they have for quite some time now:
http://www.staples.com/sbd/cre/marketing/easybutton/rebates.html?cm_sp=creative-_-easy%20button-_homegr01-rebates
I recently bought a flash drive and submitted a rebate online using there easy rebate submission and it couldn’t have been easier. No mailing, signing, cutting the bar code from the box. A few days later I received an email stating the rebate was accepted.
Thanks for the clarification. It still takes a few weeks to get your rebates. Also, there are some companies who have done bad. CompUSA was recently found to be responsible for the manufacturers they stock not paying mail-in rebates.
[...] Other companies are taking a different approach by trying their best to eliminate rebates altogether. Dell is planning to end mail-in-rebates in order to further improve its image in front of customers. Similarly, after getting sued, Best Buy announced it will try to curb out mail-in-rebates by 2008. Other companies like OfficeMax have also taken similar steps. This way, a customer does not have to wait for any rebate check to be mailed to them and can save money right away. [...]