10 Excuses for Not Filling out a Rebate Card

Saving money is what it is all about. We shop sales; we cut coupons; and we send in rebates offers. Or do we? The following is a list of 10 reasons why people do not fill out rebate cards.

1. Past experience: The last rebate you sent for you never got back. Or maybe you did get the rebate but did not know what it was. Often time’s companies will create their rebate checks to look like junk mail, so when it shows up in your mailbox it is unceremoniously thrown away instead of cashed.
2. Complicated process: Filling out rebates is not the easiest thing to do. Oftentimes people just give up in the middle of the process because it can be too complicated to have all the right pieces of paper. They must be in the right order, purchased between certain dates, and sent in by a certain date, etc. It just gets to be too complicated, sometimes.
3. Not worth it: As complicated as filling out rebate forms can be- keep the sales slip, cut out the UPC code, fill out the form, include them all together but don’t staple or paperclip them, and don’t forget to make a few copies of everything. The final rebate amount might not be worth all the effort it takes to fill out the form and send it in.
4. Rebates are scams: Because of the complicated process and the need to follow the directions to a “T,” people sometimes don’t bother to fill out rebates because they seem to be a scam.
5. Lost or missing pieces: When you read the directions on a rebate form and it states to include an original copy of the receipt and an invoice and the form and a UPC or flap off the box, it’s easy to miss or misplace some of the pieces of paper. If one piece is lost or misplaced, there is no sense in filling out the rebate form and people don’t do it.
6. Did not get the rebate card: Maybe you didn’t lose the receipt for your purchase or the rebate card, but you just didn’t get the rebate card home with you. Very frequently, stores that offer many rebates will have a central location for all the rebate cards. Some people do not take the time to go through all the offers in order to find the right card for their purchase.
7. Item was returned: or maybe you didn’t know whether you would keep the item so, no rebate form was filled out.
8. Missed deadline: Many times rebates are listed for a “limited time only” and if you don’t get busy with the form that deadline will pass and you’re out of luck.
9. Forgot: Good intentions need to be acted upon quickly. Once a purchase is made, and the product is open and used, life goes on as normal. Since filling out rebate cards is not something we do every day or even on a regular basis, it is easy to forget to fill out that card and send it in.
10. Don’t qualify: Some products boast more than one rebate, but it is doubtful that a consumer will actually get both rebates. If you are willing to spend hours on the phone arguing with a customer service representative, it’s possible to get the second rebate, but again, usually you are “qualified” to receive only a certain amount of money in rebates on one purchase.

Playing the rebate game can save you money, but you have to know all the rules in order to succeed. Many people are choosing to boycott companies and products that use rebates as a marketing ploy. There seems to be a consensus that products should just be marked down to a “sale” price rather than make the consumer jump through hoops to save money.

Taken From Cheapest Service