The good old days of rebates are over...

[Row1]

OK everyone- so I saw a good deal on ram from Tiger Direct - 1gb $100 then $40 rebate. Cool.
Well, it turns out that somehow the rebate process has been greatly improved: instead of just mailing in the typical form, upc core, and receipt, I had to do all of this online stuff - registering and entering, etc., with something called "onsite."
I thought it was an online submission versus mail-in. I thought, how cool. They took my order number, etc.
Then, at the end of this process, they tell me I have successfully registered. And the next step is - you guessed it - print out the form, mail it in with the upc code and the receipt. Wow.

Here is the good part, though: if I want to pay a $4.50 fee, they can instantly submit my rebate to my paypal.

So the good old days of rebates are officially over. Now, I bet I will be peppered with junk mail daily because I "registered" with I-don't know-who, some serivce called "onsite" or something.

Rebates had been great for a while there. I actually received every one I submitted, starting back in 1996 when I started messign with computers. Not any more.

Does this bug anyone else? Has anyone esle done this? Do yuo get a bunch of email because you registered?

 

[JMMD]

I've done this before with Seagate rebates. I don't think I've ever gotten any spam based on registering online.

I would be leary of Tiger Direct rebates anyway. They've had serious issues in the past.

 

[VcBoy87]

What about manufactuer rebates (like logitech rebates, etc.) on TigerDirect.com? Those are still okay right? Cause they're handled by the manufactuers; not some third-party rebate center like onrebate.com.

 

[Row1]

onrebate sending updates...

I just got a message saying that everything is in order and the rebate is getting mailed.

So far, I have not seen junk mail from this. Hopefully it will all work out well.

 

[Tedster]

I suggest you use a disposable email account like hotmail or yahoo for business transactions to avoid spamming your personal email acounts.

Also rebates can be a huge scam. This is heavily investigated by the federal trade commisson because of the excessive fraud.

 

[VcBoy87]

But what about rebates that are promoted by the manufactuer? Are those just fake rebates; scams used by online stores?

 

[Row1]

Onrebate received; 1 month

Yes! i just received the onrebate. it tool abt a month may 8 to jun 10.

like i said, very similar to the old days, but with the extra steps.

i have been getting a lot more junk email this past month (like 8/day versus zero), but I don't know where these spammers have gotten my email.

vcboy: as far as rebates from oter places, I would just search techspot or the web for "rebate" and whatever else, like "tigerdirect." the scams will show up.

 

[N3051M]

And do make sure that the company is a legit and/or well known one, as well as an extra precaution of if you are using the online registration forms that it is not being phished..

 

[VcBoy87]

Okie Dokie

Thanks guys!

 

[Row1]

Update: CompUSA has started doing online rebates, with a site called erebate: the process is actually easier on us than the old mail-in style.

I just got a hard drive with a rebate. Instructions came with the receipt. I went to the erebate website, entered specific info from the receipt (time of purchase, etc.), and submitted. I didn't have to mail anything in.

They say they wait 21 days because you might decide to return the item. I will see how quick it goes, and how much spam I get from 'joining' erebate, but registering and applying for the rebate was very easy.