A post over on Consumerist kicked off a firestorm of rebate debates. I fill out a lot of rebates (over the last couple months I’ve received 3 free computer cases and 2 free computer power supplies) and overall have had very little trouble with rebates. I tend to take my time filling out the forms and make sure that I have copies of everything I send in (using an all-in-one copier/printer I bought with a rebate :)) just in case they forget.
krunk4ever was a major contributor to the Consumerist thread and summarized his stance on rebates nicely:
- Read all of the fine print
- Include all of the necessary fields
- Document and make photocopies of everything (I like to file this away and check that I’ve received them every once in a while.)
- Know which rebate companies are good (he comments on some in the article)
- Follow-up when necessary