Some Rebates Suck!

[BuddhaTB]

I purchased a Belkin 6 outlet surge protector and a 50 pack spindle of Fuji CD-R's from Fry's back in August. So I just gave the rebate hotlines a call to check on the status of both my rebates and the customer service rep, says that they can't find any record of my rebates. This so pissed me off. There goes $15 worth of rebates down the drain. In the last 5 years dealing with rebates I've never since had a problem until now. Honestly, Best Buy has the best rebate service. This is the last time I will ever buy anything from Fry's that has a rebate attached to it. The Fuji rebates that I got from Best Buy purchases have all made it back to me, this one from Fry's somehow got lost.

[kuryuka]

Well, i happened to rebates, yes, but i have good experience with Fry's. There were some hurdles but they (usually they are manufacturers or rebate fulfillment companies) never lost rebate submissions.
What you MUST do every time you send rebate - make copies of everything: receipt, rebate form, UPC. They usually allow you to re-submit rebates.

[BuddhaTB]

Belkin wouldn't let me re-submit my rebate because it was already past the expiration date, or thats what the customer service person said. As for the Fuji one, if I don't get a check by next week, call them back and they'll see what they can do. Atleast the person at Fuji was more helpful than the person at Belkin. I'm going to give them a week to see if anything pans out. If nothing comes in the mail by then, I'm going to demand a supervisor and start yelling at them until I get a reasonable answer.

I swear nothing gets done with big companies/retail stores until you start raising hell and keep calling them constantly.

[TheWizard]

Wait...they were manufacturer's rebates or store rebates? You make it sound like they are manufacturer's rebates with Belkin and Fuji respectively. In that case, don't hate Fry's, but rather hate Belkin and Fuji.

[BuddhaTB]

Wait...they were manufacturer's rebates or store rebates? You make it sound like they are manufacturer's rebates with Belkin and Fuji respectively. In that case, don't hate Fry's, but rather hate Belkin and Fuji.

The Fuji rebate was a Fuji one. However the Belkin one was a store and manufacturer's rebate. Neither Belkin or Fry's has any record of them receiving my rebate forms. I swear I mailed them all out together. Maybe the US Postal System has some blame then. I still hate Fry's on how they give out Photo-Copied rebate forms instead of orginal rebate forms or printed out ones like Best Buy does. I'm still reluctant to make rebate purchases from Fry's. I still like Fuji because they have handled all my other rebates in the past with satisfaction and have all arrived in time. When I have a Best Buy, Circuit City, Compusa, and Fry's Electronics all within a 10 mile radius from me, I can be selective in where I choose to buy from and which deals I will go after. However, don't let my one complaint about Fry's and etc. stop you from shopping at Fry's if you've had good experiences there.

[Tolyngee]

If nothing comes in the mail by then, I'm going to demand a supervisor and start yelling at them until I get a reasonable answer.

I swear nothing gets done with big companies/retail stores until you start raising hell and keep calling them constantly.

WOW! You know the economy has really gone south when someone will get this upset over $15...

I swear I mailed them all out together. Maybe the US Postal System has some blame then.

Can't be the USPS. They have NEVER EVER lost any mail. Sorry, but it's just impossible.

But, even if so, you're right, it's still Fry's'/Belkin's/Fuji's fault!

I'm still reluctant to make rebate purchases from Fry's.

Then, frankly, why did you?

However, don't let my one complaint about Fry's and etc. stop you from shopping at Fry's if you've had good experiences there.

Yes, master.


Just can't understand being this irrational over $15? Especially when 3/3 never received your info, and you mailed 'em the same day...

BuddhaTB, I know the baseball season is over, and you've lost an outlet for expressing yourself, but why not do the typical thing, and just take it out on your children?

Or perhaps just believe in the power of the Rebate Monkey?

But, seriously, BuddhaTB, if you've been doing rebates for five years and this is the first time mail (all mailed at the same time) has been lost, and you get this irrational about it, do those around you some good and

GET PROFESSIONAL HELP!

It's amazing what people will do when they are on the phone (or similar technology) and not face-to-face with an innocent party. Then again, I've seen people get face-to-face with innocent parties as well, so, never mind...

But I just don't want next year to be watching an Angels' game (assuming they are still there) and see some fan run out of the stands and attack the first base coach in some uncontrollable fit of rage, and as they are taking the fan away in cuffs, hear the fan exclaiming, "BB never sent me my $20 rebate!!! BB never sent me my $20 rebate!!!"

But a grown man threatening a violence response (harassing/yelling at people who aren't responsible for his anger) over $15 really does need help...

BuddhaTB, really, when I read your posts, I don't see someone upset at Fry's, Belkin, Fuji, or the USPS...

As Freud would say: "Sometimes a rebate, is just a rebate."

[BuddhaTB]

Just can't understand being this irrational over $15?

To a college student, $15 can go a long way. I'm sorry if $15 is chump change to you, but I've learned that money doesn't grow on trees. When your on a college student's budget, you're always conscious about the money that you do have since every quarter you do have to buy new books or other expenditures do arise. $15 is a significant amount to me, and if it was $1 or less, I wouldn't care much about it, but this is $15 dollars we are talking about. I don't want to get into all the things that 15 bucks can buy, but it can buy a lot if you spend it wisely.

Since this is the Rant and Rave forum, I can tell people about the bad experiences that I've had. I know that yelling tactic may sound bad, but if you sound angry over something, people will usually try to help you out because they know their companies reputation is on the line. If you don't agree with any of the things I've said regarding this topic, you don't have to continue reading this and you can move on to the other parts of CDRLabs. This is my commentary on the matter.

As for you Tolyngee, I know you have ripped one some of my posts in the past and I'm starting to get tired of it. If you don't have anything nice or creative to say, please don't say it and just keep it to yourself.

[Tolyngee]

Just can't understand being this irrational over $15?

To a college student, $15 can go a long way. I'm sorry if $15 is chump change to you, but I've learned that money doesn't grow on trees. When your on a college student's budget, you're always conscious about the money that you do have since every quarter you do have to buy new books or other expenditures do arise. $15 is a significant amount to me, and if it was $1 or less, I wouldn't care much about it, but this is $15 dollars we are talking about. I don't want to get into all the things that 15 bucks can buy, but it can buy a lot if you spend it wisely.

Don't remember suggesting $15 was chump-change. $15 is $15 to me, too. But $15 isn't something to get irrational over to me.

Since this is the Rant and Rave forum, I can tell people about the bad experiences that I've had. I know that yelling tactic may sound bad, but if you sound angry over something, people will usually try to help you out because they know their companies reputation is on the line. If you don't agree with any of the things I've said regarding this topic, you don't have to continue reading this and you can move on to the other parts of CDRLabs. This is my commentary on the matter.

Never suggested you couldn't express yourself here.

Didn't you yourself say that they are being reasonable? You said if they haven't received your rebate by then, you'll demand a supervisor and start yellin' at 'em until you get a reasonable answer as to why they haven't received your rebate. They're responsible for having not received it?

have you read the fine print? I'm sure you have, and unfortunately they're not responsible for lost mail, which is what it sounds like...

Besides, if you have to be so unreasonable to get someone to listen, if you must so manipulate them, what can that say about their reputation?

If their reputation is to not work with customers on issues, perhaps don't buy their product next time?

They're still following the fine-print of the rebate though... They can't/don't process that which they haven't received...

You'd run your business that way too!

As for you Tolyngee, I know you have ripped one some of my posts in the past and I'm starting to get tired of it. If you don't have anything nice or creative to say, please don't say it and just keep it to yourself.

Yeah, I don't have anything nice to say.

buddhaTB: "If you have something nice to say, don't say it at all." eh?

It seems it is fine to irrationally rant and rave, but not fine to rant about out-of-line ranters. Typical mentality, unfortunately.

Ignorance can be cured, but stupid's forever...

But, sorry, no, I just could not justify harassing TheWizard if Kuryuka lost something of mine...

Come on, that's gotta make sense to you too, no?

Just that life is gonna "suck" for you if every five years of your life you get bent out of shape 'cause you lost $15... (and especially "suck" if you can't find a way to laugh/cry about such events...)

Not unusual though from my life's experiences for people to make molehills out of mountains and mountains out of molehills...

On a lighter side, if you enjoy harassin' and yellin' at people concerning purchases, may I suggest Ebay?

Come on, sit back, get a grip, and laugh a little about it all...

In all honesty, getting upset over things like this will cost you more than $15 later down the road in health care costs!!! Now that's a life tax you don't wanna pay!

[BuddhaTB]

I'm just going to end this thread. Your just making it a bigger deal than what I'm saying it is. This $15 is somewhat important since it was money that was supposed to be paid back to me, but I'll be lucky to get a few bucks back. However, I ain't stressing over this. I have more important things to worry about over the next few weeks. In a few days, these $15 will be mere memories in the past and I will move on with my life, because I choose not to get stuck on this moment.

Thanxs for the opinion/criticism, even though I don't agree with all of it.

[dodecahedron]

that's the right attitude!
beer luck next time with the rebates!

[varosan]

i hate it when i don't get rebates and your right about best buy, i always get my rebates back. these are my experiences with stores sending back my rebates on time.
best buy- really good
compusa- 6 months to never or until i call about 4 times
staples - good
office max- ok but you may have to wait 3 to 4 months
office depot- ok
from the manufactures
memorex good
tdk really good
belkin - not good at all 5 months

[TheWizard]

To add to that list:

Fuji - very good
Verbatim/AT&T - very good
Circuit City - good

[Inertia]

BuddhaTB,

If you made copies of all receipts, UPC codes, rebate materials, etc. before mailing them as should always be done with any rebate submission by mail, then there may still be hope.

I have had two incidents where rebates for items purchased from Fry's were not reimbursed to me by the rebate organization, who claimed no record of receipt. I contacted Fry's customer support. They had a person who worked with customers to solve these problems if they have copies of the submitted materials. After mailing or faxing the rebate copies to Fry's, they contacted the rebate outfit to deal with the problem. As you can imagine, Fry's has a little more clout than the average consumer.

In both cases, the rebate checks were finally sent.

[BuddhaTB]

I do have photo copies of the things I sent in. The Fuji customer rep. said to give them a week to look into the matter and to give them a call next week to see what course of action can be taken. The Fry's customer service person said to wait about 1-2 weeks before calling them back because they were sending out a batch of rebate checks last Friday, but they had no record of my rebate, so maybe they forgot to enter it into the system and my rebate might be in that batch of rebate checks. However, the Belkin person I spoke to said they would not be accepting any resubmitted rebate forms since the offer has already expired. So I'm going to give them a call this week and heopfully talk with someone else to see if I can show them my photo copies to further help my case. Belkin's customer service wasn't that helpful when compared to Fuji & Fry's. I'll let you guys know if I do find out anything. Thanxs for the suggestion Inertia.

Speaking of Inertia, I hate college Physics. It's such a hard topic to understand when your professor can't teach it if his/her life depended on it.

[cfitz]

I just got a couple of TDK media rebate checks in the mail. This is one vote for TDK fulfilling their rebates honestly. Yamaha also does a good job fulfilling their rebates.

cfitz

[BuddhaTB]

Here's an update to my situation.
I received my Belkin rebate on Monday. Wierd how they send me a rebate check, yet when I call they show no record of it on their computer. Took Belkin 3 months to send me a rebate check, but atleast they sent me it.
As for that Fuji rebate I was complaining about that with my purchase from Fry's. I called yesterday and they told me my check had been cut on 11/15. Strange how they also showed no record of my rebate before when I called a few times and now they're sending me a rebate check. So the problem is pretty much solved, just have to call Fry's about the $2 rebate check they will owe.
I'm just glad those problems were resolved and maybe they actually did listen to my complaints.

As for some purchases I made at Best Buy. I just got back a Memorex rebate that I sent away 6 weeks ago, so that came on schedule. Also Fuji doesn't an excellent job on rebates when you register your rebates at their web-site they have set up.


Companies With Good/Excellent Return Times on Rebates
Fuji
Memorex
Imation
TDK
Kingston
Best Buy
Staples
Office Depot

[TheWizard]

I received my rebate for the AT&T/Verbatim discs at Best Buy very quickly too. The check came from Verbatim, although as we all know, the discs are either CMC or Ritek made.

[jaymz668]

I'm amazed this is the first time you've had an issue with rebates.

In my experience, rebates are returned about 50% of the time.

[BuddhaTB]

I'm amazed this is the first time you've had an issue with rebates.

In my experience, rebates are returned about 50% of the time.

Yes, this is the first time I've had an issue with rebates. I've gotten all my rebates from the past that I can remember. You just have to be selective in which companies you wish to send your rebate forms to. Some take 6 months to forever to get ur rebates back.

[Meggie]

Make that two of us. Best Buy has always sent the rebates in a short time. I have not delt with Belkin but Office Max is another that will not honor their rebates. My scenerio is about the same with them except they won't return calls and you can't talk to a real person. Not even anyplace on the net to send an email.

Meggie

I purchased a Belkin 6 outlet surge protector and a 50 pack spindle of Fuji CD-R's from Fry's back in August. So I just gave the rebate hotlines a call to check on the status of both my rebates and the customer service rep, says that they can't find any record of my rebates. This so pissed me off. There goes $15 worth of rebates down the drain. In the last 5 years dealing with rebates I've never since had a problem until now. Honestly, Best Buy has the best rebate service. This is the last time I will ever buy anything from Fry's that has a rebate attached to it. The Fuji rebates that I got from Best Buy purchases have all made it back to me, this one from Fry's somehow got lost.

[TheWizard]

Despite Meggie's scenario, I would add OfficeMax to the list of good rebate stores. I received my rebate in a timely fashion.

[KuoH]

Yup, it's not necessarily the store the product was purchased from, but rather the manufacturer of said product. I've gotten fast and slow rebates from products purchased from OM, OD and BB. Western Digital and Imation were among the fastest rebates, while Belkin, D-Link, and Maxtor have been quite slow.

KuoH

[TheWizard]

More praise about Best Buy rebates, I received a check in the mail today for the Precision discs I bought last month. This is the fastest rebate check I have ever received, it took 3 weeks for BB to fulfill the rebate! That's A-W-E-S-O-M-E!

[jaymz668]

I still haven't received my fuji rebate from a month ago! And it was done via their website and sent in. so... yeah, rebates suck

[BuddhaTB]

I still haven't received my fuji rebate from a month ago! And it was done via their website and sent in. so... yeah, rebates suck

Give Fuji a call and I'm sure they will help you out like they did with my situation.
Call Fuji toll free at 1-866-385-4435 Monday - Friday 9AM - 8PM EST