New Jersey may soon follow Connecticut and Rhode Island as a state that requires retailers to provide instant rebates to consumers rather than making them fill out paperwork to get money back on purchases.
Critics of traditional rebates argue that they are essentially a ruse to get consumers to buy products with manufacturers knowing full well that it is unlikely that many will actually receive a return check in the mail.
Legislators in New Jersey sponsoring the bill point to research, which shows roughly 40 percent of manufacturer rebates are never redeemed by consumers.
"Customers should not be deceptively lured into stores by low prices that only exist after they take the product home, cut apart the packaging, fill out aggravating paperwork and then wait weeks or months for a check," Assemblyman John Burzichelli, D-Paulsboro, told The Associated Press.
"This bill would not prevent manufacturers from offering rebates to New Jersey consumers but would only prohibit stores from deceptively passing off a net price to unwitting customers," Vincent Prieto, D-Secausus, told the AP. "It's a consumer protection measure that makes common sense."
If the law and a corresponding piece of legislation in the New Jersey Senate pass, than violators could be subject up to $20,000 in fines along with other damages and restitution.
Discussion Question: How effective are rebates as a means of driving product purchases? Do you think that rebates are on the way out?