By Tom Ryan
Consumers have long had a love-hate relationship with rebates. Although they love the deals, they hate the paperwork, the wait, and all the hoops required to actually get the promised rebate check.
In its recent Cranky Consumer column, testers for The Wall Street Journal took part in five rebate programs and found that only one - a T-Mobile offer - was hassle-free.
"We learned that terrific deals exist for shoppers who have patience for paperwork and follow-up calls," said the author Suzanne Barlyn. "But even the most careful shoppers may inadvertently bungle requirements, such as cutting out the Universal Product Code instead of the proof of purchase."
The testers found they couldn't avoid missing filing deadlines on some or botching paperwork on others - common issues that lead to rejected rebate checks. The bigger headache appears to be the Kafkaesque procedure to inquire about missing refunds.
"We often waited months for a response and had to check the status via phone and online," said Ms. Barlyn. "Postcards with confusing messages denying our rebates arrived by mail."
Retailers and manufacturers have struggled with mail-in rebates. While rebates can boost sales, they also risk disappointing or even angering customers who can feel scammed when the check never arrives.
"Rebates have generated such negative feedback from consumers that they were beginning to drag down the reputation of the retailers," Joe Ridout, spokesman for Consumer Action, a national nonprofit education and advocacy group based in San Francisco, told The Press Democrat in Santa Rosa, California.
Two years ago, Best Buy phased out mail-in-rebate programs and instead offers instant rebates at the cash register. The programs were eliminated even after Best Buy tried several initiatives to make them more consumer-friendly, including paying rebates with gift cards and setting up a way to track rebates online. But shoppers were still frustrated having to wait weeks for their savings to arrive.
"We did it because customers hate them," Best Buy spokeswoman Dawn Bryant told The Press Democrat. "Customers are looking for good value, and value doesn't always mean price."
Competitors, such as Circuit City, continue to offer rebates from manufacturers, but have taken steps to try to make the process more consumer-friendly, such as having technicians fill out all the rebate forms while installing computers or other devices in customers' homes.
But some retailers will have to do more to convince the Journal's testers of their value.
"In the future, we'll use delivery confirmation for rebates over $50," Ms. Barlyn wrote. "We'll check our mail carefully because rebate checks often resemble junk mail. And we'll often pass on rebate deals and comparison-shop on the internet instead."
Discussion Questions: Are rebates still a viable marketing tactic? What can be done to make them less of a nuisance to consumers and more effective for marketers?