Antec Rebates that never get honored

[pinoy]

I have mailed five Antec rebates for cases and power supplies in the past two years thinking I was getting a good deal. To this date Antec has refused to honor two rebates totalling $50. That's a 40% rebate failure rate. Their customer support response is a broken record and the blame is always turned on me. In all my life I have never lost any mail sent via USPS. In the past two years Antec claims they never received the two rebates I sent.

I think it's time to do away with mail-in rebates. It is a ponzi-scheme cooked up by marketing departments. They lure customers to purchase their products with a promise of huge rebates. The advertised deals are spread all over the internet by customers like you and I thinking we are helping our fellow users get in on the deal. Unfortunately, for customers, companies like Antec have the final say who will actually receive their rebates at the same time meet their quota of disqualified rebates, which translates to more profits for them at the end of the day. There is no arbitration on our behalf.

I like Antec products but I do not like their marketing. I would rather pay a premium for a product than one with a promised rebate that has a 40% chance of never coming to fruition. I have lost faith in Antec. I can never trust any of their mail-in rebate promotions again.

[slugbug]

I've only dealt with Antec once or twice for mail in rebates and never had a problem. I agree though that some rebate companies are a real pain to deal with. Persistence usually pay off when it comes to dealing with rebate houses. What I do is check if they did receive it and if payment is late call or email them. To date I've received every rebate I've sent in.

[Cody_Irwin]

I just personally don't bother with rebates, as its a hassle.

[werty316]

Did you make absolutely sure you followed the MIR instructions? You'll get declined if you don't; the simplest mistake can cost you.

[PP Mguire]

Did you make absolutely sure you followed the MIR instructions? You'll get declined if you don't; the simplest mistake can cost you.I'm with this, but I also agree with the OP. MIR is total crap. If you are going to give money back, then take it off the MSRP.

[omegadoom13]

I don't like rebates either. Luckily, I haven't had any problems with rebates. I've dealt with Antec rebates a few times and have never had any problems. I hope you have more success in the future.

[slugbug]

I was denied once because the product had two UPC codes and I sent in the wrong one. You just know they put two on the packaging to screw with people :coocoo:

[pinoy]

Man this sucks.

[CDsDontBurn]

The company I work for offers rebates to some of the products we sell. Some customers get their rebate, and others don't. The vast majority why customers don't get their rebates is because they don't provide the invoice. Other times, customers will provide the packing list or sales order but not the invoice. Sometimes, they don't have it submitted post marked in time and that disqualifies them from receiving their rebate money. The last major reason is because they forgot to write something down. Then there's the one rare case here and there where the person processing the rebates can't read the writing. And trust me, those ones I've seen have HORRIBLE writing.

I definitely agree though, I don't like rebates myself personally. If a rebate is offered on a product and I purchase that product, I'll submit the rebate and hope I get it. If not, it's cool with me because I wasn't counting on it to go through. Put simply, I don't purchase a product because it has a MIR.

[foxmobouser]

Get your rebates from reputable online sellers.
Newegg- always got em, and if you don't you can always contact customer service and they will issue credit back (had that happen once)
Tiger Direct- kings of tricky rebates but they do have a rebate guarantee or something like that

One time a rebate company denied me a rebate but it was due to fact that the auto scanner, yes they scan in your rebate forms and have an automated program read the scan did not pick up the tiny UPS barcode, however I could see it online as the company makes the scans available online. One call and i was approved.

- always glue/tape your upc to form
- always send copy of invoice not order, at some sites you have to do some extra clicking to get to invoice
- make sure your invoice address is same as billing address or if using paypal or site prefered account your shipping address
- if you mail it in past the deadline a few days: hope for the best or just use a paste of water and flower on and around the stamp area to have the postal sent date crumble off ;)

[PP Mguire]

The company I work for offers rebates to some of the products we sell. Some customers get their rebate, and others don't. The vast majority why customers don't get their rebates is because they don't provide the invoice. Other times, customers will provide the packing list or sales order but not the invoice. Sometimes, they don't have it submitted post marked in time and that disqualifies them from receiving their rebate money. The last major reason is because they forgot to write something down. Then there's the one rare case here and there where the person processing the rebates can't read the writing. And trust me, those ones I've seen have HORRIBLE writing.

I definitely agree though, I don't like rebates myself personally. If a rebate is offered on a product and I purchase that product, I'll submit the rebate and hope I get it. If not, it's cool with me because I wasn't counting on it to go through. Put simply, I don't purchase a product because it has a MIR.I have extremely terrible handwriting and so I type and print out anything that needs to be sent out. I hate when I have to write on a parcel note or package because it's embarrassing.

[sifter]

Checked my excel form with over $5k worth rebates and noticed I have never bought an Antec product with a rebate. I have only been denied once by Bayer and well it was partly my mistake. Someone mistaking misread the details and posted the deal online without posting the back part of the original rebate form. I lost $5 on the rebate and started reading all the details in full and checking everything twice. How I handle rebates: I never hand write a rebate, unless it states it has to be hand written. Several free pdf programs allow you to type information in the pdf and print it out. Check off each step of the requirements. After signing the rebates, a digital copy it made. Several rebate houses (not the product manufacturers, but rebate companies themselves) have a habit of denying the rebate out of habit. In less then 5 minutes on the phone, they realized it was "mistakenly" rejected and they will approve the rebate. The digital copy is your back up.

Companies expect that your forget about your rebates, make a small mistakes, or don't bother calling in when it is rejected. When that happens you basically bought the product at full price. They recently added giftcards/prepaid cards, which few people use, and "fast" processing for a fee to decrease how much you get back. If you are willing to spending a bit of time, you can get good deal using rebates. If no, just wait for it to be on sale. One more piece of advice: buying gas is a great way to use up the prepaid cards fast.