Mail-in rebate rejected by supermediastore.com

[PictureLake]

Back in Sep I bought a 100-pack of TY 8x DVD-Rs from supermediastore.com. They were offering a special $7 MIR. I followed all the rebate instructions to the letter, but my request was rejected:

The sales receipt you submitted did not demonstrate purchase of the product required for the rebate.

Actually, I didn't submit a "sales receipt". I submitted a copy of the packing slip, as specified by the instructions. And that copy (yes, a copy was acceptable) clearly showed the purchase of the required product.

I emailed rebatestatus.com (via their website) over 3 weeks ago, but they have not responded. I tried calling their phone number, but gave up after 45 minutes on hold.

The last 2 days, I've left voicemail messages for supermediastore.com, but they have not returned my calls. (I wouldn't normally contact the store I purchased a MIR item from, but in this case, it appears to me that the rebate is from supermediastore.com, not TY.)

Anyone have any ideas on how to proceed further? (Besides just dropping it, since it is "only" $7!)

Thanks,

Ken

[jimmalenko]

You realise that you've probably spent the $7 in postage and phone calls already ?

[PictureLake]

Well, if you'd have added "and time", I'd buy it. But the stamps were a total of $0.37, and the phone calls were mostly free (less than a dime to supermediastore.com). Total expenditure so far: less than $0.50. :P

[jimmalenko]

What about the emails ? or do you get internet access for free ?

Power to run the computer to send the emails ?

Lights ?


How far do you want me to go ?

[KnightCrawler]

Back in Sep I bought a 100-pack of TY 8x DVD-Rs from supermediastore.com. They were offering a special $7 MIR. I followed all the rebate instructions to the letter, but my request was rejected:

The sales receipt you submitted did not demonstrate purchase of the product required for the rebate.

Actually, I didn't submit a "sales receipt". I submitted a copy of the packing slip, as specified by the instructions. And that copy (yes, a copy was acceptable) clearly showed the purchase of the required product.

I emailed rebatestatus.com (via their website) over 3 weeks ago, but they have not responded. I tried calling their phone number, but gave up after 45 minutes on hold.

The last 2 days, I've left voicemail messages for supermediastore.com, but they have not returned my calls. (I wouldn't normally contact the store I purchased a MIR item from, but in this case, it appears to me that the rebate is from supermediastore.com, not TY.)

Anyone have any ideas on how to proceed further? (Besides just dropping it, since it is "only" $7!)

Thanks,

Ken

I would have included a copy of everything, that way they can't say you didn't send the right stuff in. Otherwise if they rejected you it's probably a quota they have.

[PictureLake]

An update of sorts:

I tried calling rebatestatus.com again (despite jimmalenko's concerns), and this time they answered in about 5 minutes. I explained the situation, and was asked for the product number from the packing slip. The rep then said she'd override the rejection, and my rebate would be processed.

KnightCrawler was probably kidding about a "quota", but I have to wonder. Perhaps most people would give up after they're rejected, so they are told to reject a certain percentage. I certainly hope not, but one has to wonder how a company whose business it is to process rebates can reject one that followed the instructions to the letter.

I'm more wary of supermediastore.com now, despite what I thought was a good reputation. I'm quite disappointed that they did not return my calls.

Ken

[Faustus]

Heck sometimes you get a rejection letter and have no way to contact the rebate company. I just refuse to deal with rebates for the most part.

Rebates are one tiny step away from a scam IMO.

[ROF]

I feel just the opposite. Rebates are great. They are almost like free money. I've only ever had one tech rebate not get returned to me in all this time. I deal with hundreds of them each year because of my business. I consider it free money because you've already spent money purchasing a product for a customer or yourself. You've filled out the rebate and mailed it in. when the rebate shows up in your mailbox it's usually at a time when you really could use that extra ca$h. I usually find mine on my way out to grab a gallon of milk or a pack of cigarettes, so the rebate comes in handy.

The company who didn't return my one rebate denied ever receiving my rebate in the first place. I have since gotten several rebates from them so I won't name the company that did this. I love rebates.

[PictureLake]

I'm with you, ROF. I love rebates, and so far I've been lucky in all my years I've never not gotten one (though this is the 3rd or 4th time I've had to dispute a rejection). But then, I don't send in 100s each year like you, so I think your record is far more enviable.

It is possible that the company that denied ever receiving your rebate submission really didn't. The USPS does a great job, but certainly mail does get lost sometimes. Too bad they wouldn't accept a copy, but sadly that's probably pretty standard. ("Not responsible for lost submissions ....")

Ken

[dphirschler]

I love rebates too. I don't even keep track of them. I just mail them in and eventually the money comes in. I do keep up with the big rebates though ($50 and up). I probably have $100 outstanding in rebates at any given time.


Darryl

[ROF]

I keep track of my rebates in a log book. Basically I do this for several reasons. I have so many that it's good to know who owes me what. I can also keep track of how long a company takes each time from mailing to mailing. Info I include in my log is; Company name, amount of rebate, Product name and SN/EIC, Date mailed, and Date Received. Rebates come in my name or my wifes name since several rebate houses not manufacturers allow a maximum amount of rebates per month per customer. OnRebates.Com has a maximum of 5 per household, so I have the extras mailed to my PO Box.

Note to OnRebates.Com customers:

For August and Early September checks. OnRebates inadvertently mailed rebate checks without complete bank routing numbers. You can check these rebates as they are now starting to show up at your homes. If the routing number is 8 digits instead of 9, you need to call onRebates and let them know you have been issued an invalid check. They will re-issue your check(s) and confirm via email your returned invalid rebate check. If you cash these checks at your bank, expect a call from your bank telling you the check is invalid and the funds will be withdrawn from your account. Just FYI!

[lordsmurf]

Rebates started back in the late 90s, at least in the way they exist now, and I'd agree they're only a baby step away from a scam in many cases.

[hwoodwar]

I do not particularly love or hate rebates. I deal with them if necessary.

I do try to think logically about them. In my opinion they are a short term loan to the rebate company. The rebate company keeps the interest made on these thousands of loans. Furthermore, the company can count on a certain percentage of the rebates not being mailed in for, or the person not abiding by the precise instructions. Heck, I even saw one rebate once that required the purchaser to use blue ink. I did and got the rebate back. I am sure there were many people that used black ink and the rebate was rejected. Also, many times the way the rebate check arrives, it looks like "junk mail" or can get lost among the paper junk mail. This adds even more to the profits of the rebate company.

[hudsonf]

I prefer sale prices and/or instant rebates. The way I look at mail-in rebates is that they are giving you back your own money they took from you in the first place. I know most rebates are from the manufacturer and not the store but I still don't like them taking my money just to make me jump through hoops to get it back.