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Their ad circular is generally good for two weeks; however,
they also have some limited time offers. You have to act
quicker with CompUSA, as they are the only one that I have
knowledge of that does not give rain checks when they run
out of a particular rebate item. So time is of the essence.
I have seen numerous instances where by 11:00 a.m. Sunday
morning they are completely out of a particularly hot item.
Office Max
Office Max is the only retailer that puts out a circular
that is generally good for one month. But like the others
they too have some limited time offers only good for a
particular week. Office Max is also very generous in
providing the consumer with a rain check. Should the
advertised item become unavailable a substitution of an item
of equal or greater value will be offered.
The exception to this would be if a particular item stated
that there was a limited amount available. Who has the best
and easiest rebate program?
Office Max far exceeds the competition in ease of rebating
and the punctuality of sending out the rebate checks.
The reason I say that their program is the easiest is
because they have one rebate form for the entire month so if
you buy several different items you do not have to do
multiple submissions and wait for multiple checks. They also
provide you with a duplicate receipt, so it is not necessary
to photocopy the original to send in. It has also been my
experience and the experience of others I have talked to
that you will receive your rebate check in a timely manner,
generally six to eight weeks and more often than not, closer
to the six weeks.
Circuit City
UPDATE: Circuit
City has changed and now have a more reasonable return
policy.
I can not say anything good or bad about Circuit City's rebates. The reason for this is my personal dislike of any
business that charges a 15% restocking fee on all returned
merchandise that has been opened even if the product proves
to be defective or at least not compatible with your needs.
Therefore I do not shop at Circuit City! I do however read
their ads on a weekly basis for competitive markdown
purposes.
CompUSA Best Buy
Both CompUSA and Best Buy take the longest time, generally
five to six months before you will receive your check and
this is not only from my personal experience but the
experience of others according to the e-mails I have
received.
Office Depot
Although I have only had a couple of rebates from Office
Depot the average wait time was 3 months.
Staples
Update: You can File your rebate on the internet.
My experience with Staples has been much the same as with
Office Depot with one exception.
One $30 rebate was never received, however, when I brought
this to the attention of my local Staples, the manager after
reviewing my documentation promptly offered my choice of
cash or an in store credit.
This shows that they are interested in customer
satisfaction. Tim Duffy's rules for rebating.
One
Read the rebate form immediately. Note the deadline for the
postmark and any special rules.
Two
Make sure that you have a legible copy of your original
receipt to send in.
Three
Photocopy everything. The receipt, bar code, the completed
rebate-form, etc.
Four
Get a receipt of mailing from your local post office so you
can provide proof if needed that you sent in the rebate
within the required time. The cost for this is approximately
60¢ and can be 60¢ well spent. Five
Take a black marking pen and cross out the last four digits
of your credit card number and the expiration date on your
receipt. This only applies if you purchased with a credit
card. This is done only because I believe in exercising
caution with credit card numbers.
Five
A lot of rebate checks are
printed on post cards and they can Easley be thrown out or
stuck in a magazine and lost.
Last but not least enjoy
your FREE SOFTWARE or HARDWARE.
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