Black Friday Free after Rebate

I waited until this weekend to discuss the rebate subject. If you took advantage of the IT deals last week that followed Thanksgiving Day, you could not help but noticing many are "Free" after rebate (FAR).

Some suggestions on dealing with rebates.

• First, never buy anything you don't need just because it's FAR. A web page that announces these deals is slickdeals.net. You can have them contact you in various ways. I get it daily on my PDA with AvantGo service.
• Second, if you wanted to buy it anyway, you should be willing to submit your rebate in a timely manner. I usually attempt to submit rebates by the next postal day.
• Third, track it. Prior to submission, they always state to keep a copy of the materials. Some stores will make the copy for you in the store. Some let you submit online. In either case, keeping the evidence of your rebate is a key to getting past some "consumer" indifference offered by the rebate center when you make an inquiry in absence of these materials. I generally approach it two ways-I make an entry in the register of the MS Money software that includes essential info-date of purchase, product name, rebate number, and the rebate phone/web contact info. I also scan the rebate materials as adobe reader docs (those .pdf files). This allows me to easily track this information and setup reminders of when the rebates are due. Also, it keeps the clutter put away and organized.
• Fourth, follow up. If the rebate check is late, contact them right away. I've never had an issue with a legitimate rebate center contact for a past due check. They get paid to provide the service to the Parent Company, and want to get your rebate processed-that is how they get paid! The few that took issue with this never sent me a check. Contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) if that occurs. The FTC may not get your money back, but they will investigate the reports. They have a listing of those under investigation if curious.

Of course the scanner and software I use were free after rebate.....