Re: Yo! David Maynard! (Was: Rebates -- Best Buy rebate scam)




"David Maynard" <nospam@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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JAD wrote:

"David Maynard" <nospam@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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JAD wrote:


"Curmudgeon" <curmudgeon5@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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JAD explained :


the reason this thread always turns into a marathon is because your

both

correct. Bottom line is that mail in rebates are not in the consumers

best


interest.

Sure they are. At least most of them.



no they are not,,,,they are a inconvenience and not necessary. its a

'hook'.


They are designed for marketing stats and all kinds of sales info.
Corporations know exactly how much they made on the 'lazy ' consumer,

so

therefore there is a thought process for profit based on the 'lazy '

guy.


You see something wrong with that notion? I think that's called "good
business sense"?


rebates are much like your attempt to bait me into an argument that

doesn't

exist. Why not just lower the price of the product

Because they aren't 'lowering the price' and if you really want to see
people scream 'scam' let 'em bounce the 'retail price' back up after a
temporary lowering. "Oh sure, raise the price now that I'm 'hooked'."



Your only looking at one type of product obviously..like what printer
cartridges? Sure I can see that,,,,but then don't tell me there is not a
scam when it comes to that. Until the aftermarket reman companies
finally
got going we were STUCK!
What is this,? the 'what's the definition of ' lowing the price'.
simplified ...that's what it is.

I see how you get that impression from my colorful, limited, example but,
no, I'm speaking of products in general because, while people are sanguine
about 'sales', 'special offers' and 'rebates', they generally expect price
stability, or feel something's amiss.

My example was just one embodiment but the general effect doesn't need a
purchase. Say someone is 'thinking' about buying a computer but it's one
price this week, higher a month later, and then something else a month
after that. Bouncing prices on something not even bought won't sit any
better than the 'hooked' example and the prospective buyer would be
screaming "well, if it's a 'temporary' price then why the hell didn't you
SAY so?" and it doesn't take much imagination to envision the 'sneaky
motives' consumers would ascribe to the price changes.

A rebate "says so."

And bouncing the 'retail price' all over the place would screw up the
entire pricing structure, what with dealer discount programs tied to

retail

and such, as well as just about every accounting, inventory,

manufacturing,

and product management tool.



come on Dave, all that can be absorbed easily.

That's easy for *you* to say, when you don't have to do it.


That's why accountants for big corps make a good buck....unfortunately the
'idea' guy that came up with the 'rebate' game was an accountant. Besides
its a stroke of the pen that puts all things well in accounting.

the distributors and accounti
ng and all that crap are the company's problem, rebates make it a
consumer
problem. It simply makes their job easier, on MANY levels, and dumps the
inconvenience unto the consumer.

No, what gets 'dumped on the consumer' isn't precipitated for 'easy
accounting'. It's to reduce fraud.

ok however its to reduce the companies liability to fraud through the lack
of 'evidence', but how does that change anything? still being dumped on the
consumer.



And who said 'bouncing'? It goes down, and
normally its either a brand new product or one that's being updated or
phased out. One that either has little inventory or is inventory that
distributors would love to get rid of. It's all about accounting, How to
take money from X account and put it into z without any inconvenience
and
very little cost to the company and its vendors.

It goes down as related to 'the rebate' not just arbitrarely lowering
prices. (just in case you were going to cite another case of flip flop)



No offense but you apparently haven't looked at what motivates rebates
because it's seldom just to move some obsolete product.


not 'obsolete' ----phased out--- like a printer model change....540s to
the new and improved 540SD!


Got no idea how you come up with the 'accounting' bit or what it means.


accounting dave robbing peter to pay paul



Can you call it a scam? No. Is it illegal? No. Does it walk the line on
occasion? Yes. Is every company honest about their rebates? No. Does it
serve the consumers best interest? No.

Hard to imagine how you can so definitively assert that a discount doesn't
serve the consumer's interest.


not the discount david the 'rebate'. the having to jump through their
burning hoops to get the rebate




Does it serve the company's best
interest? Yes, otherwise it wouldn't exist.

Of course. But the problem I see with your analysis is a presumption the
two are incompatible, especially when most reputable companies operate on
the theory that the first leads to the second.

never presumed 'incompatability' simply one outweighs the other




Its an acceptable practice now,
like the legal ease you can never read at the bottom of your TV screen
during Car or drug commercials. As a younger man I shopped 20% 40% off
retail prices,

Which is routine today, before the rebates.

I had not even heard of mail in rebates then....didn't seem
to collapse the human race.

Living in caves didn't collapse the human race either but that's hardly a
reason to go back to them.


Caves and rebates have nothing to do with each other apples and oranges.



Not to mention it's not even possible to 'lower the retail price' but
only
if you buy it in conjunction with XYZ, or from dealer A, or in
Hackensack.


Dave, the retail prices of things are changed all the time. And may I
say
that it RARELY GOES DOWN,

Inflation is another matter entirely.

so you can raise it but not lower it? Someone
should tell Wal Mart to quit cutting those prices, tell them its not
possible.

First you say they don't and then you cite an example of them doing so?


Huh? It was you who said they 'don't' raise it....I said that it 'RARELY'
goes down


With most of these 'mail in rebates', the consumer does very very well
if he/she applies due diligence. If they're too lazy or sloppy with
their rebate info? Tough stroke.



which is what i said







.



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