wrote:
Sorry to post such a non-technical question on this forum, but I bought Elements 2 and Album 2 together at Staples. There is a sticker on the box that says there is a $30 rebate inside the box. I’ve looked at all the material, and don’t see any mention of a rebate. Has anyone else found it?
There should be a rebate coupon inside the box, the size of a gift certificate. If it’s missing I’d complain to Staples management at the store you bought it (you clearly haven’t used it if the bar code is still on the box).
I sent mine off and got the $30 this Saturday. It took about 4 weeks.
JP
Jerel,
Didn’t Staples give you a cash register receipt with the form for the rebate at your time of purchase?
I think I’d sure contact them about it. They did for my purchase and I registered it online, etc. with the special cash register receipt then sent it in.
Good luck,
Lorace
I had a similar encounter at Staples earlier this year with Family Lawyer 2003. The box had a sticker indicating that there was a $15 rebate. There was not a separate receipt that served as a rebate form and when I opened the box, there was no rebate form to be found inside. I returned to Staples to swap my rebateless Family Lawyer 2003 box with another and I suggested that I open the new box in the store before leaving. The store manager quickly interjected and he said that he had a better idea…he immediately credited my credit card the $15.
I do not know if this was a Staples scam or simply that the manufacturer failed to insert the rebate form into the box. Whatever the reason, Staples gave me my rebate.
Good Luck to you…and stick to your guns.
Bob
I bought something at Staples last year, can’t remember what it was, a chair I think, and was supposed to get a rebate.
So I sent in the stuff as they had said on the form, never got the rebate. It was only $10 so I never followed it up, but now I will, I know the manager at our local store.
I usually don’t send in the rebate forms unless they are a very well known company and if it is over $30. I think that 90% of the reasons for the rebate stuff, is to get our addresses and find out where we shop and what we buy. Just like those supermarket ‘cards’. I don’t do them, I request that they "put the store number in" for me so that I get the advertised prices. Marketing is an information gathering business.
However, I know that Adobe does their own, and they keep our information to themselves(I think). Jane
I always figured the prominent rebate offers attracted buyers and in actuality probably only 1/3 are ever claimed. So for a large magnet a small sum is really the cost to the manufacturer. Jane, you prove my point.
I was thinking the same thing, Nancy! The manufacturers play the odds and win, and Jane is an example of that. Given the choice between a real "sale" and full price with a rebate offer that would produce the same net cost, I always skip the rebate. However, if a rebate is the only way to go… I don’t have a problem with spending a couple of minutes filling out and mailing the form. I’m retired, so what else would I do with my time? 🙂
Mailing addresses/lists are a dime a dozen and available by many means, I really don’t think the design intent on rebates is to get your written address. IMHO
I can’t blame Staples for this one–they didn’t even mention the $30 rebate in their weekly flyer. It is strictly an Adobe rebate. The sticker on the box says to look inside the box for the rebate offer. It’s just that I don’t find anything mentioning a rebate at all.
It used to be a small piece of paper that was easily overlooked. Any help?! 🙂
Okay, my two cents worth <G>…considering the hassle of all the paperwork shuffle and check generation process, I gave some thought to what it was that the companies truly do get out of the rebate process. I tend to agree with Nancy S that it has little or nothing to do with getting names or addresses. It’s my humble opinion that the advantage for the companies is that they get the use of that money for the 8 or 10 weeks that it usually takes them to get the check back to you. There’s a good reason for that awful length of time, and I believe that’s why. If you take all the money that’s tied up in rebates for two or more months, that’s interest free money that they can float in their account – money that they would not have had if they had simply offered a sale price at the point of sale.
That and the fact they’ll get to keep so much of that money because of people who’ll never apply for the rebate in the first place or who submit the paperwork improperly so the rebate request is refused. Now those they like even more!
I’ve looked through that box several times. There are about 4 single-sheet flyer ads, but nothing about a rebate.
Interest rates are so low now that I doubt the interest they make offsets the cost of processing the rebate, especially for the $5 or $10 rebates.
It is in their best interest to "slow pay".
The company for whom I worked (which shall remain nameless) had a policy of paying their bills on the last possible day to ‘maximize float’. At the same time, they went after any customer who was a slow payer with a vengeance…
On Mon, 29 Dec 2003 15:13:25 -0800,
wrote:
I’ve looked through that box several times. There are about 4 single-sheet flyer ads, but nothing about a rebate.
<snip>
The $30 rebate form, for Elements 2 software, looks like this:
http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/rebate_t5179lla.pdf I don’t know if it would be different for the 2-pack (with Album). It requires info on ownership of Elements 1, or a competitive (listed) product.
I would try the Staples store first, but as a last resort, I guess you could print the form from the referenced page.
OldnSenile
Unless Adobe has changed the rules you must have the rebate card that is in the box. No copies or prints.
If you don’t have the original rebate card I would call them.
Pete,
You are correct. The Rebate slip does say that no copies (of the rebate request coupon) will be accepted. "Best Buy" did print out an alternative form with my sales slip, which I assume that I could have used in place of the official form.
Revised suggestions:
1. Try to get a rebate form from Staples.
2. (As you recommend) Call Adobe for their suggestions (which could include printing a copy of the form).
3. Print out a rebate form (despite banned copies statement), as a "last resort".
If nothing else, the online image of the rebate form should, at least, confirm the qualifying products (as defined by the sticker on the outside of his box) and other information required for this upgrade rebate.
