REBATE: A return of a portion or the entire purchase price of a product.
Rebates. I have such a love-hate relationship with rebates. I love that the manufacturer is offering to give me some or all of my money back. I hate that I am responsible for making sure I get my money back. In fact, I am so bad at submitting rebates that I have almost altogether given up on using them. But most of you are probably much more responsible than me (or less distracted?), so using rebates can become a nice little income revenue stream for your family.
There is one type of rebate that couponers in the Northwest encounter: manufacturer’s rebates.
MANUFACTURER’S REBATES: These are rebates that are advertised and managed by the manufacturer. You purchase a certain product or group of products at a grocery, drug, or big box store, then mail proof of your payment into the manufacturer (or the manufacturer’s representative) and you are mailed the promotion amount back in the form of a check or a pre-paid VISA or Mastercard.
Want to know the fun part of rebates? You can usually use a manufacturer’s coupon on the product, lowering your out-of-pocket cost, and still get the full rebate amount back from the manufacturer. Here’s an example that ran at Target:
Seventh Generation products on sale $2.99
Buy 3
Use (3) $1/1 manufacturer’s coupons
Use $1/1 Target coupon
Pay $4.97, Submit receipt for $5 Seventh Generation mail-in-rebate
FREE after coupons & rebate
Pretty sweet, right? Of course, it’s only truly “sweet” if you actually send in the main-in-rebate form along with all the required information (enter user error, which the manufacturers love — you buy the stuff thinking you’ll send in for the rebate, but forget. Money in the bank for the manufacturer!). Here are some suggestions to increase the chances of a successful rebate submission:
Print the rebate form the first time you encounter it. Manufacturers are notorious for pulling a rebate form before the rebate deadline comes. I can’t tell you how many times I get emails from readers who can no longer find the link or the site no longer exists. At this point, you’re up a creek, so to speak. Print that thing immediately.
Keep rebate forms in the same place in your house, preferably hidden from children looking for drawing paper. I suggest you keep rebate forms in your coupon organizing system or a special file with your other household management stuff.
Create a “rebate” envelope or slot in your coupon organizing system and keep all rebating receipts in it. Important receipts have a way of falling out of my wallet while the McDonald’s receipt from my impulsive iced mocha stop remains for weeks.
Complete the rebate form and mail it the moment you get home from the store. This is a no-brainer that I have yet to master. Then you’re not worrying about expiration dates, finding paperwork, or locating the product.
To be extra safe, don’t use the product until the envelope is in the mail, on the way to the manufacturer. You may discover once you start filling out the rebate form that you purchased the wrong products or sizes. If the products are still unused, you can return them.
Read more from The Ultimate Guide to Couponing in the Northwest here.
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I just tried signing up for the Rite Aid SCR program, but apparently they don’t run that program anymore (as of December). It’s replaced by the +UP program.
https://riteaid1.rebateplus.com/ra-v2/#welcome
How do you know when they are doing the rebates? And where do you find them?
I do rebates (and don’t have a problem getting them sent in) so I’ll add a few points.
1) At Staples, you can enter Easy Rebates online and have the money sent to your Paypal account or a debit card. I prefer this to checks for $3.99 that require me to go to the bank.
2) I find rebates where they send me a debit card to be hard to use- complicated, weird PIN numbers, weird amount left on the debit card, etc. I avoided them until I figured out that I could buy an Amazon gift card with the debit card and then spend the money with Amazon. (I buy enough from Amazon that $10 or $20 in gift cards is not a problem.) This uses the whole debit card and doesn’t leave me struggling to figure it out at a cash register.
3) Don’t forget the cost of a stamp and hassle. I don’t do mail-in rebates for less than $5.
4) To keep things organized, in addition to printing the form, I fill it out (as much as I can) and address the rebate envelope. When I buy the product, I add the receipt and UPC (or whatever is required), a stamp and put the envelope in the mail. This is especially helpful for Rite Aid (where I refrain from mailing the rebate until my receipt clears electronically but the rebate is ready-to-go) and for rebates that require lots of receipts, like the P&G rebate where you spent $50 and got a coupon book. I just circled the P&G items on my receipts and put them in a labeled P&G envelope. I ended up having enough receipts by the end of the period to have books sent to casual couponer friends!
That is a REALLY fantastic idea about converting your pre-paid cards into Amazon gift cards, I never would have thought of that! I hate using those things b/c you do have to know exactly how much is on there. I try to use them in one fell swoop if I’m going to use them at all. Thanks so much for sharing!
Also a great idea to send the P&G coupon booklets to friends, I usually end up with far more than I need for the rebate. Definitely a great way to pay it forward with little out of pocket.