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Rebate irritations
Dec. 4th, 2009 12:15 pmIn the past I really haven't had any trouble with rebates. I don't think I've ever been denied one, I'm very careful about following the rules, and I check the rules BEFORE buying.
But now they have a new scam going. Instead of getting a check, you get a prepaid Visa card. This is a good deal for them because they keep the money until you actually spend it, and even then, I bet they get a percent or so kickback from the clearinghouse.
But the big problem is, it's difficult to spend. I buy almost everything online; I don't think I've paid for anything at a store for a couple of months now. Paypal won't let you transfer money into your account from a credit card, and online vendors don't have any way to say "pull $10 from this card, $10 from that, and the rest from this other."
I guess I could go put money into my micropay account at Baen Books, but I've still got a few bucks in there and I've bought books to last me another few months at least (probably more, given the overtime that I'm working these days).
I did spend $4.99 over at Tom Smith's site for the Windycon MP3s, but that's it. And now I have a card with $5.01 on it.
I've got 3 of these cards now, from various components used to build my new machine back in October. I think these cards are going to go into J's wallet to use on groceries or something. 'Course, I'm not sure how to do the "10 here, 10 there" thing with self-check-out. I know a proper checkout line can handle it. The assistant on the self-check lines could probably do it too.
But now they have a new scam going. Instead of getting a check, you get a prepaid Visa card. This is a good deal for them because they keep the money until you actually spend it, and even then, I bet they get a percent or so kickback from the clearinghouse.
But the big problem is, it's difficult to spend. I buy almost everything online; I don't think I've paid for anything at a store for a couple of months now. Paypal won't let you transfer money into your account from a credit card, and online vendors don't have any way to say "pull $10 from this card, $10 from that, and the rest from this other."
I guess I could go put money into my micropay account at Baen Books, but I've still got a few bucks in there and I've bought books to last me another few months at least (probably more, given the overtime that I'm working these days).
I did spend $4.99 over at Tom Smith's site for the Windycon MP3s, but that's it. And now I have a card with $5.01 on it.
I've got 3 of these cards now, from various components used to build my new machine back in October. I think these cards are going to go into J's wallet to use on groceries or something. 'Course, I'm not sure how to do the "10 here, 10 there" thing with self-check-out. I know a proper checkout line can handle it. The assistant on the self-check lines could probably do it too.
