CHECK IT...

 

Nice read. I already do most of those thing but it's sooooo easy to fall into the rebate "game".

 

Here's another thing I do, write on top of the rebate form the date you sent in everything you need, and the date you're expecting to receive your check (30, 60, 90 days from date sent).

Something like:
Date sent: 4/18/2005
Check expected: 6/17/2005 (60 days)

And make a copy of the form for my records. This does two things, it helps me keep track of my rebates, so that I know when to start bugging them. More importantly, it lets the people handling the rebate know that I'm keeping track, so that they are less likely to screw me over. To be honest, I don't know if this really does anything, but of the rebate forms I've ever had to fill out (not that many, 10 maybe, my entire lifetime?), I've received my money for all but one of them.

 

Sometimes I like rebates because of the savings and when I do receive them, but sometimes I hate the ones that got lost in space somewhere and never arrived.