Got to wondering if anyone ever successfully gets the promised mail-in rebates?
A while back I’m in an Office Max and on the checkout counter is a box of Belkin compressed air cans for $6 with a $6 mailin rebate. Says ‘Your Cost =$0’ on a big sign.
I normally pass on stuff like that but it catches my eye and I think I’ll clean my keyboard fot the price of a stamp. Ya, right.
They give me an extra special register printout receipt that says ‘mail-in rebate’ on it plus the normal receipt and rebate card. I go home mail the card and mailin receipt.
Today I get a postcard from Belkin saying sorry you didn’t send in the Original UPC Barcode with your request. The barcode is printed in ink on the metal can No box, On the can.
What am I suppose to do, run home and use up the can real quick so I can send it in under the allotted time? What was the special ‘mailin register receipt’ supposed to do?
No wonder friends laughed and told me to try and collect it.
Sounds like fraud to me. But who’s going to complain. To much wasted time playing with it for $6.
BUT I AM! THOSE DIRTY SOB’S!!! It’s the principle. They know no one is going to pursue ’em. I’ll gladly spend $20 in mailing to voice displeasure over a wrong like this.
So I’m sending in a response telling them to send me my $6 and I’ll never buy another Belkin product again, tell everyone else. yadayada. And I’m filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Egg suckin’ weasels.
Now I’m thinking of going after the contractor charlatans that prey on the old folks in their homes telling them about their rotten roof and asphalt spread on the driveway. Thieving bunch of frauds. I’d like to…well, you all know. Same thing with tool theives.
And another thing…
Replies
I'm with you on this one. I went to a Best Buy and picked up a pack of "free" blank cd-rom disks. $5 mail in rebate goes to "best buy" and $10 mail in rebate goes to the cd-rom disk company, which is an outfit I've never heard of. "Digital Research." So I follow all of the directions very carefully. I get my $5 rebate, but not my $10 rebate. I have better things to do with my time than to fight this thing, but you are right. It is the principle. I still got 50 disks for $10 which is a decent price, but far more expensive than the "free" disks I was promised. Especially when you conside it's a generic company and not a quality name brand.
Jerks.
Classic! On the back page of Consumers Reports magazine is a monthly piece called: Selling it. People send their consumer gripes to the magazine, and if it's good enough (yours is better than most I've read in the mag) they publish it. The may or may not send you some money, but hey, at the least you might give the SOBs some bad publicity. You should check into it. If you don't get the mag, let me know, I can forward the address.
You ought to look into one of those consumer watch segments on the local news. I've seen them take a company to the bank when they do something underhanded and get called on it. Also, the Attorney General in your area may be interested. I know of a few here in NE who are willing to track down fraud. (CT is one that comes to mind)
I agree with you... those Shysters!
Rasp
My best friends parents go to office max and usually buy a lot of the things with a mail in rebate which make them free,
They say they get about 50% back, keep that in mind when your shopping there :)
Rez,
Had the exact same thing happen to me with the air can. Was ticked off and said that I would write a scathing letter, but it never happened. The principle is important to me, but I guess it's not important enough as now I'm just going to eat the couple of bucks rather than spend the time to raise a stink. Now I'm ticked again.
Glad to hear that you're doing something about it.
Rotten scoundrels. If it makes you feel any better, I've gotten every rebate I've sent in the last couple of years. For all the stuff I cuss about Menards, they're the most reliable at it. Utility knives for 97 cents, gotta stock up. Yes, even the 40 smacks from OfficeMax for a Fax. Ba da boom.
" I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers." Kahlil Gibran
I am the rebate king! These guys aren't going to roll that cash out to ya easy, they want you to jump through some hoops so you really appreciate that 6 bucks! Every one that I have ever sent in was returned, I call customer service , get put on hold while I mess around here, a few weeks later I get money in the mail. I got much more time than sense. Once I did send a scathing letter, the next day I got the rebate, I am very powerful, yahahahahaHA! But that was weird.... EliphIno!
I have sent for exactly two rebates.
Both to Costco.
A total of 70 dollars between the two.
Never got a cent.
Now I simply buy stuff for the price that is on the package, without consideration to rebates. If the can of air is not worth 6 dollars to me, (it wouldn't be), I will not buy it.
Quittin' Time
I usually get the rebates without any trouble, but they sure take a while. I did have a couple of problems with Business Depot (aka: Staples) with a bunch of Christmas presents we had bought, all with rebates; I phoned them and very calmly explained the problem; it turns out they use a vendor to do the rebates and BD had the problem resolved for us quickly. .
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
Ya, $6 for a can of air. Roar!
Exactly.
I would never spend six bucks for a can of air. Therefore, I wouldn't buy the thing just because of a rebate. In my head, the rebate is a scam. I'm never going to get the rebate anyway, so the can of air is going to cost me 6 bucks no matter what.
No thanks.
Spend three bucks and get a blower nozzle for your air compressor.
..
Now, if you had a COUPON for 6 dollars off, and the can cost 6 dollars.....
If I can stand there at the register and get the money, or simply not have the money leave my hands in the first place... Now we're talking.
: )
Quittin' Time
yep, shoulda known. A compulsive buy. They got me.
Coupons
I remember to rip the coupon from the paper.
I remember to pick up the item while at the store.
When I get home, the coupon is still in my pocket.
~PETER
Don't it always seem to go.
: )
Quittin' Time
Anyone remember when rebates started. once it did it has gotten worst every day. screw the rebate ,charge me what it's worth, don't play money games with me.
Daniel
OMG you are not Luka you are LARS! Aren't you? I buy the air in the can. He says that "Why can't we just use my air compressor?" I say "NO WAY you will blow my keyboard to kingdom come." Now you tell me that it is okay. Guess he was right again. I HATE THAT!!!!Tamara
You can regulate the ammount of air pressure that comes out of that nozzle on the compressor. You can also get, (or, my favorite... MAKE), specialty attachments for the blowgun. Once bought, (or made), always there.
Pressurized air is pressurized air. And mine doesn't cost 6 dollars for a tiny can of it.
: )
Quittin' Time
Err, comp guru, think about what you are blowing moisture laden air at.
Why don't you find something you know about, instead of posing like some kid with a new joystick?
You never heard of an in-line dryer ? Or blowing off a tank or two, to get the lines as clear as possible before you start ?
Bite me.
Quittin' Time
You ever really work on comps, dickwad?
Why are you trolling me ?
Quittin' Time
Troll?
Ya, whatever.
A....... at the risk of lossing my head here,
those compressed air cans can throw off moisture too, maybe not as much as a compressor, but just used one the other day at work to clean off a mother board after installing a new CDR in the boss's computer and little drops of moisture were coming from the tip and forming on the board.View ImageGo Jayhawks
that's the moisture in the ambiant air condensing out because the temperature of the air coming from the can is below the dew-point - it's unlikely to be from inside the can..
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
Gee .................I wonder what they use to fill those little cans with dry air
Daniel
Roaring roars and roars of roars.
Roaring down the river on a tuesday afternoon.
Trolling along, as nightfall ends the day
sweet scented breezes, whisper on their way
man, I knew I had that scepter around here somewhere. Good for bopping. Sometimes I like to bop. bop bop another bop, little bump on the top, do no good to call a cop, 'cause he'd say now don't you stop.
Luka, Qmeg, dang I thought we were all on the same side. I like you both, so it's gonna hurt me more than youse if I gotta get outta this chair, come over there, and smack both of you upside the head...cause ya know I got the rhuematism and all<G>
Cut it out! EliphIno!
Oh ya, tell me all you know about compressor tech. I'm all ears.
Google some wisdom for me dude.
It doesn't take much to get instrument quality air (-100 F dewpoint) with the right dryer / filter. All I'd be concerned about would be the pressure.
Right dyers and filters, no cylinder wear in th compressor, run the machine for a couple of hours to clean it out, teflon oil, oil-free hoses - compared to 2 or 3 $6.00 cans of air in a life-time ?.
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
What is it with youse guys ? This isn't rocket science. It's importance doesn't stack up there with the geneva convention. Why is the dryness of the air in a can all of a sudden important enough to draw lines and do battle over ?
It is not a mistake, terrible or otherwise, to use good clean, line-dried air from your compressor on your computer parts.
To say otherwise is just plain hooey.
It takes a very noticeable amount of moisture in that air, to make any difference for computer parts. And that moisture has to be there long enough, or at least at the right time, to do any damage. Blowing off your keyboard with air from a compressor, even without a line dryer, is NOT going to kill it. I have done MANY of them that way.
If you are concerned at all, buy a 15 dollar line dryer. You'll have the line dryer for a lifetime, and the compressor can be used for a jillion other purposes.
Quittin' Time
How worrisome is the moisture from the compressor when you're using it to blow the crumbs and coffee and whatever you spit on it out of your keyboard?
As long as you don't blow the keys right off, what's the difference? Not to mention you can buy a new keyboard for less that the price of two cans of that $6 air.
Where's Blue? He's an expert on computer cleanliness.
Joe H
Exactly.
I worked in a computer shop for a while. We bought old computers, and repaired them, and/or built working frankenstiens out of the parts of those that couldn't be fixed.
I worked on a LOT of computers. Not just keyboards.
The very first thing that we did when taking a machine apart, was to blow out all the accumulated hair and dust. Some of them were so full of hairballs and dust bunnies, that we had to use a shop vac first, then use the compressor.
I worked there for more than 4 months, before I finaly went out and bought, out of my own pocket money... a line dryer for the compressor. Boss didn't see the need. And indeed, there was never any trouble caused by using a compressor to blow clean any and all computer parts.
...
And here you go... on the subject of moisture in the keyboard...
I could not believe my eyes when I first saw the others doing this... But the standard prcatice for cleaning up dirty keyboards.. Spray it down well, with formula 409, and scrub away at it with a potato brush. Make sure that you get down between those keys, in both directions. Then towel dry it, and let it sit for about a half hour before plugging it in.
Keyboards were all tested, (usualy by guess who...) BEFORE being cleaned. No wasted time cleaning bad keyboards. No working keyboard EVER went bad after this treatment. Period.
I have cleaned my own at home, that way. Of course, I took the top off, and blew it out with air afterward. But even at work, where I was the most careful of the bunch, it never killed any keyboards.
Quittin' Time
Once, I spilled cherry water ice on my keyboard. (Friday afternoon party at work) Tech support brought me a new loaner, told me to just run the old one under the faucet in the men's room, let it air dry over the weekend. They'd pick up the loaner on Monday.
Never had a problem with the old one after it dried...If everything seems to be going well, you've obviously overlooked something.
Cherry water ice.
Mmmmm that sounds good. I am running a fever. Headache too. That would be just about perfect right now. LOL
Quittin' Time
OK,
there is worry about moisture from your compressor, but does anyone miss the point about using a shop vac to suck up the dust bunnies. Hello... STATIC ELECTRICITY!
I'm an electrical engineer and let me tell you, if you are blowing any sort of are (or sucking any air) across an electrical component, you are inducing an electric charge on everything. Please for the sake of your motherboards, make sure your grounding yourself and your board so that you don't inadvertenlty turn your $75 processor into a coaster.
This has been a public Service Announcement.
Moisture bTW, isn't bad, just let it dry off. If you really want to clean the boards or keyboards, or what ever,... use isopropyl alcohol and then let it evaporate. It won't hurt the electronics, and won't create static electricity, and you can even use it with an acid brush (a clean one) to get into those nasty little places. Then flush it off and let it evaporate. That's the way we've done it in the past.
Rasp
Terrible mistake, the air from a commercial compressor just isn't what you want to spray on your computer equipment..
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
The air that you get from a compressor, after going through an ordinary line dryer, is no worse for your keyboard than what comes from one of those little cans.
As Cairo pointed out, the only other concern is the pressure. As I already stated, the pressure is easily regulated as well.
Quittin' Time
Well, let people decide for themselves if computers have become so cheap that they're willing to risk it..
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
Phil,
You're kidding, right? You're so worried about ruining your keyboard that you'd pay $6 for canned air to clean it? Heck, I can buy a new keyboard for that price. (OK, add $5 for shipping, but then I'd probably buy something else so it's negate shipping anyway.)
I'm with Luka. Keyboards are fairly durable, but also disposable. I wouldn't even add the line dryer for the keyboard. Maybe for cleaning out the CPU case.If everything seems to be going well, you've obviously overlooked something.
You clean a lot more than your keyboard with that can of air, you clean the whole machine. But as I said, let people decide for themselves..
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
That's exactly what we're trying to do, Phill.
We aren't the ones using scare tactics to get people to put aside their own common sense.
Quittin' Time
I pulled the back off my monitor once cuz it was making snapping noises occasionally. About a pound of dust, mostly MDF I think. Blew it out (gently) but it didn't help. Died anyway. It was looking kinda small by then, so it was a good excuse for bigger.
Joe H
Dangit Joe !
Don't you know anything ? You killed that monitor for sure, with the air from that compressor.
You better have a look at your cpu too. You probably damaged that as well.
While yer at it, you better check the oil in the car, and the kid's math grades. Those will be affected as well.
And while it is only a side effect in a very small percentage of users, you better go to the doc's office and have your testosterone level checked as well.
Quittin' Time
Hence a new meaning to the thread's title.
Roar!
Depends on what filter you put on it; the only difference is that instrument quality air is filtered to make sure that there is no oil/particulate on it; also, dried to ensure there is no moisture.
You missed the point, the filters we put on our compressors and the cleaning of the delivery systems were quite expensive, certainly a lot more than a couple of cans of air. It's like people taking a regular vacuum cleaner to the inside of their PC's; maybe they get away with it time after time, but not everyone does..
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
Actually I have been known to take my keyboard into the shower with me and go at the rough spots with an old toothbrush. I'm careful to use no soap and to air dry it thoroughly, I put it in the attic for a hot day or two, before reconnecting it. I've never had one fail. If I did I'm out $25 for a good new one.
I do use the "canned air" most of it is some version of perchloroethelene or some such compound. The can is full of liquid. But I have used a compressor to blow out really dirty machines. The extra power works great for clearing caked dust from inside power supplies. With a little common sense and care your unlikely to do any real damage. You just have to hang back with the nozzle about 16" or so so you don't blow the components off the motherboard.
I won't use compressed air, the shop I frequented had a compressor, to clean dust from delicate parts like CD or DVD drives. The other thing to look out for is static damage. So keep the gun a distance from the electronics, use ESD precautions ( Grounding wrist straps and bench tops help and ion generators are a plus.), make sure the compressor is properly grounded and use common sense.
Still the canned air, $4 at Wally World, is handy, makes less noise, needs no set up and is less likely to cause damage if handled loosely. I keep a can or two in my electronics tool kit.
What is cherry water ice?
Sorry, forgot that water ice is kinda regional. I was actually suprised Luka understood - he's in the Pacific NW somewhere, I'm in Philly.
Water ice is also known as Italian ice. If that means nothing to you, it's kinda like a sno-cone; shaved ice mixed with a flavored syrup (cherry in this instance). But that's like saying Yuengling (or your favorite beer) is kinda like a Coors Light. They're both beers, but worlds apart. Water ice, especially made right, is far superior to any sno-cone.If everything seems to be going well, you've obviously overlooked something.
Well done.
Common sense.
Very good points about the cd-dvd drives. I assume you intended to put ()'s around.. "the shop I frequented had a compressor".) I don't use even the canned air on those. That head is way too easily messed up.
And the grounding. As well as the distance from the components while using the blow gun.
I guess the common ground is common sense. And I think that I assumed too much when I assumed all owners to possess such. Damage can be done with either, if the person using it is stupid with it's use.
Potentialy more damage can be done with the compressor.
But if you are going to clean your computer with air... IF you have common sense about it... it is still a waste to go out and buy a can of air, if you already have a compressor sitting there.
Quittin' Time
A buddy (works on computers for a living) told me to run the key board through the dish washer w/o soap. No DW heater drying. As long as the KB was not sponge button it would work. Make sure it is super dry before using.
Since I don't have a dish washer (she left) never could try it. If you shower with them why not the dish washer.
Rez, might be easier to buy a compressor. How many of those cans does it take to run a nailer for a couple hours?
Joe H
ROFLOL
That's exactly what I was thinking.
: )
Quittin' Time
rez,
I have done rebates once to hewlett packard, and twice to Sears. Had good luck. Still waiting for one more from Sears. Takes forever though.
Which makes me think, it's cheaper to them if they have float on the money a while?
remodeler
I think they plan on no more than 30% of people bothering to ask for the rebate.
My thinking is, if you want to offer a deal, do it now; I'm wasting enough of my time buying your stuff, I'm not wasting more asking for a rebate.
While back I read a report from an organization studying buying habits or something. They contacted Post Office to clear their plan legally.
Then ran an ad for some kind of information to get for like $5 with a moneyback gaurantee. Then sent back all replies with an envelope with blank paper in it.
Only something like 3 or 4% wrote back asking for their money back.
Don't think the money grubbin' corporations aren't aware. Kick their dirtyasses!
Sunday a friend of mine was looking at some ads in the paper for computer stuff and they had something like $30 instant rebate plus a $20 mailin rebate.
He asked how come they don't just reduce the price, specially for the instant rebate.
My thought was that doing it with the instand rebate they have not lowered the price so for stores that have a 30 day price guarantee then don't have to refund people who have bought it in the last 30 days.
Also someone can't use the price at another store that has a lowest price guarantee. How some stores will match it, just for customer relations, but they don't have to.
When you don't get the mailin rebate you can often shame the retailer into give it to you. And if used that product with rebate in there ads then you have even stronger pressure to get the rebate from them.
I bought a computer monitor that was reduced as it was the floor model. There was also a manufacturers mailin rebate on it. But the form required the bar code from the box. And they could not find the box.
So the store offered to give me the rebate, but they could not figure out how to run through the cash register. So I ended up with $50 plus a register tape about 2 ft long with all of these credit, corrects, charges, and cancellation on it.
And why do y'all think that all retail stores, Lowes, Homer Despot, WallyWorld, Target, Belks, etc,etc are selling them dang gift cards, and have them ready at all the registers?
Because they make great gifts?
NO. Industry return (usage) rate on them is a mere 50%. Half of them that they sell are 100% profit, goes straight to the bottom line.
Bought a cellphone w/scam rebate.Dumped carrier the minute the contract expired.They got to keep the $50.00,but my monthly checks go somewhere else because of it.Customers vote with their feet.