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I bought myself a wireless router today and I have to admit, I got a pretty good deal out of it. I paid $29.99 for the TrendNet Wireless G Router and with a $20.00 mail-in rebate, I will end up paying just $9.99. That’s pretty cheap to pay for a wireless router that has 4-ports and operates at 54 Mbps.
If you have visited our site lately, you would have noticed a few more freebies that made it on the list today. Among the list is the Art Explosion Scrapbooking software, Logitech Vantage headset for the Sony Playstation 2/3 or PC and the “Y” monitor splitter cable from Cables Unlimited. All of these items are free if you go ahead and buy them then send in the mail-in rebate form that you download from merchant’s site. It’s easy so don’t worry about it.
By now, you must be wondering why manufacturers are interested in giving your money back (through their rebate program). You won’t believe the reason and once I tell you, you’re going to shake your head and laugh. Here it goes.
Manufacturers are counting on people to forget sending in their rebate. I know this sounds ridiculous to some of you, but it’s (sadly) true. Have you sent in a rebate lately? Well, let me walk you through the process and perhaps, you can see why so many people fumble up and fail to get a rebate.
First, I have to cut out the UPC symbol on the box. Believe it or not, some people don’t know what the UPC symbol is, let alone find it on the box. Second, the mail-in rebate form has to be attached. I was lucky to download the rebate form before ordering it so I’m ahead of the game there. It may not be evident that the form needs to be downloaded, printed and filled out. Next, I have to take my receipt and circle the price on it then put it into an envelope with the UPC symbol and the completed form with my name and address. Now, where do I send it? I’m used to sending in rebates so I know that the address is printed on the rebate form. Other people think differently. Some will send it to the manufacturer’s address printed on the box. Others will send it back to where they bought the item. Manufacturers hate me but love the latter two customers.
Rebates are here to stay and if you are interested in saving money or getting things free, get good at using rebates. By the way, the items listed on the second page under the Free Stuff section of our site uses coupons, not rebates. Coupons give you an instant saving and are more no-brainers than rebates.
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