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Cheat the system 'cuz I'm stupid!

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  • Cheat the system 'cuz I'm stupid!

    Customer buys a 46-inch flat screen TV, and maybe an extended protection plan to go with it.

    TV comes with a $130 mail-in rebate.

    Customer gets TV home and assembled, and discards box.

    Customer discovers the UPC from the box must be cut off and sent in, along with the rebate form, to get the rebate.

    Customer returns to the clearance swamp and demands we cut the UPC off another of the same TV so she can claim the rebate.

    We obviously refuse.

    Customer cannot return TV without box because she "changed her mind", but might be able to return it claiming a defect of some kind, even if she did purchase the EPP. It all depends on which manager happens to be on duty and how much of a spine he/she has that day.

    It is possible we could lose a sale of at least $700, just because the customer is a dumbass.

    Oh well. They ain't making them any smarter.
    Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study hard. Be evil.

    "I never said I wasn't a horrible person."--Me, almost daily

  • #2
    That whole "Cut the UPC off the box in order to get your rebate!" is such a scam and a half. I can't help but think it was invented so that customers will (hopefully) throw out the box and therefore be shit out of luck.

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    • #3
      Wanna bet someone with a box cutter ends up cutting off a UPC from another tv? (that's if you keep any out on the floor, hopefully you keep them in the magical back room)

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      • #4
        Mail-in rebates almost always want the UPC. It's expected.

        *looks at boxes for computer and monitor*

        I bought them months ago and I still have them, lol. With expensive stuff, I always hang on to them for a while until I know for sure there's no immediate problem. There wasn't even a rebate offer it; I just know it makes returns easier.

        I should really recycle them at this point. I've just been lazy. *eyes them and stays seated*

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        • #5
          They need it for proof. Go to NewEgg, buy something on rebate, and you'll be required to do the same. It's just like it was in the CompUSA days, but the rebates are really worth it. Retailers and gift cards work the same way. They'll hope you'll lose the card or forget about it, but they've already got their money.

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          • #6
            Quoth Moosenogger View Post
            That whole "Cut the UPC off the box in order to get your rebate!" is such a scam and a half. I can't help but think it was invented so that customers will (hopefully) throw out the box and therefore be shit out of luck.
            It used to be so that the customer couldn't mail in, get the rebate, then return the item to get the full refund.

            I know a lot of things still do this, but T-Mobile got smart, and when they ran their Valentine's Day deal last year, our phones came with a second receipt specifically for sending in for the rebate. The one a couple of years before that, however, required me mutilating the box.

            ^-.-^
            Faith is about what you do. It's about aspiring to be better and nobler and kinder than you are. It's about making sacrifices for the good of others. - Dresden

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            • #7
              And as an interesting point of note, many places if you do a defective return and do not have the box will allow you to do so...but you're only getting the components out of the box that you brought back in.

              Case in point I had a radio go tits up on me (you could see where the internal power supply overheated so badly that it melted plastic). I didn't have the box but I had the receipt. They gave me a new radio and a new power cord since that's what I brought in (tossed the box when the cat peed on it). No box, no instructions, even took the paper protector they put in the CD Player section.

              So even if they could bring in the TV, most places will only give back the TV unless they also brought the packaging.

              Besides. "UPC's are needed for Rebate" is something that has been around for a long ass time. Before that it was Box Tops to prove that you were eligible for the super mega awesome prize from cereal boxes...

              So this is not like it's something that was made up last week and no one got the memo.
              I never lost my faith in humanity. Can't lose what you never had right?

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              • #8
                Quoth Moosenogger View Post
                That whole "Cut the UPC off the box in order to get your rebate!" is such a scam and a half. I can't help but think it was invented so that customers will (hopefully) throw out the box and therefore be shit out of luck.
                Whose fault is that?

                The manufacturer wants proof you actually have and are using the item, not that you are scamming free money from them buying something with a rebate, mailing in the form, and then returning the item.

                Besides that, the packaging should always be saved until you are absolutely sure the item works correctly, in case you need to do a return.

                Quoth Erin View Post
                Wanna bet someone with a box cutter ends up cutting off a UPC from another tv? (that's if you keep any out on the floor, hopefully you keep them in the magical back room)
                We do. We have a pretty good selection of TVs, including some pretty big ones, and we'd never have the floor space to merchandise them on the floor.

                All our TVs are on pull tag, and thus get carried out to the customer.
                Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study hard. Be evil.

                "I never said I wasn't a horrible person."--Me, almost daily

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                • #9
                  Thanks to a sharp eyed salesman when I bought my laptop, I was able to get my rebate. He noticed that the UPC code on the box of the last one they had was missing, and called another one of their stores - which had them, with UPCs on the box. He rang me up there, got credit for the sale, and then I went on my merry way to the other location, and picked up my new laptop. And mailed in my rebates and got close to $200 back.

                  I've also never had any issue with not getting a rebate. I send in all the required stuff, adn eventually get my rebate.

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                  • #10
                    I like the idea of having a separate receipt/proof of purchase that can be sent in to get the rebate.

                    But then, I'm sitting here thinking of the structural integrity of the packaging: and of what happens to someone who purchases a non-defective repackaged 'return' where the UPC has already been cut off.

                    Yes, I've been on this site long enough to think of a new-to-me scam where Joe Bloggs buys an item, sends in for the rebate, and returns the item for full price - sans the UPC code on the box.
                    Seshat's self-help guide:
                    1. Would you rather be right, or get the result you want?
                    2. If you're consistently getting results you don't want, change what you do.
                    3. Deal with the situation you have now, however it occurred.
                    4. Accept the consequences of your decisions.

                    "All I want is a pretty girl, a decent meal, and the right to shoot lightning at fools." - Anders, Dragon Age.

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                    • #11
                      Quoth Seshat View Post
                      Yes, I've been on this site long enough to think of a new-to-me scam where Joe Bloggs buys an item, sends in for the rebate, and returns the item for full price - sans the UPC code on the box.
                      You mean the UPC* the returns clerk needs to scan in order to give you a refund? No UPC, no return. Cue screaming and yelling SC.

                      * I have not yet heard of anyone complaining about the phrase "UPC code" which translates to "Universal Product Code code." It should be right up their with PIN number and ATM machine.
                      "I don't have to be petty. The Universe does that for me."

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Quoth Ironclad Alibi View Post
                        ... "Universal Product Code code." ...
                        Well, You Pee Code would be another kind of code. Usually yellow.
                        I am not an a**hole. I am a hemorrhoid. I irritate a**holes!
                        Procrastination: Forward planning to insure there is something to do tomorrow.
                        Derails threads faster than a pocket nuke.

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