Are Tigerdirect rebates reliable?

I had bad experience with rebates overall not exactly with TD. And I am curious if it often happens that Tigerdirect does not send money in rebait back?

Rebates are through the manufacturer, not the retailer.

Actually, most rebates nowdays are handled through 3rd parties, companies whose sole purpose is to process and fulfill rebtes with a high degree of reliability. Yes, they're reliable assuming you follow the submission instructions perfectly, and always make copies of materials before mailing.

pcgamer4life said:

they're reliable assuming you follow the submission instructions perfectly, and always make copies of materials before mailing.

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This explains a lot.

Indeed... they will deny your rebate for the slightest little missed thing. Have to follow instructions to the letter. I just don't like the practice of putting the rebates on cards now. I don't know if the cards have the fees associated with them like some of those gift cards, but if so, that's a horrid scam. Like a monthly fee, transaction fees, etc. It's BS... I've had some cards you had to spend the money quickly because the fees added up so that in a few months a $50 gift card had no balance left on it.

I generally avoid rebates in general, personally. If the deal needs a rebate to make it worthwhile, unless it's a large rebate, I'm probably going to skip it. You still have to come up with the money up front, then they give it back to you a few months later - when the product price has dropped and they've made interest of the few thousand people who gave them a free loan. No thanks.

tRidiot said:

Indeed... they will deny your rebate for the slightest little missed thing. Have to follow instructions to the letter. I just don't like the practice of putting the rebates on cards now. I don't know if the cards have the fees associated with them like some of those gift cards, but if so, that's a horrid scam. Like a monthly fee, transaction fees, etc. It's BS... I've had some cards you had to spend the money quickly because the fees added up so that in a few months a $50 gift card had no balance left on it.

I generally avoid rebates in general, personally. If the deal needs a rebate to make it worthwhile, unless it's a large rebate, I'm probably going to skip it. You still have to come up with the money up front, then they give it back to you a few months later - when the product price has dropped and they've made interest of the few thousand people who gave them a free loan. No thanks.

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If want to get something, I look to see if it is a good deal without the rebate. That way, if I don't get the rebate, I don't feel I got a bad deal, and if I do get the rebate it is a bonus.

I agree with you about not liking the cards. I got a card reader for my paypal account and as soon as I get one of the rebate cards I pay it all into my paypal account and transfer it to cash from there.

tRidiot said:

Indeed... they will deny your rebate for the slightest little missed thing. Have to follow instructions to the letter. I just don't like the practice of putting the rebates on cards now. I don't know if the cards have the fees associated with them like some of those gift cards, but if so, that's a horrid scam. Like a monthly fee, transaction fees, etc. It's BS... I've had some cards you had to spend the money quickly because the fees added up so that in a few months a $50 gift card had no balance left on it.

I generally avoid rebates in general, personally. If the deal needs a rebate to make it worthwhile, unless it's a large rebate, I'm probably going to skip it. You still have to come up with the money up front, then they give it back to you a few months later - when the product price has dropped and they've made interest of the few thousand people who gave them a free loan. No thanks.

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IIRC you can't have the fees the gift cards anymore where it dwindles down.

edit:
http://www.ncsl.org/research/financ...ards-and-certificates-statutes-and-legis.aspx

GIFT CARDS AND GIFT CERTIFICATES STATUTES AND LEGISLATION
Heather Morton1/17/2014
PLEASE NOTE: Please note the summaries should be used for general informational purposes and not as a legal reference. NCSL is unable to answer questions or provide guidance to citizens or businesses regarding gift cards and gift certificate laws and practices. If you have questions regarding issuing or redeeming a gift card or gift certificate or a retailer's practices, please contact an attorney or the Office of the Attorney General in your state.

NCSL Contact: Heather Morton, Denver
In 2009, Congress passed the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act, which set consumer protections for gift cards based on many state laws. The law provides that gift cards cannot expire within five years from the date they were activated and generally limits inactivity fee on gift cards except in certain circumstances, such as if there has been no transaction for at least 12 months. The federal law creates a floor for regulation and leaves room for state regulation on redeeming gift cards for cash and unclaimed property provisions.
Federal Statute | State Statutes | State Legislation

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That's cool and good to know... although that says 2009, I'm thinking there have been some much more recent than that that I saw stupid fees on the order of $8-10/month. I don't know, though, I generally stay away from that crap. Torin, using your PayPal is a great idea!

I purchased a Sparkle video card from them and it came with a rebate that
made the card only 30 bucks after.
However, it took me over 1 year to collect it.
Tiger Direct keep on referring me to Sparkle and they would kick me back to
the issuer of the rebate which was NOT sparkle or Tiger Direct. All three denied having
anything to do with the other companies. They all claimed they were separate.
The Rebate company (Dragon Rebates) told me in writing that the reason they could not give me the
rebate was that their funds were exhausted and they were waiting until they were refunded.
After a lot of actual investigating of the company that handles the rebates I discovered
that the rebate company was in fact wholly owned and operated by Tiger Direct.
I also found evidence that pointed to Tiger Direct possibly owning or having a majority interest
in Sparkle!!
I made copies of this evidence and contacted the Better Business Bureau in Miami BY WRITING,
not emails or phones.
I included a statement of all that I had been through and I included the copies of the
papers showing Tiger direct owned this company that was withholding my rebate payment.
The BBB contacted Tiger Direct on my behalf. The BBB employee who helped me also thanked me
for providing them with the ownership information as they had other cases apparently that they were
not getting any satisfaction with.
I received my rebate about 3 weeks later!
Tiger Direct is a dishonest company in my opinion.
Ever since then I have dealt with Newegg and i have always been satisfied with them.

ATMINSIDE said:

Rebates are through the manufacturer, not the retailer.

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Exactly, maybe the op is confused and talking about tigers coupons that you can print out and use in store.

Zakarro said:

Exactly, maybe the op is confused and talking about tigers coupons that you can print out and use in store.

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No, I was talking about rebates from tigerdirect. I just did not know about the fact that rebates come from the manufacturer. It is not easy to understand rebate system if you are facing it for the first or second time.
I thought that rebates come from the seller, because not all sellers offer rebates on the same items at the same time. Thus, I thought that rebates a put for items buy sellers.
Any way rebate system is an .... scheme.

Like I mentioned above, most rebates are through neither the retailer nor the manufacturer, they're processed by third parties. Rebates aren't a scheme in any sense of the word. Some rebates are intentionally tricky, but all the guidelines are clearly spelled out. Some folks submit thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in rebates each year with extremely high success rates. If you can follow directions, there's nothing to be concerned about.

One of the fields on the rebate for my asrock z97 mobo is called "password". Which password do they want me to type there?))