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The Consumerist today has a surprising article about an instance where a rebate company has been caught with over 1300 rebate claims thrown, unopened, into the dumpster.

Rebates are a system that is easy to abuse. Avoid them if you can.

Gift Cards - Use with care

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Rebates (which are a scam to begin with in most cases) are now being returned as gift cards. Not only does this force you to spend the money back at the store, but they come with all the nastiness that gift cards do. Things like fees, expiration dates, etc.

Hey buddy... wanna rebate?

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In a trend that we hope continues, Best Buy Canada has killed mail in rebates. Companies have been ripping off customers for years with rebates so it's nice to see the trend finally reversing.