Complaint Review: RadioShack.com And RadioShack

I Work at RadioShack and The Orbitor S4000 is riddled with problems. You can return the unit with all the accessories and reciept for a brand new Sportster. No box is needed, full credit towards the new unit will be given.

I received my $20 rebate check from RadioShack.com today, thanks to RipoffReport.com. I will follow-up with a contribution shortly.

Robert, for you, as well as anyone else contemplating a purchase that involves a rebate, consider this.

Why would a company go to all the trouble to return part of your money?

Let's say that 10,000 people bought an item. They are scattered all over the country. Every one of them is expecting a rebate. Now, first, the company would need to process all the incoming requests. Next, they'd need to issue all the checks. Finally, they'd need to mail out 10,000 different envelopes containing the rebates.

Look at how much work that would take. They'd need to hire people to do it all. Who would go through all that trouble? It doesn't make sense. It'd be much simpler to just make the price less rather than sending part of their money back, right?

Smart people see that right away.

They understand that the company has no intention of providing a rebate. It's simply a marketing gimmick to get people to buy trash they would normally pass by. You see, there are hot-buttons that people will react to. The word sale is one of them. So is free. People will buy a dozen donuts just so they can get a dozen more for free. Now, common sense tells you that the money paid for the first dozen more than covers all 24 donut. It'd have to, or else the company would lose money and go out of business.

People use marketing gimmicks because it allows them to hustle off more than they could normally sell. With the donuts, it's a way of moving an extra dozen. Maybe you wouldn't have bought all your items without the rebates.

So, rebates are a way of tricking people into buying. The competition is fierce, especially now. There are many different brands to choose from. In many cases, the rebate forces a customer to chose one brand over another.

Most times, the rebates are outsourced to a company that specializes in handling things like this. They are paid a specified amount to cover all the rebates. They get to keep any money that is left over. So, naturally, the have no incentive to pay out the rebates. All that does is decrease their payment for the job. That's why people fail to receive their rebates.

It was fraud from the very beginning!

In the future, try to make the purchase that offers you the best value. That's almost never the one that comes packaged with a rebate.

Show people you're smart. Don't let the marketing frauds lead you around like a bull with a ring in its nose by using their fake rebates. They laugh at people stupid enough to fall for the rebate con. Don't be one of those people!

In the last 14 months, I purchased three items that had five rebates.

1. I bought a Toshiba laptop in October of 2003. It had a $100 rebate from Circuit City and a $100 rebate from Toshiba. Both of these companies failed to comply by the terms of the rebate, although I did everything correctly. So I filed a dispute with my credit card company. It worked, but it took four months from start to finish to get both rebates (Toshiba paid up first).

2. I bought a boxed set of kitchen supplies for my daughter from Sears in August of this year. I never got the $20 rebate, even though I complied with the terms of the rebate. I called Sears after four months. They credited my credit card with no hassles.

3. I bought the Sirius Orbiter receiver, which has two rebates ($20 from RadioShack and $30 from Sirius). My experience with RadioShack.com is detailed in the comments above. I haven't received my rebate from Sirius either, but they have a few more weeks of time before the delay period expires.

So, either I have REALLY bad luck when it comes to rebates, or something else is going on. This problem was the "straw that broke the camel's back" so to speak.

By the way, I spoke to Anna Rosa. She says that after checking and verifying my order and receipt, they will process my rebate. It must have been a data entry error in their inventory system.

Dear Robert,

For me to assist you in obtaining the rebate on the Sirius products you purchased, I am going to need more information. Therefore, please contact me at the number I provided.

Sincerely,
Anna Lopez
RadioShack Corporation
Customer Care Center

I have complied with the terms of your rebate. Just send me the money. Please? Pretty please with sugar on top? I should not have to do anything else.

The rebate con is one of the dumbest things I ever heard of!

Why do I have to wait until they send me a $20 rebate? Why not just take the $20 off the price and be done with it?

The answer is that they are looking to cheat you! There's no rebate. Never was. Never will be. Hell, no company is going to give you part of your money back. Why should they?

What, are they Santa Claus?

People always fall for this rebate nonsense. There's always a sucker that actually thinks they are going to get money back.

Did you ever notice that all the trash comes packaged with a rebate? There's a reason for that. When trash won't sell, they have two choices. Either put it on sale, or hustle it off with the rebate con.

Next time, you'll know. Whenever you see a rebate, run, don't walk away.

Find a real store that doesn't have to use the rebate con to sell stuff.

Dear Robert:

My name is Anna Lopez and I work with the Rebates department in the RadioShack Corporate offices.

The rejection of your submission for the Sirius rebate can be corrected. What I would like for you to do is contact me toll-free at 1-800-843-7422. Select option 0 for the operator and request to be transferred to me. My extension is 55494.

Sincerely,

Anna Lopez
RadioShack Corporation
Customer Care Center
Rebates