A very annoying and potentially frustrating thing happened to me at the US post office. I recently purchased a new canon digital camera and lens (which I am trying to finish the review on… so watch out for future posts) due to a huge rebate that Canon was offering. The rebate for each item was a great value but (thanks to intelligence sources outside The Crack Team) I found out that if you purchased two eligible items that canon would double your rebate. This brought my total rebate value to $700. Not an unimpressive number in my opinion and certainly worth something to someone. The way you actually claim your rebate is to clip out the UPC codes from the boxes the items came in and mail them to Canon. Enter the USPS and its bizarre definition of the word value.
Canon, or the company that Canon contracts to do its rebates, has been known to royally screw up the rebate process making things agonizing for their customers. Armed with this knowledge I wanted to do everything I could to ensure that I not only had proof that Canon received my letter containing the UPC codes but that should the USPS lose it that I would be insured and would still be able to claim my $700. When I asked to insure the letter they asked me what was inside. Assuming they just wanted to make sure that I was not mailing anything illegal or dangerous I told them that I was mailing 2 pieces of cardboard for a rebate. “We cant insure that” says the lady at the counter. When I asked why they couldn’t insure the letter she said “we can only insure things that have value”. Such a statement did not compute; at that point all my agent training was lost and I found myself dumbstruck and confused behind enemy lines.
To the casual observer I suppose that two poorly cut out pieces of cardboard with little black stripes and some numbers on them are, in fact, worthless. I mean, it did look like I plucked them from the garbage can on the way into the post office. However, if you give said pieces of cardboard to the right people they will give you back $700, so doesn’t this imply that they have a value of $700? I was under the assumption that things (like gold, cars, baseball cards, etc) only had value because someone else would give you something for them. Even silly things like beads are worthless to some people but there are other people who would sell you islands like Manhattan in exchange for them.
If the USPS loses my letter then I lose $700, which was the point of me asking for insurance. All they could offer me was to have the mail certified, which would prove that I mailed the letter but would not prove to Canon that it actually contained any UPC codes. I could also have sent it registered mail but that wasn’t really what I was looking for either. All I wanted was some way to know that should the USPS lose my mail that I would be able to somehow get my $700 if Canon decided not to believe that I ever owned the UPC symbols.
In my entire life I haven’t had a letter lost in the mail so I am not terribly worried about it. However, two days ago I could have said the same thing about a flat tire (I didn’t have the insurance on that either). Since the universe seems against me lately I thought insurance was warranted. I have copies of the UPC symbols so I hope that they are acceptable to Canon should my uninsured letter get lost in the mail. I think next time I will choose either FedEx or UPS.
This is a really interesting dilemma. Has anyone sent their rebate registered mail, or return receipt (probably not possible if it’s a PO box), then have Canon claim they didn’t get it? Or, “We got a piece of mail, but we didn’t say we got the UPC codes.”
Now, the UPCs (I just learned that “UPC code” is from the Department of Redundancy Department) aren’t worth anything without the receipt. So on that part they are right. You might include the receipt, but since you pre-registered the rebate, fraud is prevented. Of course, that doesn’t guarantee the safe arrival of your proof of purchase. Yes, very frustrating. I would be more worried about ineptitude in Canon’s mail/rebate department, than in the USPS, judging from the corporate mail room at my employer.
In the meantime, I’ll be waiting for the day that Canon requires you to send in your items (camera, lens, printer…) as proof.
Well, I had recently purchased an Epson 1280 printer (the second one now) and after following even better preparation for sending the UPCs than I did the first time, I was denied my $100 rebate. Not because of the UPCs but because I had purchased it through the supplier, New Egg, and they decided it was not valid. So, there’s another way they can get you. I’d say it was something I overlooked, but I don’t ever remember seeing the company name included in the fine print on the rebate. And if New Egg, say, WASN’T eligible as a participant in the rebate program, then, why are they offering it on their website? I’m not sure who to be angry at!
The first time I actually DID receive my rebate from Epson. Ironically, though, when I received the rejection letter about the rebate this time, I also received a letter pertaining to a class action suit against Epson, which I was eligible for and welcome to partake in. And yet I didn’t. Not because I’m a nice guy or I’m lazy about it, but I actually like Epson. Rebates or not. They make great products. So, I’m forced to bite the buck and remain a loyal customer. I was gonna buy that printer anyways. 🙂
Well, I do know that Canon stated in its rebate form that I had to purchase the items from an “Authorized” reseller. I purchased it through Amazon (not through one of their 3rd party sellers) and I assume a company like Amazon would be authorized by Canon. Of course, I mostly thought that because they offered the rebate on their website. After what Agent Hulagun wrote now I am not so sure.
I would definitely take it up with newegg, they clearly misrepresented the price when they offered the rebate on their site. At least give them the chance to make it right – maybe they ARE an authorized reseller, and Epson is in the wrong. Or you can return it and get it from a store that is allowed to offer the rebate.
As for the class action lawsuit, participating does not prevent you from using their products or services in the future. If you were really wronged as described in the suit, you should be compensated. Of course, sometimes the compensation is quite dubious, but if it isn’t, go for it!