Number 232 - August 2002

Rebate! Rebate!
Dick Freymoyer (dickfrey1@aol.com)
How do you track those pesky, annoying, *#!!**##!!**, rebates? Many of my family and friends have heard me make my almost famous comments about rebates "I just hate them," "Why can't they just reduce the price and sell us the item at a good price" It isn't so much about getting the rebates, it's tracking them, the paper work and finally wondering "did I send everything they want?"     Some tips to assure that you get your rebate check: read the rules very carefully, make sure the rebate didn't expire, send exactly what they want, and fill out the coupon carefully. If you have a problem, call the number on the form (which is probably a clearinghouse for rebates). If that doesn't work, call the manufacturer. The FTC tells us the manufacturer of the product is required by law to see that you get your money, providing that you filled out the coupon, dotted every i and crossed every t! If you have a problem getting your money, call your state's Attorney General and the FTC and make a report. Make copies of everything you send out for the rebate and keep it in a hard file folder so you have proof of what you sent Make sure you purchased the product for its value and not for the rebate money.     Until I found Rebate! Rebate! , I saved all kinds of paper work, but never really tracked them and never put them on my computer. Shame on me!     Rebate! Rebate! came out of a company called Six International, Inc. in Austin, Texas. Their web site is gone, for whatever reason, but you can download the Rebate! Rebate! program free from www.pcworld.com/. All you have to do is search for the file called Rebate20.exe, which is about 6MB. Rebate! Rebate! is the premier rebate tracking program for those of us that never really put their hearts into rebates and for those who just love them!	The program does everything for you--all you need to do is fill in the blanks. The program opens with the main toolbar across the top and includes Exit; Print; Cal (calculator); Dialer; Options; Web; Tip; and Help. Within this page there is a second window/desktop with the working part of the program in it This second window has a toolbar also and is very easy to understand. When you double click on New, and a form opens and you just fill in all the information. There are 3 tabs on this page; Product Information; Rebate Information and Follow-up. If you fill out the form correctly, you will have any information you will ever need on that rebate offer. The second button on this page is Unsent--if you didn't have time to send the rebate out or didn't fInish filling out a form you started, this is where you will find it Click on Pending to see who owes you money from rebates you've mailed. If you filled out the submission information under Date Due, and the date passes, you will find your rebate data under Overdue. Paid will show you who sent you the rebate checks if you complete the information about the rebate when the money arrives. Active Follow-up speaks for itself. Under Rejected you can type in the reason they give you for refusing to send you money. All will display all the rebates you have entered into the database. Statistics gives you a summary of your rebates.     I worked this program, I find it very good and rate it with a "5 Star Mark". It's free, which really makes it another great find for those who hate Rebates. I strongly suggest you hurry to the PC World site and download this program before it's gone forever. I saved my file on my ORB disk, so I will never lose it and in time I may write it to a CD disk, if I can get the paper work finished on those pesky, nasty, *#!!**##!!** rebates I still have to mail in.
Number 232 - August 2002