All this chatter! Bottom line you promote your products by offering a rebate you should make it a very, very painless process. Yes, that includes promptness, period! Shame on a company like S&W to go with all the other companies on programs offering rebates. As in a standard business tactic only to frustrate the buyer in hopes of them not to redeem the rebate compensation. Shame on those making excuses for them too IMHO.

No, all the frustration is self-induced. It takes two minutes to submit the info online,.....pretty painless. Now if you could just manage to forget about it for a little while it'll all take care of itself. You have to want the pain for it to be painful. You have to wallow in it.

The rebates are running a couple of weeks late due to overwhelming volume. So what? Some things can't be helped. You can always go spend $500 on a Glock. No waiting weeks on end for a rebate there!

Tons of people wouldn't have bought a Shield without the rebate, which is why S&W offered it. If they didn't need the sales boost they wouldn't have offered it.

Sure, the Shield is a good gun. I wouldn't have bought a piece of junk regardless of rebate. But there is zero doubt that they sold way more than they would have without the rebate.

And I know the only reason I bought it is the rebate. Made the overall price too good to pass up. It won't be a often used carry gun. I have others for that. The purchase was basically "how can I not buy it at this price?"

......perfectly stated

This is a gun forum. So we talk about guns. I forget about the rebate for the most part until I log in and see yet another unhappy customer. Then I realize it's been 3 months since I sent it in, and I didn't even get the email that S&W sent to everybody.

S&W should have just offered a $75 credit at purchase for a Shield. Would have saved them all this hassle. They wouldn't have to pay Milano to handle the rebate. But then again, they, like all other companies, were counting on people forgetting to send them in, so they wouldn't have made as much money on the sales of the Shields and other guns included in the rebates. Because I can guarentee you that while members of a gun forum were pretty good about sending it in, a new shooter who saw the deal and jumped on the Shield wouldn't have been as dilligent.

Bottom line, in this day and age, it shouldn't take over 3 months to compensate somebody.

And as for "buy a Glock and you wouldn't need to wait", that's a stupid argument. I didn't want a Glock. I don't like Glocks. But if Glock was offering a rebate that took 3 months to pay, I would find that unacceptable, too.

And as for "some things can't be helped", I'm calling BS on that one. They knew the rebates would spur sales. They counted on it. They should have prepared for it. They surely saw them take off in April. So why didn't they deal with it then? When was that email sent out? June? How much you want to bet that the new round of rebates is handled better?

" Painful Rebate Process"

Take two aspirin; You'll feel better tomorrow!

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It's The Carbonaro Effect!

No excuses. It is painless. You mail it out and wait. Any more painless and someone would have to fill it out for you! Most people don't seem to be all that frustrated. They definitely are not frustrating the buyer in hopes of them not redeeming the rebate. That would require Hoping that the buyer doesn't send one in. If it's been sent in it's hard to hope that it wasn't.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

This I agree with! Just price it $75 less and call it a sale of the month or something.

Rebates however have a lot of positive for the manufacturer.

-It gives them access to your info for later advertising.
-allows for a certain product to be cheaper without effecting the price of other products from the same manufacturer.
-Customers tend to notice price increases and react negatively. Rebates offer manufacturers the benefit of giving customers a temporary discount on an item, to stimulate sales, while allowing it to maintain its current price point. This method avoids the negative backlash that could be perceived with a price. being lowered and then raised later.
-During the time it takes to receive the customer's information and send a check the company can be earning interest on that money
-It gives them the advantage that some may forget to mail it in improperly mail it in. They also give longer redemption times because it allows procrastination to set in.
-Fiscal accounting (if the rebate crosses over into the following year)


Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

I received my FIRST rebate yesterday....I have one more in the que....no problem.

Good list of reasons for a company offering a rebate as opposed to some other inducement. There are LOTS of things I would like rather than a rebate, but those weren't offered. The rebate is what I accepted when I purchased the product.

I'm sure S&W anticipated increased sales with the rebate offer and I'm sure that's why they handed off the administration of the program to an outside source. I would venture that what they did not predict was the price war that sprung up among the different vendors/distributors. There wasn't any way to anticipate that.

In my case, I'd never even looked at the Shield prior to the rebate offer. Never read a review or noticed one at my LGS. I was solely involved with vacuuming up every decent compact 3rd gen I could find and when I couldn't find those I was happy to shop for bargains in the SW and SD line. It wasn't until the $75 rebate threads started in this forum that I 'considered' a Shield.

I spent a few days reading threads and online reviews and figured a Shield9 at roughly $340 shipped and transferred with a $75 rebate was a no-brainer. It could have stopped there, but it didn't. While waiting for the 9mm to arrive I did some more reading and realized that a huge discount was being applied to the Shield45 when offered at the same $340-75,......so one of those was ordered too.

A month later PSA offered up combo deals with 9mm and 45 Shields combined with three stripped AR receivers each and when the value of the receivers was factored out the pistols alone came to about $250 each after transfer w/free shipping. I used the excuse of wanting to try the safety versions of both 9mm and .45 to justify two more Shields.

As the price wars raged on, the shipped/transferred/rebated cost of the Shield9 dropped down to $220 each. That forced me to buy four more. I went into the rebate offer thinking about buying ONE Shield,......and I ended up buying EIGHT. New Shields were costing me less than used SIGMAs were costing me ten years ago. How many thousands did something similar? How could S&W(or Milano)anticipate that? It was well within reason for them to have assumed they would sell me one,....maybe even two,....but EIGHT? The discount pricing war is what sent this deal over the top and that was completely out of their control.

If we get to the end of 2017 with rebates left unfulfilled I'll be standing right next to you with my torch and pitchfork at the ready, but so far I can find little to cry about. Checks are coming out seemingly in the order that submissions went in and as long as they keep mailing out I'm happy to wait.

I don't like Glocks or rebates either,.......I was just pointing out the options on the table. I chose the option where I buy the Shield for half the price, submit the rebate info and wait for the check. Smooth sailing so far,.......

When I buy any rebated item, I immediately put the form on the kitchen table, as a reminder, and within 24 hrs it's filled out and ready to get dropped in the mailbox.
if someone buys a item because of a rebate and then forgets about it, well......

I didn't buy any Shields because I didn't need nor want one for any reason.
Enjoy yours folks, they're great guns.

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Sure you did

Very logical, thanks for your views. I only have one small thing to add.

Two weeks ago, AOBC (new ticker symbol of the "old" Smith & Wesson) announced their financial results through April 30. At that time, they surely had visibility of sales/shipments through the end of June (end of the rebate period) and their backlog (future orders in hand) with projected ship dates.

As I understood their words, they advised their inventories were still bloated and that it could take a couple quarters (six months) to get them back in line. They also advised they will make several significant product introductions and will begin building inventory of those new models to satisfy expected demand.

As I read the numbers at the end of April, their inventories (means finished goods and work-in-process) were 69% higher than one year before. Also, their accounts receivable were 88% higher (likely meaning they've shipped a hell of a lot more product and/or have given customers extended payment terms). These numbers cover all the group's brands but, anyway, the majority of the business is S&W so we probably have some view of what's been happening inside that company.

They sold nearly 200,000 Shields in the quarter ending April 30th.

Why am I presenting all these numbers? Because "somebody" recognized that sales weren't meeting the plan and that inventory was way too high. That somebody created a plan to juice the sales and reduce the inventory. That "somebody" knew exactly what he/she wanted to accomplish and it seems strange to later state that demand exceeded expectations. In fact, if the demand was good enough, why another rebate offer beginning July 1? Why will it take so much longer to reduce the inventory to an acceptable level? If I have 100 of something and need to get that down to 55, I guess I shouldn't be surprised if I manage to sell 45.

Pretty painless process really. I wish they had sent a confirmation but they didn't-so what I did was PDF a copy of the submittal to my computer.
They got overwhelmed! Period! Sh...er stuff happens.
Get over it!
Bought two towards the end of June so I am pretty close to DFL in the que-Fully expect to get a couple of checks around the beginning of November just in time to buy a case of shotgun shells for duck season. I've seen absolutely no indication whatsoever that there is any screwing the customer here-it's just that they got overwhelmed pure and simple.
Never thought I'd see so many snowflakes around here! Sheesh!

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Forum consigliere

What's your suggestion as to how Smith & Wesson can "make it right" with their customers?

With today's expectation of instant gratification a rebate would be a nightmare!

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Stay safe people!

I for one, wouldn't have even considered this gun without the rebate. I'm a stingy dude and unlike most of you, I'm happy with just one pistol. I originally bought an SD9VE because it was on sale locally. I could not get used to the trigger. I shot somebody else's 1911 and had no problem but could not hit the broad side of a barn with this SD9. I then traded it in for a Sig P320. That gun had a trigger I could live with and was actually able to hit the door of the barn. However, I found this pistol a bit too large to carry and didn't really have a range anywhere close that I could shoot at. The closest place was a gravel pit and the people that talked me into a gun to begin with, never want to go shooting and they're the ones with the permission to use the gravel pit. I just couldn't justify having the $$$ invested in a gun that just sat around. When I heard about the rebate I went to a local gun shop and traded the Sig for the Shield 9 and got $100 back. That $100 with the $75 rebate puts me back close to the original money I spent on the the SD9. At least l know it's coming eventually.

What I would consider is a free magazine for the poor execution of the rebate.

And I don't consider 3 and a half months to be instant gratification. When they say 6-10 weeks and it turns into 14, the customer should be compensated. If you had 6 PM reservations at a restaurant and you waited until 6:50 because the previous reservation , which was a company lunch, went longer than anticipated, would you not expect some type of compensation? Free appetizer? First round on the house? Something? Would barely cost the restaurant anything but would make the customer feel like his business is appreciated.

It's 75 bucks. Not a million. But the principal is the same. I had to file an amended tax return this year because the government screwed up my return. They owe me 500 bucks. I've been waiting since mid April. They say "12 to 16 weeks". Yet those who filed without amended returns got theirs in less than 30 days. Same principal. S&W got their money. That's all they care about. You'll get yours when they get around to it.

Oh my gosh, I thought this was the S&W Forum where guys talk about firearms not the Accounting and Marketing Forum, I think I just got a headache trying to read all your number crunching, glad I decided to do what I do instead of being a marketing guru.

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DAV Life Member

I'm equally glad. Thanks for your service!

Several people here talking about not really wanting a Shield and then because of the rebate they buy several, some even admitting buying seven or eight Shields. It's no wonder why the rebates are running slow.

Darned shield pigs.

I'm disappointed that I've waited 12+ weeks for my rebate.
I'm more disappointed that I've waited 4 weeks since the S&W president's fake email promise, but I'm blaming the Russians for that!

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Gun control: using both hands.

I don't mind waiting for FREE STUFF. Money or magazines. My question is would you have purchased the S&W pistol without the rebate? I mean for me I purchased mine for $275.00 + $20.99 shipping.
Mine will be the free mags, ammo and loader but had it been cash I still don't mind waiting.
My first XD I waited almost 9 months for the mags and range bag and 6 weeks on the last mag promotion.

I just say since it's really free why complain?

because it's not free. It's just a delayed point of purchase. I consider the price AFTER rebate to be the price I agreed to.

Yeah, not me. What I write the check for is what I agreed to pay. Everything after that is a bonus, because I have no direct control over it . . .

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

Same here. If the local farm and fleet store has bird seed for $18 normally but for one week they're offering a $6 rebate per bag, I'm definitely going to pick up a couple bags because now it's a bargain. I'm guessing most people feel the same way or there wouldn't be such a thing as rebates. Rebates definitely affect the final price.

I have heard of this exact thing happening.

Well mine finally showed up on Milano's web site. I filed on May, 31. No ship date yet. but hey I'm on there.

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Endeavor To Persevere

not how I view it. The extra money is considered nothing but a deposit in my eyes.

Received my $50.00 Bodyguard rebate check today. Done.

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Gun control: using both hands.

The rebate definitely sold more pistols. How many? We'll probably never know, but there is no doubt it prompted people to buy. I know of two people personally who bought one who otherwise wouldn't have. $75 off a ~$300 gun is a significant savings.

It should not take 8-10 weeks to process rebates, especially for folks who filed online.

The whining about the promotion here and on social media is ridiculous. People are making such a big friggin' deal about it because they haven't received their goodies yet. For starters, feel free to vent but there is absolutely nothing anyone here can do to help you so what's the point? S&W is doing the best they can. Any idea of how many request for rebates there are! Everyone sooner or later is on the receiving end for a bag of ****, get over it. Your freebies will come so stop this girlie whining!

opinions vary.

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Endeavor To Persevere

Submitted online; forgot about it; received check today. I'm in so much pain

Seeing how you represent S&W and know they are doing their best, I feel better about my rebate (sooner or later coming). Oh, BTW, S&W is not issuing the rebates. Milano is handling it for them. The $75 Rebate on my Shield 45 is what got me to buy the gun at this time. Next week will make 3 months since I submitted my rebate to S&W. S&W owes me $75. Me and many others expected to receive it in a timely manner.
Also, I would imagine that Winchester has more ammo customers than S&W has in all. I got my Winchester $50 rebate two weeks after I submitted it. Very professional.