Painful Rebate Process

[msjdgman]

All of us who took advantage of the rebates truly deserve to have the rebates delivered as promised. But I'm not losing sleep over the speed in which they are delivered. I got my first one yesterday that was submitted the first week of April. I would have made my purchases regardless of the rebates, so as they are received....great!! We'll see when the 2nd one shows up from a submission date of the end of April.

 

[kaveman]

At this point, it's taking a couple of weeks longer than the couple of months you were told, but it's happening. That is all. Why all the drama?

Yeah, I get that everybody wants to know. I want to know. That's why I've carefully posted how my rebates are going,.....because I can't count on getting good info from Milano and it helps ease my mind to see how others are doing. We need to work together to achieve a good understanding of what to expect. It looks like we can expect 90days+/- at this point and at least I personally am expecting that to slide as time goes by. I'm not going to even think about the rebates I submitted Saturday until my next birthday(which is Oct6 in case anyone wants to think about getting me something,......(I prefer sporty hardtops over convertibles and like white better than red fwiw).

None of it has anything to do with S&W. They're not running the show.

 

[0849]

Letter to the CEO

I'm still waiting for my decoder ring, I sent in 10 boxtops in '66. I know I moved a few times since than , but everyone else seems to find me.

That reminds me, I also did not receive my decoder ring after sending in my box tops of Frosted Flakes back in '67 right before I went in the service, and I still have a bunch of messages from Tony the Tiger to decipher, I know I should have used his full name "Anthony Tiger", so could be my error; but what gives, I am sending a strongly worded letter to the CEO.

 

[kbm6893]

At this point, it's taking a couple of weeks longer than the couple of months you were told, but it's happening. That is all. Why all the drama?

Yeah, I get that everybody wants to know. I want to know. That's why I've carefully posted how my rebates are going,.....because I can't count on getting good info from Milano and it helps ease my mind to see how others are doing. We need to work together to achieve a good understanding of what to expect. It looks like we can expect 90days+/- at this point and at least I personally am expecting that to slide as time goes by. I'm not going to even think about the rebates I submitted Saturday until my next birthday(which is Oct6 in case anyone wants to think about getting me something,......(I prefer sporty hardtops over convertibles and like white better than red fwiw).

None of it has anything to do with S&W. They're not running the show.

It has everything to do with S&W. they farmed this out to Milano and are paying them for the service. They should be kicking Milano's *** for this. Or at least making it right with their customers.

 

[Arik]

.

So let me ask all the "stop crying about it" people a question. What if it took 6 months? A year? Would you be pissed then?

.

What if it took 6 months? Then it took 6 months. Simple as that. I've never seen a rebate delivered on time so why would this be any different

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[bigwheelzip]

I bought TWELVE (12) Shields during the rebate period, six 45's, four 40's and two 9mm's...

I was told that my first three checks were authorized June 22nd and that I should receive them soon.

I'm not a rebate expert, but the way I read the offer, your 3 checks that are in the mail are all your going to get from them. My interpretation is that you bought three models covered by the rebate, defined by the three different calibers.

The offer is for "one rebate per each new model" hence three checks for your three models purchased.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, and hope I am mistaken.

 

[cadmike]

I don't think smith & Wesson is "screwing" anybody. You may get your money later than promised. You saved $75 on a cheap gun. Why stress out?

 

[Dad_Roman]

...and hope I am mistaken.

Mmmm...sorry. Very mistaken. Have the checks to prove it.




We seem stuck in the day and age of "Instant Gratification"


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[VPNAVY]

Nonuthin - I don't blame ya at all! You did you part and they should have followed through. Bottom line is they bank on people not wanting to go through the entire process for a rebate - so stay on top of it. If they really wanted to give the rebate - they could have just discounted the firearm to begin with - it is all a game - don't let them off the hook.

 

[ken158]

With all the belly aching, you would almost think that nobody would buy a Shield if they didn't get a rebate... but S&W sold a million before the rebate program even started. I bought 3 without a rebate and haven't lost any sleep over what I paid.

 

[Lonestar57]

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.

 

[kaveman]

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!

 

[kbm6893]

With all the belly aching, you would almost think that nobody would buy a Shield if they didn't get a rebate... but S&W sold a million before the rebate program even started. I bought 3 without a rebate and haven't lost any sleep over what I paid.

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?"

 

[Dad_Roman]

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!

......perfectly stated

 

[kbm6893]

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?

 

[martybee]

" Painful Rebate Process"

Take two aspirin; You'll feel better tomorrow!

 

[Arik]

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 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.

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[Arik]

S&W should have just offered a $75 credit at purchase for a Shield. Would have saved them all this hassle.

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)


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[daka]

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

 

[kaveman]

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,.......