Black Friday's "Deals"

The following link hints some of the coming Black Friday deals by T-Mo.
They don't look that different from the Magenta Saturday deals we've
just seen. What I don't get is why they still insist on those mail-in
rebates when one buys the phone at a T-Mobile store. Don't those rebate
forms also go to T-Mobile? So why the extra paper shuffling delay? My
suspicion is that the reason is so they could come up with some obscure
reason in fine print (not pointed out by the in-store sales person) why
one is not entitled to the rebate. What do you think?

<http://www.tmonews.com/2011/11/t-mobile-black-friday-deal-includes-samsung-exhibit-ii-4g-for-free-with-unlimited-value-plan-deals-and-buy-two-accessories-get-one-free/>

On Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:08:13 -0800, Cameo wrote:

> The following link hints some of the coming Black Friday deals by T-Mo.
> They don't look that different from the Magenta Saturday deals we've
> just seen. What I don't get is why they still insist on those mail-in
> rebates when one buys the phone at a T-Mobile store. Don't those rebate
> forms also go to T-Mobile? So why the extra paper shuffling delay? My
> suspicion is that the reason is so they could come up with some obscure
> reason in fine print (not pointed out by the in-store sales person) why
> one is not entitled to the rebate. What do you think?
>
> <http://www.tmonews.com/2011/11/t-mobile-black-friday-deal-includes-samsung-exhibit-ii-4g-for-free-with-unlimited-value-plan-deals-and-buy-two-accessories-get-one-free/>

Lotsa reasons for T-Mo to keep that 'red tape':

1) Some large fraction of folks eligible for the rebate won't get the
paper work in at all, or on time, hence will miss out on the rebate.
Thus T-Mo gets to keep the rebate.

2) Some of the material that must be submitted for the rebate must be
returned to T-Mo if one wants to cancel service during the penalty-free
no-ETF-yet trial period. So: 2a) Folks who do submit it in plenty of time
will be cutting short their trial period; or 2b) folks who choose to submit
only once their trial period has gone on for long enough that they're
*sure* they want to commit to T-Mo risk not meeting the deadline for
qualifying for the rebate. Either way, T-Mo wins -- perhaps gaining a
customer who might otherwise have bailed in the last possible penalty-free
moment, or else a rebate a now-locked-in customer no longer qualifies for.

'Zat help explain things? Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP.

In article <jahrin$22c$1@dont-email.me>, Cameo says...

> The following link hints some of the coming Black Friday deals by T-
Mo.
> They don't look that different from the Magenta Saturday deals we've
> just seen. What I don't get is why they still insist on those mail-in
> rebates when one buys the phone at a T-Mobile store. Don't those rebate
> forms also go to T-Mobile?

I doubt it. In many such situations, third-party fulfillment houses
handle the rebates.



--
Steve Sobol - Programming/WebDev/IT Support
sjsobol@JustThe.net

"Steve Sobol" <sjsobol@JustThe.net> wrote:
>> They don't look that different from the Magenta Saturday deals we've
>> just seen. What I don't get is why they still insist on those mail-in
>> rebates when one buys the phone at a T-Mobile store. Don't those
>> rebate
>> forms also go to T-Mobile?
>
> I doubt it. In many such situations, third-party fulfillment houses
> handle the rebates.

Yes, for T-Mobile. But the point is that T-Mo is at both end, so the
originating T-Mo store could handle the rebate right on spot instead of
using a middle man. But I think tlvp made the point for this very well.

On Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:44:35 -0800, Cameo wrote:

> "Steve Sobol" <sjsobol@JustThe.net> wrote:
>>> They don't look that different from the Magenta Saturday deals we've
>>> just seen. What I don't get is why they still insist on those mail-in
>>> rebates when one buys the phone at a T-Mobile store. Don't those
>>> rebate
>>> forms also go to T-Mobile?
>>
>> I doubt it. In many such situations, third-party fulfillment houses
>> handle the rebates.
>
> Yes, for T-Mobile. But the point is that T-Mo is at both end, so the
> originating T-Mo store could handle the rebate right on spot instead of
> using a middle man. But I think tlvp made the point for this very well.

Thanks :-) . And sometimes an unscrupulous such "third-party fulfillment
house" will agree to add to the 'friction' a customer encounters when
trying to get a rebate honored, further helping shield the original vendor
from the obligation to make good on that rebate :-) .

FWIW, btw, a Staples manager once confided to me that, in her experience,
only half the customers who have rebate rights actually ever submit their
rebate materials within the allotted window of opportunity :-) .

Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP.

tlvp wrote:
> On Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:44:35 -0800, Cameo wrote:
>
>> "Steve Sobol" <sjsobol@JustThe.net> wrote:
>>>> They don't look that different from the Magenta Saturday deals we've
>>>> just seen. What I don't get is why they still insist on those mail-in
>>>> rebates when one buys the phone at a T-Mobile store. Don't those
>>>> rebate
>>>> forms also go to T-Mobile?
>>>
>>> I doubt it. In many such situations, third-party fulfillment houses
>>> handle the rebates.
>>
>> Yes, for T-Mobile. But the point is that T-Mo is at both end, so the
>> originating T-Mo store could handle the rebate right on spot instead of
>> using a middle man. But I think tlvp made the point for this very well.
>
> Thanks :-) . And sometimes an unscrupulous such "third-party fulfillment
> house" will agree to add to the 'friction' a customer encounters when
> trying to get a rebate honored, further helping shield the original vendor
> from the obligation to make good on that rebate :-) .
>
> FWIW, btw, a Staples manager once confided to me that, in her experience,
> only half the customers who have rebate rights actually ever submit their
> rebate materials within the allotted window of opportunity :-) .
>
> Cheers, -- tlvp

As I recall from many, many years ago, S&H green stamps made their money
on the 15% of users who never turned in their stamps.