Costco Wholesale has long been known for its ultra liberal return policy — return anything at anytime. It did, however, tighten the policy for certain electronics a year ago limiting returns to 90 days. With such a long policy in place, it occurred to someone at the company to ask the question of what happens if a consumer receives a rebate on an item and then the item is returned.
As a result, tucked away on its website, they address the issue:
How to reimburse the manufacturer for the rebate? Yep. When have you ever seen instructions for doing that before?Â
If you “click here“, they tell you how to do it:
*MOUSE PRINT:
If you received a Mail-in Rebate check and since have returned the item and would like to reimburse the vendor, you may either:
- Forward your rebate check (DO NOT void rebate check) to Costco Wholesale
- Forward a check made payable to Costco Wholesale for the rebate amount
Of course, Costco is absolutely right suggesting that such a rebate is unearned and should be returned to the party who paid it. How many consumers, though honest in most respects, would actually do this is the real question?
Tweeter, which is an electronics store specializing in home theaters and TVs, has started advertising what appears to be a remarkable offer: Spend $999.99 or more at the store, and get $500 in free gas.
Consumers are used to seeing offers of a number of free or discounted months of service when they switch cable companies. So it is not unusual that Dish Network, a satellite television provider, is offering three free months of service as an inducement to choose their company.