If any major company is reading this, and considering rebates for their products, here’s the pros and cons from a shopper’s perspective, and why I steer clear of offers with rebates whenever possible:

• Rebates are annoying to manage, and too easy to forget – I recently did some last-minute posting because I let a rebate slip. Of course, from a company’s point of view, it’s money in the bank…
• Rebates add hidden charges. One company I filled a rebate for (yes, the same one – I obviously don’t have many examples!) required a certified mailing to quality – so the extra charge, absorbed by me, ends up reducing my rebate value.
• Rebates artificially inflate benefits. When I see an item for $x, I expect it at that price. This starts the ‘pre-sell’ phase, where people get interested in an item. The fact that you won’t get that price until much later (and a little more cost for the mailing), isn’t a problem from the store’s point of view – they have you hooked NOW (which I suspect is the real reason these rebates exist).

I may be a minority of one, but the inconvenience of rebates likely affects a good range of your target demographic – so companies truly interested in helping the consumer – just give the discount upfront!