CyberRebate Questions

[veverett]

Can someone explain Cyberrebate to me??? Why are things soooo expensive (like DVD's?). Do you actually get the rebates???

Thanks
Vicki

[flintstone]

how does cyberrebate do it? obviously, they CANNOT pay a rebate to everyone... they operate on the assumption that some rebates will not be paid for whatever reason... they charge you $150 for a DVD, then use that $150 to pay off other rebates... since the DVD only costs them $15, if 1 out of 10 people doesn't get their rebate, cyberrebates breaks even.
This is nothing but a PONZI scam... if you are not familiar with PONZI scams, do a search on the web.... participants in PONZI schemes are all very happy (in fact they are usually a scam's best advertising) until the scheme breaks down because enough cash flow isnt coming in to pay off the previous participants...
it is only a matter of time before people get screwed by this company...



[Edited by flintstone on 03-22-2001 at 01:57 PM]

[hannahmom]

i've ordered things twice - and, yes, i got my rebate, and so far everybody i know of has gotten their rebates. but i agree. the prices are so outrageous i won't order anymore because if you do get stuck, you've paid about 10 times retail! and the process takes so long, you can't get any help from your credit card company. i'd assumed there were some manuf. rebates involved. but i dunno. anyway, i'm steering on the cautious side -clear.

[jodifenner]

They are AWFUL !!! I ordered a porcelain clock that was $11.99 with a $51.99 rebate. When the clock arrived it was such a piece of junk ( I could have bought it at the $1 store !! ) Worth $1 but not $12 !! Well the rebate form came through and was for only $11.99 !! They said they made "mistake" and would not honor their own website price. I have emailed them 8 times and received 7 replies....with the problem not being solved. They just keep passing it to the next CS rep. I have been waiting for a call tag from UPS for the past 5 weeks !!!! I disputed the charge with my CC and filed tons of complaints against cyberrebate.com... nothing has been done !!! They are the WORST company I have ever dealt with...most companies will make mistakes but they will honor it or offer a deal close to the wrong one..NOTHING from cyberrebate.
For those who are thinking making $40 is too good to be true, it probably is.. but it doesn't make up for the quality of their products or their CS.
If you want something for free and have lots of extra money to wait 6-8 weeks for a rebate go for it.( btw..they put your money into an account which gains lots of interest..thats how they can offer rebates.....so they make their money back plus some on the interest)
But if you are a deal buyer it is a waste of time and money !!!!

Just my humble opinion !!!

[millervt]

Just to be precise, cyberrebate does not need to be a true ponzi scheme to stay in existence. A ponzi scheme is something that depends on an ever-increasing number of paying participants in order to succeed. An example would be the classic chain mail scam - "send $1 to the top 5 names, add yours to the bottom, and in a month you'll receive $14,000!". Obviously the first people make a lot of money, but eventually the chain letter runs out of steam and most of the people lose money.

If, in the prior example, cyberrebate sells $15 DVDs for $150, if 10% of the people fail to claim their rebate, or do it incorrectly, then CR breaks even (ignoring the money they make from any true manufacturer rebates, getting interest, etc). If more than 10% do, then CR can make money, without resorting to a ponzi-type scheme. They can stay in business, continuing to sell overpriced merchandise to the same core set of customers, and essentially those who get the item "free after rebate" are getting the item at the expense of those who end up paying through the nose.

However, the above depends on the continued existence of customers who will get burned but continue to buy from CR. If customers who fail to get a rebate stop buying, the percent of non-rebate customers falls, and CR starts losing money, unless they can find more sloppy/uncaring customers to replace them.

I wonder if the sudden increase in prices means that they are being successful and are able to entice people even at the inflated prices, or if they are having cash-flow problems, so they need the inflated prices to make money from the remaining customers?

The rebates are far from guaranteed, so (using financial terms), consider these a "risky" investment on the part of your money, and, just like the stock market, don't invest more than you can afford to lose.

[cyberrebatesuxs]

Thank you everybody, for a year and a half I have been telling people to stay clear of Cyberrebate and it warms the heart to see other people agreeing with me.

In the past, when I would post, other "Newbies" would immediately post that c-r was wonderful, quality merchandise, and guaranteed rebates. I always suspected that these posters had some sort of ulterior motive.

Remember this about cyberrebate: For over a year and a half c-r did not have a telephone. The website said they were "working on it". Cyberrebate finally got a telephone number after a plea bargain with the New York District Attorneys Office for Internet Fraud forced them to.

They were "working on it" for over a year and a half, but once they were forced to get a phone number, it realy only took a couple of days.