Couponing 103: Rebates, Refunds and Special Promotions
Coupons are great. But there is more to life than just coupons! I know. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?
You have made it through Couponing 101, and know how to combine sales and coupons to maximize your savings. It is saving you a ton of money and you love it. There is more money on the table, though, and Couponing 103 will tell you how to get it.
Other ways that manufacturers get you to try their products are rebates, refunds and special promotions. These are offers that will get your money back in the form of a check, give you coupons for free items, coupons for amounts off, or send other free items through the mail.
What do I need to get my money back? Official forms: these have a place for your name, address and zip code. Some may ask for more information, such as a phone number, email address or a date of birth (many beer company rebates require your birth date).
Proof of Purchase: something that proves that you actually bought the item.
CRT: proof that you paid for the item.
Where do I find the forms?
In the store: Here you can find rebates that are similar to forms of coupons: Tearpads, Peelies, Hangtags and Specially Marked Packages. These can be found on the products themselves, on the displays, or at the customer service desk. Some stores are better at putting these out than others. If you read about a rebate on HCW, you might want to ask your store if they have the forms hidden somewhere.
Online Printable Forms: These can be found on company websites.You may see television commercials or magazine ads directing you to the site.
Inserts: Rebate forms are frequently found in the same Sunday inserts as the coupons.
Magazines: Forms may also be found here.
“No Form Required” Offers: These are great!
As with any other offer, if you find a rebate form in a store, please take only what you can reasonably use and leave some for others. If the forms are still there the next time you shop, take a few more. Taking the entire tearpad is greedy and rude.
Proofs of Purchase
Proofs of Purchase are also known as “qualifiers”, since they are what you need to qualify for the money back. There are a variety of things that can be required as a proof of purchase for your rebates.
The most common POP is the UPC symbol from the package. UPC stands for Universal Product Code, and is the bar code that is scanned by the cashier when you check out.
Other possible POPs are: box tops, weight circles, special POP seals, foil caps or even plastic caps. This is not an inclusive list, but gives you an idea of what they might ask for.
Rebate forms are very specific as to what is required. Be sure to send what they ask for, or your rebate will be denied.
Storing Proofs of Purchase
You can store your POPs in many ways. Snack sized zipper bags or envelopes are common ways to save the UPCs from various products.
Make sure to write on the back of the UPC the name of the product that it came from, so that you aren’t caught staring blankly at yet another bar code and wondering what it was for!
There is also a UPC Database here to help you identify those mystery UPCs that you found in the bottom of your kitchen drawer. Cash Register Tapes (CRTs)
The vast majority of offers require you to submit the dated ORIGINAL cash register tape with your POPs and the form. The rebate will be rejected if you send a photocopy of the receipt. What is there to do if you have several rebate items in your cart, all requiring a receipt for a different rebate?
One way around this is to get individual receipts for each item that requires the original for a rebate. It doesn’t take much longer to do 2 or 3 transactions rather than one, and you will have the receipts that you need for your rebates.
Another way to get a separate receipt is to ask if you can get a copy from the cashier at the time of purchase. Many stores can print either a duplicate receipt or what is known as a rebate receipt.
It is a good idea to save ALL of your CRTs. You never know when you will run across a rebate form for something that you bought last month. As long as the items were purchased within the dates on the rebate form, you can send for the rebate.
You can save receipts in an outgrown accordion coupon file or a 12 month check file. The receipts go into the appropriate month, and you will have them just in case.
How long does it take?
Rebates and special promos are not for those who need instant gratification. The forms usually state how long it will be before you can expect your rebate. It can be anywhere from 2-12 weeks.
You need to be organized!
Organization is the key to making sure that you get the rebates that you send for.
Before You Mail the Rebate
- Make sure it’s good in your area— you are out your time, effort and a stamp if you submit a rebate that is only good in a particular region!
If it says one per household, sending in one for each person in your house will not get you multiple rebates.
Is the form filled out properly? Read the fine print. Send everything that you need to send.
Make sure that you are not using an address label to fill in the information if it must be handwritten.
Are the POPs correct and accounted for? (You can tape UPCs to a larger piece of paper so that they don’t get lost.)
Is the CRT within the purchase dates, an original (if required), and are the appropriate items circled, underlined or highlighted as required?
Have you made a copy or scanned all of the required items before you seal the envelope? If your rebate is denied or never arrives, you will have proof that you completed the requirements.
Did you seal the envelope and put on a stamp?
After the Rebate is Mailed
Rebate Tracking-Free software to help you keep track of the “who, what, where and when” of your rebates. This
Other Helpful Tips for Rebates
Envelopes: Make sure that you are using the correct size envelope for the rebate. Some of them actually DO specify what size to use, i.e. business sized, etc. Buy in bulk to save money, or use them as fillers to get to the amount needed for $/$ coupons.
Couponing 103: Rebates, Refunds and Special Promotions 
Re: Couponing 103: Rebates, Refunds and Special Promotions 
Linear Mode
