• Only deal with reputable, established companies when filing mail-in rebates.  Several years ago, a website called CyberRebates.com offered some ridiculous rebates (for example, you pay $350 for a mini refrigerator, then apply for a mail-in rebate for $350, and when the check comes you get a free refrigerator).  But when CyberRebates went bankrupt they quit paying the rebates, and left several customers with an overpriced $350 minifridge.
• Always study the rebate offer carefully, and look for loopholes that the company can climb through.  Some rebates may have already expired, or may apply only to certain unavailable products.  Study the rebate form carefully before buying the product.  If the box says, "$30 Rebate!  Details Inside," walk away.  You won't like the details once you get inside the box.  If a salesman is pressuring you to buy a rebate product and won't let you get a good look at the rebate application and terms, walk away.

• Follow the rebate instructions to the letter.  If it says "circle the price paid and the date of purchase on the receipt," then circle them.  Failure to do so could cause them to decide that your rebate submission is "noncompliant" and they may not pay you.
• On the other hand, it never hurts to try.  I inadvertently threw away the box and rebate documentation for a $30 box of software.  Upset and angry with myself, I wrote a letter to the software manufacturer, explaining that I threw the box away, asking that they honor the rebate anyway, and sent them all the documentation that I could (receipt, photocopy of the disk, an original page from the users guide) to prove that I actually bought the product.  Much to my surprise, a $30 check arrived a few weeks later!  Who knows?  Give it a shot.
• Always photocopy or scan the filled-out rebate form and all the supporting documentation, including the all-important UPC code.  Keep the copies.  If you've got access to a scanner, scanning is better, as it requires less space and you can send electronic copies of your documentation if you need to e-mail anything.
• Keep a log of all your mail-in rebates.  I do this with a separate account on my Quicken financial software, but this can be done with an Excel spreadsheet, or even the old-fashioned way, on a piece of paper.  (An interesting-looking rebate tracking tool is available here.  It appears to be free and downloadable.  But I haven't used it and therefore can't vouch for it or endorse it.)  Your rebate log should include:
  • The date that you sent the rebate application
  • The name of the rebating company
  • The amount of the rebate, and
  • The website or phone number that the company generally provides to check on the rebate status.   
• Cross out each rebate in your log when you've received and cashed the rebate check.  You can forget about it after that.
• Review your log at least once a month.  (Don't rely on the company to notify you if you didn't qualify for the rebate.)  If there are any outstanding rebates that are over two months old:
  • Call the phone number or go to the web site and inquire. 
  • Keep a record of all the contacts you make about that rebate, including the date the contact was made and who contact was made with. 
  • Keep a copy of e-mails. 
    • Beware of the "Contact Us" form on the rebating company's web site, which may not allow you to easily track or keep a copy of your message to the company.  (Very tricky, these "customer service" departments.) 
    • If necessary, be sure to copy and paste your message into your word processing software and save it, before sending the message.  Type in the time and date that you sent the message.
• If you get an e-mail or postcard notification telling you that your rebate is denied because the company claims that you didn't send all the correct supporting documentation:
  • Re-submit your copies of all the required paperwork (including the all-important UPC code) with a polite letter demanding your rebate.  
  • This second submission almost always seems to work.
• Another option if your rebate submission is ignored, delayed, or turned down, and if you bought the product at a local store:  Go the the store and enlist their help in collecting the rebate.  I went to one store where I bought some software, showed them the completed rebate form and paperwork, and complained that the manufacturer wasn't making good on their rebates.  I expected the store's help in lighting a fire under the manufacturer.  Instead, to my surprise, the store manager went to the cash drawer and handed me my $10 rebate in cash!  I've been a loyal customer since.
• Stop dealing with the fulfillment center, and start dealing directly with the manufacturer.  The address and phone number on your rebate form goes to the rebate fulfillment center.  They're the people who often have a vested interest in not delivering on your rebate, so they can pocket the money themselves.  If the fulfillment center isn't being responsive, send a letter or e-mail directly to the Customer Service Department of the manufacturer of the product (or provider of the service) that you bought.  You can almost always get this contact information on the Internet.  These companies don't want their reputations ruined by a cheesy fulfillment center, and will usually help you collect. 
• In the rare event that your repeated attempts to get your valid rebate paid are completely and ruthlessly ignored, then:
  • Go to Google.com.
  • Search the name of the company that offered the rebate.  Find their corporate address and the name of their Chairman, President, and/or Chief Executive Officer. 
  • Then search on Google.com for "[INSERT THE HOME STATE WHERE THE COMPANY HEADQUARTERS IS LOCATED] Department of Consumer Affairs".  With a little sleuthing, you should be able to find the name, address, and telephone number of the consumer affairs department for that state.
  • File a complaint against the rebating company with the state's Department of Consumer Affairs.  With any luck, they'll have an on-line consumer complaint form.
  • THIS IS IMPORTANT:  Be sure to mail a copy of the complaint form to the rebating company's Chairman, President, and/or Chief Executive Officer, along with all of your supporting documentation, and a polite note that says you regret that you've had to file this complaint due to their nonresponsiveness.  Include your phone number; for some reason they almost always want to call you (rather than write or e-mail) after they get this letter. 
  • This is the "nuclear option."  In my experience it has never failed.

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Interested in learning more about your personal finances? www.dollartimes.com has several useful calculators that can help answer questions such as "What size house can I afford?" and "How much will I save if I quit smoking?" If you're interested enough in your personal finances to carefully manage your mail-in rebates, you'lll be interested in these aspects of your finances, as well.

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• My thanks to Andrew Tobias for posting a link to this site, which has led to links being posted on various other sites.
• Some web discussions about this site and its contents are available here and here.
• Some very useful and informative comments that I've received about this site, and that provide a few additional tips on rebate collecting, are here.
• Unfortunately, I don't have the capacity to keep this web site updated with the latest rebate deals, or news of which companies are the best rebate payers, and which are the worst.  For that information, the best site I've been able to find is here, and I'd recommend that you click that link periodically for the latest rebate news and updates.
• If you have a complaint against a company for its lack of responsiveness to rebate issues, please post it at this site.  Great site; highly recommended (also referenced at the top of this web page).
• Comment from Bob:  Someone I knew worked for a rebate company, until the company was shut down by the state of Minnesota.  He claimed the way some of them work is this: (a) You submit the rebate. (b) They submit to the company that offered the rebate.  Company pays them plus a processing fee. (c) Now they delay and hope to outlast you.  (d) If you notify the company they send out the rebate ASAP.  (e) They keep the money of the people who just give up.  (f) If they think they are getting investigated they just pay up everyone.  Pretty good business to get into if you are a sleaze ball. 
• I got this message from a woman named Louise; I verified her e-mail address and it appears to be legitimate:  "Hi, I work for a rebate processing center, and if you people would actually do what you're supposed to, you would get your rebate with no hassles.  Read the offer form, follow that instruction to a tee. And if it is a little late, maybe about 5 million other people are requesting the same rebate. So I might take a little longer. A letter to the manufacturer won't do anything in getting your rebate faster."