AIOS rebate

[farley]

On checking for my rebate today I too got the "THE POSTMARK OF YOUR SUBMISSION IS BEYOND THE REQUIRED DATE FOR THIS OFFER." B.S. I went to the NCIX website today and guess what! The price has been reduced further to $79.99 along with a new mail in rebate for $20 valid for purchases from April 1 to April 30. This is leaving a bad taste in my mouth for Pivos. Never again.

[aasoror]

I am not sure what does NCIX anniversary sale price has to do with anything.
But anyway, the post mark has to be within 20 days of the purchase date as noted on the submitted invoice, if you have kept photocopies of your submission material as well as any proof of mailing (even a dated receipt from your post office) you can easily get your issue resolved.

[farley]

The NCIX sale doesn't have anything to do with the rebate but I do point out that the rebate continues. The point of the 20 days timeline is arbitrary and pointless and the rebate merely continues on where it previously left off. In the meantime it's a good excuse for some of us to not get our rebates (that's how I feel right now). I indeed have photocopies of everything EXCEPT proof of mailing because I deposited my envelope at a mailbox and didn't get anything stamped.

[aasoror]

The continuity of the MIR has nothing to do with the post marking dead line, there is no such thing as a MIR with an infinity open submission deadline, the deadline is related to the date of purchase even if you have a year long MIR.

I give you that 20 days is little bit odd, 30 days being the norm, that said if we are going to assume misconduct to start with it wont really matter how long is the dead line if they are going to come up with reasons not to honour it any way.

Since you haven't actually postmarked the letter, there is a possibility it was post marked a day or so later, how many days past the purchase have you actually mailed it ? and when did Pivos MIR tracking got updated indicating the received your MIR ?

[sparta]

I think the optics are terrible that aios has a cutoff date of 20 days while they are still running the rebate program and then cut off people from their rebates. Poor marketing practice all around. If they cared about their customers they would remove the 20 day limit, extend it and give everyone who could prove they purchased the products in the time frame they advertised their rebates. I've gotten rebates from a variety of companies without any hassles but I've read many comments on other forums where people have said they don't bother with MIR because they get ripped off too many times.

[farley]

Well, I'll just vote with my wallet and never buy any more products from this company and I'll make sure that everyone knows that they have a shitty MIR program. That's all I can do.

[aasoror]

I think the optics are terrible that aios has a cutoff date of 20 days while they are still running the rebate program and then cut off people from their rebates.

The MIR conditions are published on the MIR submission and linked at every participating retailer product page, for all "potential" buyers, I admit that I find the 20 days odd, but if its too odd for me I wouldn't have based my purchase decision on the MIR. Simply put: "don't like the rules, don't play the game".

If they cared about their customers they would remove the 20 day limit.

Can you please point a single company that has an infinitly post marked MIR ? Even latest Nintendo 3DS MIR has an overall cut off of Mid May ... guess there is not a single company that cares about their customers out there !!!

MIR is just a way a offering discounts, this is the second report so far for an MIR that is being continuously fulfilled since the end of February (first report about MIR fulfilled), the first report was already taken care of (else we would have been heard from the guy), so mistakes do happen, and if you can't fill an MIR properly (including keeping dates and proofs) to follow up in case needed, then I would suggest not considering the MIR as a discount the next time your shop around.

Best of luck,

[sparta]

I think you miss the point. This is NOT an MIR with a definite end date but a rolling deadline that can lead to problems. If the MIR is ongoing then I submit that a final deadline date (not a rolling one) should be implemented. Don't cut off customers while you're still running an MIR.
I don't recall a similar situation for Nintendo. An overall deadline date is sensible but from a marketers viewpoint this particular discount promo is dumb because it leads to these types of problems. This company is new, apparently, and they have screwed this up. You want to have good relations with you're customers, don't throw spanners in the works to frustrate them.

[vega]

just an update. I received an email reply from Pivos stating they would resubmit my MIR. Nothing has changed since, other than getting a post card telling me the MIR was denied.

[Pivos_Z]

If you have any issues with rebates or declined for no reasons, please do send the copy of material to us following the instructions indicated on the rebate form. If it's in fact valid, we will have our fulfillment house clear the rebate for you.

A rolling deadline is an industrial standard which given in this case 3 weeks of time is plenty for a customer to purchase, decide and submit the rebate should they want to participate. It's very much the same concept as return policy when you purchase a product form a store which is limited to 30 days (normally).