How to collect mail-in rebates

A Mail-In Rebate Junkie shares his secrets:

I am a mail-in rebate junkie.  I have saved thousands of dollars through rebate offers.  It’s a great way to get products at a reduced price, or sometimes even free!  But I often question whether it’s worth my time.  And apparently, I’m not alone.  Web sites such as the ones here, here and here show that there is a high degree of universal frustration with the mail-in rebate process.
 
But that’s exactly what makes the mail-in rebate process so rewarding and exciting!  The harder it is, the more discouraging it is for most people, and therefore fewer people wind up filing for or getting the rebates.  And if fewer people get them, that means that the companies can afford to be more generous in the rebates that they offer — a bonanza for the true mail-in rebate warriors such as ourselves.  So after years of climbing the rebate learning curve, I’ve decided to share my experiences, so that all of my fellow rebate junkies can benefit.

Most of this stuff is just plain common sense, but it’s a good checklist. Personally, I go out of my way not to buy a product if it has a mail-in rebate these days. I’ll make an exception for something like the Audiovox SMT5600 Smartphone or the Motorola MPx220 Smartphone, both of which have $150 rebates from Amazon and are on the short list for my next phone (I had an SMT5600, but Judy’s using it now). Trying to get $10 off on an antivirus program or $20 off on a new hard drive just feels like a sucker’s game to me. I’d rather just find a good price and be done with it.

(Via the indispensable Andrew Tobias, whose RSS feed is here.)