Rebates

Ever thought about how hard it is to collect the money from a rebate? You usually have to fill out a form. Sometimes you have to make a copy of the receipt. (The original receipt will not do.) Then you have to send your documents in and wait eight to ten weeks. Other times you open the box that your purchase came in and search in vain to find any "literature" describing how to collect the rebate that was advertised in the store (which induced you to buy that particular item in the first place). So you look for a toll-free number, an e-mail address, or a website. You either get no help from these, or you get a different offer altogether. I have a sneaking suspicion that these rebate-happy companies don't really want us to get our money. (They mainly want our names and addresses.) And if we do, they exact their pound of flesh for the privilege. Just give us the discount and be done with it.