Short-Term Financial Management Decisions

Rebates are great! That is why I shop for certain household items at Best Buy. They have several different types of rebates: 1) Standard rebate that comes with a specified item that you purchase 2) Bundle rebate that comes with certain products that are purchased as a set--with this rebate it can be either a Best Buy rebate or a Manufacturer rebate 3) Upgrade rebate which is only offered to customers who have purchased a previous version of a software that they will soon upgrade and 4) Gift With Purchase rebate which is offered on certain products that are purchased such as a memory card with a purchase of a digital camera. They offer these rebates no matter if the products were purchased online or in a store. Reimbursement is received in two ways, either by Rebate checks or Best Buy Gift Cards.

As a customer I would say yes this is ethical because I believe that by the time we purchase the item with the taxes involved we are paying way over the initial cost to even make the product. Customers help businesses to either exceed or to fail. Word of mouth is the fastest advertising that any company could possibly have and if customers are not satisfied they will go elsewhere and they will "tell all" about the bad business. If Best Buy did not offer these kinds of rebates I would not shop there and I would find another business that did. It is a strategic business approach to attract more customers and to help clear inventories without cutting the list priced that is stated. From all the rebates I have received from them they have paid. They do pay the rebates they offer.

Let's look at cash rebates on credit card purchases. This can be a great deal with controlled management of the cards. Card A offers 3% cash rebate on gas purchases. Card B offers a 5% cash rebate at grocery stores, drugstores, restaurants, and hardware stores for the rest of the year on top of customary points. Card C offers 5% cash back at restaurants