Star Tribune, April 2, 2005
In response to customer complaints, Best Buy Co. Inc., the world's largest electronics retailer, promised Friday to eliminate mail-in rebates within two years. Best Buy's rivals, including Circuit City Stores and CompUSA, are expected to follow suit.
"Our customers are telling us they just hate the process," said Ron Boire, executive vice president and general merchandise manager at Best Buy.
But it wasn't immediately clear Friday whether Best Buy would pass on the eliminated rebates in the form of lower prices, though several industry watchers said they expect the company to do so....
Ultimately, Best Buy decided the promotions have become more of a nuisance than they're worth. The company will eliminate rebates on its own, private-label products in addition to the rebates offered by manufacturers within 24 months....
...most analysts said they expect Best Buy to drop its prices to compensate consumers, and that will force other consumer-electronics retailers to eliminate their mail-in programs.
"I can guarantee you that there are five executives in a room at Circuit City trying to figure out what to do next and when to do it," said McGranahan of Sanford Bernstein. "If they're smart like Best Buy, they will realize that there are probably other promotions that would be a lot more effective and less frustrating."
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