Mobile Phone Buying Guide:  Rebates

If you are in the market for a mobile phone, you likely are looking for ways in which you can save money on your purchase of a mobile phone.  In fact, there are some options available to you when it comes to saving money on your next mobile phone purchase.  Through this article, one of the more common options available to you when it comes to saving money on a mobile phone is explored for you:  rebates.

What is a Rebate ... Really?

“Rebate” has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? It’s the sound of a store marking items down to reasonable prices the hard way. Sometimes it’s the sound of getting something for nothing, as in the case of some mobile phones. But we all know you don’t get something for nothing—don’t we?

Confusion Regarding Rebates

Well, the carriers and mobile phone companies alike can make it difficult to understand how this works. You can get your “rebates” from either place, but sometimes it’s not really a rebate. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines rebate as a “return of part of a payment.” While technically that’s what carriers and mobile phone sellers are doing, they also can make it difficult to take advantage of the money back.

Types of Rebates

For instance, some service providers will offer rebates on their phones, bringing the price down to pennies or even nothing. They say, “Suggested retail, $99.00, minus a rebate of $99.00, and your phone is free!” And yet it isn’t really free—this phone is tied by a SIM to that particular carrier, and you will never be able to use that phone with another service provider. Although there are services that can “unlock” these phones, this process can render them inoperable.

Other forms of rebates even include companion airfares. Well, in order to use a companion airfare, guess what! You have to buy an airfare for yourself. Doesn’t sound like a rebate, does it? While it might sound attractive, also remember that you would have to coordinate a trip for two people, get time off, etc.—many will never get around to it, and the company will not have to make good on that many rebates.

Other Rebate Options

Perhaps this sounds better—a mobile phone that comes with a major credit card’s debit card in the amount of the rebate. Sounds like money in the bank. But you may not be able to use it anywhere but the service provider’s mobile phone store that the phone came from in the first place. Could you really buy $50 to $100 worth of accessories? Again, this doesn’t sound like much of a “return of part of a payment.”

Getting an Honest Rebate

If you are going to look for a good rebate, make sure you get an honest rebate. The company should either provide the phone for free and unlock it when your service contract is up (or even provide an unlocked phone to begin with—as long as you’re are signed up for the service contract they shouldn’t care), or that you get a physical rebate check that you can take to the bank, sign, and end up with cash in your hand.