Officemax Suxxx!!

On Jan 3, 2004 I ordered a Lexmark Printrio X75 and a Royal
DM3070SP organizer for $9.98 simply because it said it was
free with a $10.00 rebate.

After receiving the items, there was no sign of the said
rebate on their web site or the coupon book that came in
the package.

And after 5 phone calls and false promises to call me back
with an answer, to fax me a rebate form etc. on the 6th
call I just wanted to return the item but was informed that
I couldn't because it was an electronic item and it had been
more than 14 days since I had "ordered" it... Notice that I
had not used the item and it had been shipped *** 9 *** days
after I had ordered it, not to say anything about when I
received it...!! What a bunch of scum, eh...??

Luckily I had paid with American Express and I called them
to file a complaint. The polite agent on the phone informed
me that I was issued a $10.00 credit on the spot. I said:
"wait a minute, I could have written off $10.00 just as
easily but I was complaining in order to make a point"...

To make it short, it would have cost me more than the item's
value to try to return it and it would have would cost American
Express more than the value of the item to process a dispute
and the scummy Officemax once "again" got away with it... (

Why do I say "again"...? Because it has taken me in the past
dozens of emails and calls and over 6 months to get some of
their rebates processed, not knowing how many that I didn't
get...

I am a computer professional charging $40-60 per hour in a
small town in the armpit of USA (i.e. Montana) but I am
stubborn, I have principles and lots of free time to go after
even a stinking penny if I want to...

And I like rebates. I will send one in even for a light bulb
from the hardware store. Very few times I had problems with
getting rebates from Ace, True-Value or Staples; while I had
*nothing but* problems with Officemax rebates...

Sure, we know that rebates are a way to unload unwanted and
obsolete crap for most vendors/manufacturers but when we file
for them, we expect to get them for whatever they are worth...

My experience with Officemax is that you don't even get that
and my advice to you all is to stay away from Officemax...!

MK

You've obviously never dealt with Frye's rebate prevention system. I
bought components to build a new server back in July and I'm still
hassling with two of the rebates :P

On 30 Jan 2004 01:02:15 -0800, murat@compuplus.net (Murat Kalinyaprak)
wrote:

>To make it short, it would have cost me more than the item's
>value to try to return it and it would have would cost American
>Express more than the value of the item to process a dispute
>and the scummy Officemax once "again" got away with it... (

>I am a computer professional charging $40-60 per hour in a
>small town in the armpit of USA (i.e. Montana) but I am
>stubborn, I have principles and lots of free time to go after
>even a stinking penny if I want to...

I need to move to Montana. I'm a computer professional in a market
saturated with them. If moving to Montana will net me $40/hour I'm
all over it.

OfficeMax has a very very bad reputation with regards to rebates. It is
discussed occasionally at www.bensbargains.net at they almost always get
the thumbs down.

regards,
Ben


--
"What passes for wisdom may only be eloquent foolishness"

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murat@compuplus.net (Murat Kalinyaprak) wrote in message news:<2831c30c.0401300102.203da1e8@posting.google.com>...
> On Jan 3, 2004 I ordered a Lexmark Printrio X75 and a Royal
> DM3070SP organizer for $9.98 simply because it said it was
> free with a $10.00 rebate.
>
> [[lotsa stuff snipped]]
>
> My experience with Officemax is that you don't even get that
> and my advice to you all is to stay away from Officemax...!
>
Yet another case of "do as I say, not as I do" - maybe you should take
your own advice here.

In comp.periphs.printers Murat Kalinyaprak <murat@compuplus.net> wrote:
> On Jan 3, 2004 I ordered a Lexmark Printrio X75 and a Royal
> DM3070SP organizer for $9.98 simply because it said it was
> free with a $10.00 rebate.

> After receiving the items, there was no sign of the said
> rebate on their web site or the coupon book that came in
> the package.

.... snip ...

I've never had a problem with rebates from OfficeMax. You just need to
have all your ducks in a row BEFORE you buy. Have the rebate coupon in
hand and read it carefully. Make sure you can meet all the requirements.
Some have very short time limits and stringent proof of purchase
requirements. Most rebate forms are in a booklet you can get at the
counter. After that, you are dealing with the manufacterer, not OfficeMax
(unless it is specifically an OfficeMax rebate). Some manufacturers are
finicky. I had one that did not send my rebate in the specified time, I
called and they said it was because I had not completed the form. Well, I
had a copy I had made and it was completed except for my e-mail address
(which is none of their business). I asked what if I don't have an e-mail
address, and they said fine and sent me the rebate. So now I fill in
every line, even if it's with "none".

Bryan

>In comp.periphs.printers Murat Kalinyaprak <murat@compuplus.net> wrote:
>> On Jan 3, 2004 I ordered a Lexmark Printrio X75 and a Royal
>> DM3070SP organizer for $9.98 simply because it said it was
>> free with a $10.00 rebate.
>
>> After receiving the items, there was no sign of the said
>> rebate on their web site or the coupon book that came in
>> the package.
>

***
Try Staples... their rebate system is extremely user friendly, especially if
you order on-line. And they ship FREE for any order over $50.

Warren
Warren Tryk Design
<wtryk at aol dot com>

Blessed be the ignorant, for theirs is a world of infinite possibilities.

I HAVE HAD EXCELLENT results of rebates from Office Max and the only time I
had a problem, it was handled by a customer service person

LIKE ALL rebate programs they tend to be slow

I had problems with Germany Car manufacture that took multiple calls and 6
moths to get rebates

I think Byran's comment's are right on and that is what I do or similar
thing to get my rebates


<psc@prairienetX.org> wrote in message
news:bve8kj$o1l$1@wildfire.prairienet.org...
> In comp.periphs.printers Murat Kalinyaprak <murat@compuplus.net> wrote:
> > On Jan 3, 2004 I ordered a Lexmark Printrio X75 and a Royal
> > DM3070SP organizer for $9.98 simply because it said it was
> > free with a $10.00 rebate.
>
> > After receiving the items, there was no sign of the said
> > rebate on their web site or the coupon book that came in
> > the package.
>
> ... snip ...
>
> I've never had a problem with rebates from OfficeMax. You just need to
> have all your ducks in a row BEFORE you buy. Have the rebate coupon in
> hand and read it carefully. Make sure you can meet all the requirements.
> Some have very short time limits and stringent proof of purchase
> requirements. Most rebate forms are in a booklet you can get at the
> counter. After that, you are dealing with the manufacterer, not OfficeMax
> (unless it is specifically an OfficeMax rebate). Some manufacturers are
> finicky. I had one that did not send my rebate in the specified time, I
> called and they said it was because I had not completed the form. Well, I
> had a copy I had made and it was completed except for my e-mail address
> (which is none of their business). I asked what if I don't have an e-mail
> address, and they said fine and sent me the rebate. So now I fill in
> every line, even if it's with "none".
>
> Bryan

murat@compuplus.net (Murat Kalinyaprak) wrote in message news:<2831c30c.0401300102.203da1e8@posting.google.com>...

> On Jan 3, 2004 I ordered a Lexmark Printrio X75 and a Royal
> DM3070SP organizer for $9.98 simply because it said it was
> free with a $10.00 rebate.
>
> there was no sign of the said rebate on their web site or
> the coupon book that came in the package.
>
> And after 5 phone calls and false promises to call me back
> with an answer, to fax me a rebate form etc. on the 6th
> call I just wanted to return the item but was informed that
> I couldn't because it was an electronic item and it had been
> more than 14 days since I had "ordered" it... Notice that I
> had not used the item and it had been shipped *** 9 *** days
> after I had ordered it, not to say anything about when I
> received it...!! What a bunch of scum, eh...??

> And I like rebates. I will send one in even for a light bulb
> from the hardware store. Very few times I had problems with
> getting rebates from Ace, True-Value or Staples; while I had
> *nothing but* problems with Officemax rebates...

I'm no expert, but doesn't the time limit for returns have to be
measured from the time of delivery? I mean, if they delivered the
item after the 14-day time limit, wouldn't that mean no return was
allowed?

I've found that OfficeMax and Staples will always deliver the rebates
-- eventually, and it's Best Buy that you have to watch out for
because they're sometimes outright dishonest and will deny ever making
mistakes, even when the rebate form is misprinted with the wrong
eligibility dates or submission address (they once printed MY address
for a Symantec rebate belonging to another person). Even Fry's
Electronics has been better in my experience. Still, I won't charge
rebate items to a disreputable credit card issuer, like
FirstUSA/BankOne, which won't do chargebacks even when they should
(and when Amex or Citibank will).

Well, you're lucky. Last time I heard, OfficeMax's rebate
department was not returning calls (or email).

In theory, OfficeMax has a very nice rebate system. They publish
this book at the beginning of the month with all of the rebate
forms. However, in practice, they seem to have been changing
weeks after printing the forms, necessitating either using forms
with the wrong dates, or sometimes they will come out with
supplemental forms which are not in the book. If you buy in
store, then they will generally give you the correct form. If
you buy online, you may have troubles. Also, sometimes they will
list something in the rebate form that doesn't quite match what
the product turns out to be.

The simple answer to these problems is to visit someplace like
www.fatwallet.com, where you can discuss your problems with
others and generally get a knowledgeable answer to your problem.

Their hard 14 day limit on electronics is ridiculous (and from
date of purchase, not shipping). There is no reason for them not
to be more flexible on that. I bought a TI-83 calculator from
them a couple of years ago, found out just after 2 weeks that my
daughter did not need it. They refused to take it back because
it was over 2 weeks. I ended up selling it to someone else, but
I would have hoped that if I had brought it to the store I would
have been able to get them to take it back even if it was longer
than their policy allows.

Oh yeah, they also like to have 14 day limits on rebate
submissions. That's another anti-consumer tactic that you would
not expect of a supposedly reputable retailer. I emailed OM's
new CEO when it was announced that they had been bought out a
few weeks ago. Naturally, I got no response.

Bill

LifeIsGood--SOMETIMES wrote:
>
> I HAVE HAD EXCELLENT results of rebates from Office Max and the only time I
> had a problem, it was handled by a customer service person
>
> LIKE ALL rebate programs they tend to be slow
>
> I had problems with Germany Car manufacture that took multiple calls and 6
> moths to get rebates
>
> I think Byran's comment's are right on and that is what I do or similar
> thing to get my rebates
>
> <psc@prairienetX.org> wrote in message
> news:bve8kj$o1l$1@wildfire.prairienet.org...
> > In comp.periphs.printers Murat Kalinyaprak <murat@compuplus.net> wrote:
> > > On Jan 3, 2004 I ordered a Lexmark Printrio X75 and a Royal
> > > DM3070SP organizer for $9.98 simply because it said it was
> > > free with a $10.00 rebate.
> >
> > > After receiving the items, there was no sign of the said
> > > rebate on their web site or the coupon book that came in
> > > the package.
> >
> > ... snip ...
> >
> > I've never had a problem with rebates from OfficeMax. You just need to
> > have all your ducks in a row BEFORE you buy. Have the rebate coupon in
> > hand and read it carefully. Make sure you can meet all the requirements.
> > Some have very short time limits and stringent proof of purchase
> > requirements. Most rebate forms are in a booklet you can get at the
> > counter. After that, you are dealing with the manufacterer, not OfficeMax
> > (unless it is specifically an OfficeMax rebate). Some manufacturers are
> > finicky. I had one that did not send my rebate in the specified time, I
> > called and they said it was because I had not completed the form. Well, I
> > had a copy I had made and it was completed except for my e-mail address
> > (which is none of their business). I asked what if I don't have an e-mail
> > address, and they said fine and sent me the rebate. So now I fill in
> > every line, even if it's with "none".
> >
> > Bryan