How to Save Money on Off- The- Shelf Technology

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This may sound like a big "Duh!", until you hear the statistics.

Technology vendors love to offer rebates, especially on software. It sounds great and makes the ridiculous price of off-the-shelf technologies of all stripes sound more manageable.

Then we go back to office and never follow through on the rebate paperwork.

Redemption rates top out around 50% on a good day. According to Professor Tim Silk, a marketing professor from the University of British Columbia, consumer electronics have about a 40% redemption rate.

So the next time you pick up a printer at Staples on your lunch hour and charge it to the corporate Amex, what are you going to do when you get back to the office with that rebate offer?

One last bit of advice: read the rebate requirements very carefully. The people who send out the rebate checks are notorious sticklers for detail. Make a photo copy of your rebate paperwork in case there is any dispute down the line.

Renee Oricchio

Renee Oricchio is a technology writer and former supervising news producer for CNN Financial News. She has been covering the computer industry since 1987. @oricchio