What is a mail-in rebate and how does it work?

Question

I have always wondered why mail-in rebates existed and how they benefited the business in anyway. At surface they are generally a discount to the consumer with extra steps. What’s the deal?

In:

Answer 1

It’s those extra steps that benefit the business. People buy the product, but then forget to mail in the rebate, or they wait too long and the rebate isn’t valid anymore. Or they get the rebate but never use it. The store is banking on a certain amount of people never using the rebate.