Home Depot sure likes to waste money issuing rebates!

[Brian Elfert]

Home Depot has a 11% rebate match whenever Menards has their 11% rebate. (Only offered if Home Depot stores have Menards stores in the local market.) They give a minimum $1 gift card no matter the size of your purchase. If the registers aren't busy during rebate time I will put each item that is under $9 on separate transactions so I get a $1 gift card for each item. I sometimes get $1 gift cards for stuff that costs less than $1.

Home Depot mails each physical gift card separately rather than combining rebates onto a single gift card. With many $1 gift cards I sometimes get a 1/2" thick stack of Home Depot envelopes in my mailbox. It is a complete waste of money to send me all those individual cards. The biggest waste is a few days ago I got a Priority Mail envelope from Home Depot. I thought it seemed strange they used Priority Mail, but I thought maybe my bigger gift cards were in the envelope. There were two sealed envelopes inside the big envelope with gift cards in them. Each gift card had a value of $1! They spent at least $5 to mail me $2 worth of gifts cards instead of $1 to mail them in two separate envelopes. They normally mail them 1st class in separate envelopes. I did like a dozen rebate requests online one after another on the same day. If they are going to use Priority Mail why not put them all in one envelope then? Instead, they ship two or three cards one day, another two or three a day or two later, and so on until they are all shipped.

The way Home Depot handles their rebates is just a huge waste of money and resources. Menards is a lot harder to do the rebates since the receipts have to be mailed, but at least they combine everything on a single merchandise credit to save money. Menards uses paper that I think they recycle. Home Depot sends a ton of plastic gift cards that end up in the trash.

[Kev Williams]

Casinos give you free booze. Whatever keeps the customers coming back! :D

[Brian Elfert]

I don't think the rebates are a waste of money. They are only matching Menards so all their customers don't go to Menards instead. How Home Depot processes the rebates is a huge waste of money. They would save a lot of money by combining all the rebates submitted in one day on a single gift card sent via first class mail.

I shop at both Home Depot and Menards mostly depending on what I am purchasing that day. They are a block apart for me. Home Depot gets the nod sometimes when Menards has the rebate because the Home Depot rebates can be submitted online.

[Doug Garson]

What are you buying at Home Depot for less than a dollar?

[Brian Elfert]

Some electrical parts like PVC conduit couplers, PVC conduit threaded adapters, and the like cost less than $1. I bought a lot of this type of stuff in 2020 and 2021 for major electrical work on my house.

[Doug Garson]

Hadn't thought of those, thanks for clarifying although I'm not sure I would go to much effort to get a $1.00 gift card and I consider myself pretty cheap err frugal.:rolleyes:

[Mark Bolton]

If the registers aren't busy during rebate time I will put each item that is under $9 on separate transactions so I get a $1 gift card for each item. I sometimes get $1 gift cards for stuff that costs less than $1.

This... is why I abandon residential/retail sales in my business. These box operations are breeding a mentality that simply can not exist outside destroying other countries for dirt cheap goods to feed the foolishness of the U.S. consumer. Sorry Brian.. while I find this stuff (and this mentality) utterly disgusting, on a flip side I have to applaud you in hopes that that this type of consumer will bankrupt the corporate box. That said, it will never happen because they have their margins protected and the wrath of things like this are taken out on the vendor, the customer, and the planet.

This kind of stuff has us headed for nothing but misery. Imagine someone sitting at a register ringing out one item at a time... utter foolishness.

[Brian Elfert]

This... is why I abandon residential/retail sales in my business. These box operations are breeding a mentality that simply can not exist outside destroying other countries for dirt cheap goods to feed the foolishness of the U.S. consumer. Sorry Brian.. while I find this stuff (and this mentality) utterly disgusting, on a flip side I have to applaud you in hopes that that this type of consumer will bankrupt the corporate box. That said, it will never happen because they have their margins protected and the wrath of things like this are taken out on the vendor, the customer, and the planet.

This kind of stuff has us headed for nothing but misery. Imagine someone sitting at a register ringing out one item at a time... utter foolishness.

This is self checkout so I'm not tying up a cashier and I certainly don't do it if there are people waiting to check out. I don't think I've ever done more than five separate transactions in one trip. All of the PVC electrical items I buy at Home Depot are made in the USA. A fair bit of the Leviton stuff I buy is also made in the USA. Wire is pretty much made in the USA too.

I don't think going to an electrical supply house is going to yield any more USA made things than a big box store. The electrical trades are very competitive and more and more is being imported to win bids. I have purchased stuff at a local electrical supply before, but only for stuff I can't get elsewhere.

[Rich Engelhardt]

This kind of stuff has us headed for nothing but misery. Imagine someone sitting at a register ringing out one item at a time... utter foolishness.Worse than that - -I've been behind that person in that line - while I was making a run to pick up materials for the crew that was going to be standing around looking at each other when I didn't get back as quick as I should.

[Mark Bolton]

This is self checkout so I'm not tying up a cashier and I certainly don't do it if there are people waiting to check out. I don't think I've ever done more than five separate transactions in one trip. All of the PVC electrical items I buy at Home Depot are made in the USA. A fair bit of the Leviton stuff I buy is also made in the USA. Wire is pretty much made in the USA too.

I don't think going to an electrical supply house is going to yield any more USA made things than a big box store. The electrical trades are very competitive and more and more is being imported to win bids. I have purchased stuff at a local electrical supply before, but only for stuff I can't get elsewhere.

I completely understand your logic Brian. And the honest answer is if they are offering it, take it. Take every ounce of it you can. No different than the coupon shopper walking out with a truckload of stuff for $3. Its no different than when they had no questions asked no receipt return policy and contractors were buying nail guns to shoot a job then returning them. As I said, the flip side to my questioning the people who do such things (not that you are a scammer) is that you should be applauded for pushing their boundaries without any wrong doing and taking their money. Robin Hood in effect lol...

The point is... its unsustainable. But thats not your concern.. they are going to make their millions regardless so in hind sight ring everything out at sub $9 or >$1 and keep it up til they close he loophole.

The wild part of it all is the amount of money these places technically "lose" with this sort of stuff and they are still wildly profitable. Cant help but to wonder if we are in an unrecoverable spiral.

[Mark Bolton]

Worse than that - -I've been behind that person in that line - while I was making a run to pick up materials for the crew that was going to be standing around looking at each other when I didn't get back as quick as I should.

Well yeah.. but that is what it is. My argument for years with that is to be dealing with a yard/supplier that when you get in your truck and head after something you call it in, and its sitting in a box on the dock waiting for you when you get there and you dont have to walk inside or even sign a sheet of paper... again.. we've sold our souls and now we pay.

[Brian Elfert]

Personally, I would rather Home Depot just combine all the rebates submitted on the same day into one gift card even if I "lose" a few bucks. I think I do the separate transactions thing partially to get back at HD for sending me so darn many gift cards. Just my normal shopping at HD I can end up with a dozen receipts to enter for the rebates. They then send me a dozen gift cards so I end up at the register for five to ten minutes typing in PIN numbers to redeem all the gift cards after I get them.

[Scott Brader]

This is self checkout so I'm not tying up a cashier and I certainly don't do it if there are people waiting to check out. I don't think I've ever done more than five separate transactions in one trip. All of the PVC electrical items I buy at Home Depot are made in the USA. A fair bit of the Leviton stuff I buy is also made in the USA. Wire is pretty much made in the USA too.

I don't think going to an electrical supply house is going to yield any more USA made things than a big box store. The electrical trades are very competitive and more and more is being imported to win bids. I have purchased stuff at a local electrical supply before, but only for stuff I can't get elsewhere.

How do you do that at self checkout? I thought you had to go to customer service to ask for the rebate equivalent.

Scott

[Brian Elfert]

How do you do that at self checkout? I thought you had to go to customer service to ask for the rebate equivalent.


For the Menards 11% rebate match you take your receipt home and enter the details online on a website to get your rebate, or download a rebate form from the website if you want to use postal mail for some reason. The Home Depot stores have not done the Menards 11% match in store in my area for at least three years. Customer service used to have a paper handout with the directions to get your Menards 11% match rebate. https://www.homedepotrebates11percent.com/

They still manually match the Menards 15% bag in the store.

[Scott Brader]

For the Menards 11% rebate match you take your receipt home and enter the details online on a website to get your rebate, or download a rebate form from the website if you want to use postal mail for some reason. The Home Depot stores have not done the Menards 11% match in store in my area for at least three years. Customer service used to have a paper handout with the directions to get your Menards 11% match rebate. https://www.homedepotrebates11percent.com/

They still manually match the Menards 15% bag in the store.

Thanks! I have both options in my area but I prefer to shop at HD when I can.

[Tom M King]

Electrical stuff, as well as plumbing stuff, is Way cheaper here at a dedicated supplier than in the box stores.

[Doug Garson]

Electrical stuff, as well as plumbing stuff, is Way cheaper here at a dedicated supplier than in the box stores.
Same here but some only sell business to business and many charge restocking charges for returns.

[Brian Elfert]

I don't know. There is a plumbing supply place near me and they charge more than either Home Depot or Menards. I've bought a few items at a large electrical supply house over the past 18 months and they are not any cheaper than HD, at least not for retail customers. Plenty of electricians say they buy wire at big box stores because it is cheaper than supply houses. Electricians were wiping out the electrical sections at big box stores in late 2020 because prices were going up much slower at big box stores than at electrical wholesalers. (That, and the fact that wholesalers simply had no inventory.)

[Mark Bolton]

Id agree with Brian here. The days of the supply house beating the home centers on price are long gone other than for certain quality items. Im friends with an owner of local supply and the same distributon that feeds them feeds the boxes. The gain to dealing with supply houses is service, being able to call in your order and have it ready, and that ridiculous feeling you get behind your zipper walking into the supply house and being stroked.
Service is rhe big one. The idiots who need the stroke and walk behind the counter being the big man are in the stone age.

Pretty much every plumbing and electrical contractor here shopela at the home center. HVAC is one of the last trades to hold out and protect themselves. Goodman is sewing the seeds to that end.

Use to be the supply houses could sell quality or crap. Those days are gone for the most part. The boxes have leveled the playing field. Vendors cant manufacture dual/triple lines of quality. Its extreme high end.. or what everyone buys.

[Alex Zeller]

The local hardware store just keeps all the information on the computer (so does Tractor Supply). So just entering your phone number and they just ask if you want to apply any discount or rebate vs dealing with cards.

[Brian Elfert]

The local hardware store just keeps all the information on the computer (so does Tractor Supply). So just entering your phone number and they just ask if you want to apply any discount or rebate vs dealing with cards.

The whole point of the rebates is not all of them will get redeemed so it really costs less than 11%. Home Depot used to just take 11% off at the register or give you a gift card on the spot if you asked to match Menards. HD decided a few years back to make it a rebate process like Menards. Menards and Home Depot use gift cards and merchandise credits to get you to come back to the store where most people spend more than just their rebate amount.

[Doug Garson]

Hmmmm, it's almost like Home Depot is making business decisions to maximize profit for their shareholders. Who'd a thunk that?:p

[Brian Elfert]

They aren't maximizing profit with all the waste in sending out rebates.

[Mark Bolton]

The crazy part of it all, and its understood its a matter of scale, but can you imagine the cost of implementation and execution of such things on their part and their shareholders and executives are still raking it in along side all that waste? Its mind blowing how much profit there is in flushing other countries down the toilet, completely destroying the marketplace in your "home country", overarchingly reducing quality of goods across the board in lieu of mega yachts, obliterating the environment with manufacturing and waste from returns.... on and on.. and they are STILL making money, and people just blindly and willingly march through the door with wallets open and extended, forking it over.

Its absolutely nuts and its unsustainable.

[mike stenson]

Its absolutely nuts and its unsustainable.

but it looks GREAT quarter/quarter.

Which, you know.. is about the maximum length of attention spans.

[Dave Lehnert]

I worked in retail for over 20 years. It would amaze me the lengths people would go to to save a buck or two.

I ran an outdoor garden center and we ran a promotion once where you received 3 cents off per gallon of gas for every bag of mulch you purchased. People would come in and buy a pickup full of mulch, go to the gas station fill up then come back and return the mulch.

Another promotion we offered a free hanging basket for just coming into the store to shop. Limit one per customer.
Customers would go out to their cars and change clothing . put on hats /sunglasses and keep coming in to get another free hanging basket.

My guess is Home Depot system is not set up to combine rebates because rebates is not their thing, They are just trying to make a way for the few customers who would rather buy from them vs Menard's to do so. If some customers see fit to abuse that process they just see it as the price of doing business until it gets out of control.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Those rebates are a pain. I have over $2000.00 in Nard Nunny (Menards Rebate Money). I have not been interested figuring out my Home Depot rewards . Lowes gives 5% and often 10% on the spot with no need to have money to save money.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I’m with Mark Bolton. The problem isn’t with Home Depot; it’s with your ethics. You figured out a way to “beat the system” by taking advantage of a loophole that clearly wasn’t the way the rebate was intended and you came here to brag about it. Personally, I think this thread should be removed, as it serves no purpose other than teaching people to take advantage of Home Depot.

[Malcolm McLeod]

I’m with Mark Bolton. The problem isn’t with Home Depot; it’s with your ethics. You figured out a way to “beat the system” by taking advantage of a loophole that clearly wasn’t the way the rebate was intended and you came here to brag about it. Personally, I think this thread should be removed, as it serves no purpose other than teaching people to take advantage of Home Depot.

Ethics aside, I read thru the process and figure there's 15-20 minutes required for every rebate dollar (planning, purchase, application, opening envelopes, extra trip to store, etc). ...maybe $4/hr.? Maybe. On a good day.

My time is worth more than that. And maybe I'm just lucky, so if someone is in a financial tight, $12-$15/hr jobs are posted on the door of every retail venue I've been to in the last 6-8 months. Productive opportunities abound.

[Scott Brader]

I’m with Mark Bolton. The problem isn’t with Home Depot; it’s with your ethics. You figured out a way to “beat the system” by taking advantage of a loophole that clearly wasn’t the way the rebate was intended and you came here to brag about it. Personally, I think this thread should be removed, as it serves no purpose other than teaching people to take advantage of Home Depot.

A few individuals scamming the system leads to ruining it for the rest of us. It's not just the Home Depot rebate issue; it's everything. People are always looking for a loophole and it hurts the people following the spirit of the rule.

[Brian Elfert]

I’m with Mark Bolton. The problem isn’t with Home Depot; it’s with your ethics. You figured out a way to “beat the system” by taking advantage of a loophole that clearly wasn’t the way the rebate was intended and you came here to brag about it. Personally, I think this thread should be removed, as it serves no purpose other than teaching people to take advantage of Home Depot.

Huh? THE POINT OF MY POST IS THAT HOME DEPOT WASTES MONEY ON HOW THEY PROCESS REBATES. I SUBMITTED 48 RECEIPTS TO HOME DEPOT IN FIVE BATCHS FOR MY SOLAR PROJECT LAST YEAR. THEY SENT ME 48 GIFT CARDS IN SEPARATE ENVELOPES INSTEAD OF JUST SENDING ME FIVE GIFT CARDS. THAT IS WHAT I CALL WASTE.

Back in late 2020 I was at Home Depot almost every day for six or seven weeks working on my solar project. Due to shortages on electrical supplies I sometimes went to multiple HD stores in a single day. I spent $2049.03 in 48 separate transactions for an average of $42.69 per receipt. If I was trying to rip off Home Depot I would have a heck of a lot more than 48 receipts for the 173 items I bought on those receipts. I have a spreadsheet of every expense for my solar project I can attach if you need to see that.

[Scott Brader]

Huh? THE POINT OF MY POST IS THAT HOME DEPOT WASTES MONEY ON HOW THEY PROCESS REBATES. I SUBMITTED 48 RECEIPTS TO HOME DEPOT IN FIVE BATCHS FOR MY SOLAR PROJECT LAST YEAR. THEY SENT ME 48 GIFT CARDS IN SEPARATE ENVELOPES INSTEAD OF JUST SENDING ME FIVE GIFT CARDS. THAT IS WHAT I CALL WASTE.

Back in late 2020 I was at Home Depot almost every day for six or seven weeks working on my solar project. Due to shortages on electrical supplies I sometimes went to multiple HD stores in a single day. I spent $2049.03 in 48 separate transactions for an average of $42.69 per receipt. If I was trying to rip off Home Depot I would have a heck of a lot more than 48 receipts for the 173 items I bought on those receipts. I have a spreadsheet of every expense for my solar project I can attach if you need to see that.

Brian, bragging about individually checking out items that cost less than $1 in order to get $1 rebate cards is scamming the system and that's what people are commenting about. No one would have had a beef with your post had you left all of that out and merely commented on HD's habit of sending individual cards.

[Mark Bolton]

A few individuals scamming the system leads to ruining it for the rest of us. It's not just the Home Depot rebate issue; it's everything. People are always looking for a loophole and it hurts the people following the spirit of the rule.

On the flip side I honestly do think its a good thing for people like Brian who are willing to put in the work to exploit this foolishness to the fullest extent. The bottom line to me always boils back to the fact that there is so much fat (gross profit) in completely obliterating other countries, other countries lack of environmental standards, labor standards, that they can afford to not only implement and execute such a policy but still be profitable at the end of it all.

Do any of you (Brian included) think about what it would be like for you to be making a product as a business and deal with 10-15% return rates? You make a product and 1 in 10 come back, you cant repackage, no restocking fee, its just junk in the landfill. This is going on at these and higher rates nationally to where the bulk of returns from Amazon are going to the landfill? Im not making this some green environmental thing but what the heck are we doing? Its absolutely insane....

I would argue people like Brian (not beating up on you) who exploit these offers, if they were in manufacturing, would be fighting every return tooth and nail trying not to give money back. "I dont like the color once I received it", "product is fine, I just changed my mind"... "Hey, I can buy something similar down the street for $3 less", "I bought 10x what I needed so I could get done and want to return the unused, beatup, stuff I bought extra".. They would fight it to the ends of the earth.

I know my initial post makes it kinda clear that I find exploiting these things kinda gross but in hind sight Im rooting them on to take down the system. No different that some fat-cat with high paid corporate lawyers who gets elected as president but had the corporate law representation to exploit every legal exemption and pay next to nothing into the system from which they benefit. I find the practice gross,.. but you know what... you've got to expose all the legal holes in the system to ever have them addressed.

I can only imagine HD is either at the point where so few customers are willing to take it to the level Brian is that they dont care, or they will squash the loophole at some point as theyve done with all sorts of other policies in past years.

Im rooting Brian on... bankrupt the suckers I say!!!