We used to just offer you discounts on stuff that we were having trouble selling at our preferred price. We still do, but some marketing genius came up with the idea of offering rebates instead. Why are rebates better (for us)? Well, we can still convince you that you are getting a good discount on products you likely perceive as having a higher value. A 25% rebate is the same as a 25% discounts, right? Sure, it is, as long as you go through the effort of applying for the rebate. You see, our statistics show that about 90% of purchases with available rebates are never used. You have to do all the paperwork, and if there is one thing we know, it’s that people hate doing paperwork. That’s great for us. So overall that $25 rebate only costs us $2.50 per average sale. (okay, plus a few cents in processing).