Did you know that Menards has an old fashioned mail-in rebate program? They always have some set of products that are free or deeply discounted after mail-in rebate. I’ve been taking advantage of these deals for a few months now myself and will share what I’ve learned so far:
There are two types of rebate items – “free after rebate” and those that you still pay something for, even after the rebate. They are treated differently, so listen up as I explain.
If you buy anything that is free after rebate you must buy $10 of non-rebated merchandise. Personally, if I don’t have anything else to buy, I pick up a $10 Menards gift card. I can then use those gift cards to buy larger things we need for home improvement projects. Since the requirement is to buy non-rebated items, that means any other items that have a rebate, even if you pay something out of pocket for them, do not qualify toward the $10.
If you exclusively buy rebated items that cost something after the rebate, then you are not required to make any additional purchase. Remember though, that even one “free after rebate” item requires you to spend $10 on items that are not associated with any rebate.
You have to obtain and mail-in a paper rebate form for each type of item for which you are requesting a rebate. An example will help explain this. If you buy 4 items on rebate, 3 packages of nails and 1 glue stick, then you’ll need 2 rebate forms; you’ll have one for the nails and another for the glue stick. You can submit one rebate for multiples of the same item (1 form for the 3 packages of nails). You get the forms at the Customer Service Desk or their website here. Be honest with yourself about whether you’ll actually complete and mail-in the form. If you won’t do it, then this isn’t for you. Don’t sweat it and move on.
You need to mail a “rebate receipt” along with the paper form. This prints out at the bottom of your receipt for any items qualifying for rebates. Each rebate is numbered and that number is printed on the receipt. You’ll use the rebate form that matches that number.
Your rebate will come in the form of a Menards store credit. It functions like a gift card, but is a 4 x 6 index card-thing that holds your store credit. It could easily get wet, wrecked or lost so keep it in a safe place. Mine stays in an extra pocket of my coupon holder, since I guard that thing with my life :)
You can use the store credit from one rebate to pay for future rebate items, including “free after rebate” items. Sweet, huh? It takes awhile, 2 months or so, for your store credit to arrive, but when it does you can use it for any future rebates. You can pay for “free after rebate” items with it, your $10 in non-rebated items or anything else your heart desires.
To find the great rebate deals I go to their weekly ad online and search for ”non-rebated” to get a list of all the “free after rebate” items (since the description always includes the phrase “separate purchase of $10 in non-rebated items”). If you want to see all advertised rebate items, then search for “rebate”. I will also do my best to keep you posted on the best deals.
I have also learned a couple other things about shopping at Menards:
Menards accepts manufacturer’s coupons. By the nature of what they sell there aren’t lots of matching coupons, but personally I have used battery coupons alongside sale and rebates.
Their signage is awesome. I love that they clearly mark where the rebated items are and help make them easy to find. Sometimes I spot additional rebates within the store that weren’t in this week’s ad. I have also found their Associates to be very helpful in pointing me to the sale and rebate items.
If they’re out, request a rain check. If the promotion is running for awhile yet, they may ask you to come back later in the week when they’ll be restocked. But, it doesn’t hurt to ask. Their rain checks are good for 90 days.
Finally, use integrity. Some folks go overboard when dealing with rebates by having things mailed to multiple addresses and trying to cheat the system. Don’t do it because Menards doesn’t have to offer this to its customers and a few bad apples could spoil it for the rest of us. Find a Menards close to you here.
Your turn: What questions do you have? What else do you know about the Menards rebate program that I failed to mention? What other stores have rebate programs of some sort?
Here’s another tip: the Menards rebates all go to the same address. (Some rebates are manufacturer rebates with different addresses and different requirements, such as a UPC symbol, but these are rare.) You can put all your rebates in the same envelope and only pay postage once. I have a supply of 60 cent stamps left over from our wedding invitations *man7* years ago; I use these stamps to cover the cost of those really good rebate weeks when there are 6 or 8 or even 10 or 12 rebates to send in.
Also, we periodically get return address labels sent to us along with a request to donate money to whatevery charity. I keep these labels and use them on my Menards rebate forms. If I run out of labels, I prints some up on address label sheets from Walmart. It makes the rebates so quick and easy, it’s a no-brainer. Unless, of course, the receipt gets left in a bag in my husband’s car until after the rebates have expired, which has happened a time or two. Lesson learned: don’t let husband do the shopping! :-)
Do I need to have Menards Big Card for getting Menards rebates or can I use cash or Amex/Visa/Master/Discover card for those rebate items?
After purchasing, I look at all the rebate forms and identify “mail by dates”, locate the earliest date. Fill out all the rebate forms and place them in your envelope with the rebate receipts AND write the earliest date on the upper left corner (above your return address) on the envelope. Now each week I contiune to get more rebates, fill out and place in the same envelope. When the date on the envelope arives, be sure to MAIL All your rebates. Save postage. If you miss the date, mail anyway, they will accept for some time after the “mail by date”.
Is there an expiration date on the store credit?
Lindsey – I don’t see an expiration date on the rebate credit-thingys I have at my house right now, so no I don’t think so.
One thing to keep in mind with these “free” rebates is that you are still paying tax for the items. So if you really don’t have a need for them (either for yourself or to give them to someone you know would use them), then don’t get them. You will end up wasting quite a bit of money on tax over time and will also just be cluttering your house up with stuff you’re not using (which I know is not good for my mental health).
So, when I saw these at the store, I didn’t realize you had to make an additional $10 purchase, so I didn’t. I sent in my rebate forms. Will I still get reimbursed? I guess if worse comes to worse, I could return the items (haven’t used them yet) and get fully refunded. UGH!
Aimee – I am not sure what will happen as I have never submitted a rebate without having purchased $10 in other products. It does take about 6 weeks or so for the rebate to process, so wait patiently and let us know what happens.
Aimee:
You will still get reimbursed as long as you sent in the rewards slip with the form. I have never had a problem.
One note on sending a bunch of rebates in at the same time is that it will be one big rebate that you get back. The only issue with that is they don’t reissue if you don’t use it all at one time – it’s use it or lose it.
I received a rebate today that was missing 2 items totaling $6 of missed credit, is there a # to call to get my credit back?
Natalie – I’ve never had a problem, but if I did I’d start with a call to the store to speak with the Customer Service Manager and ask for a direct number to the rebate processing center since you can’t get it easily online. Let us know what happens.