Thursday, December 24, 2009

A Christmas Tradition

The liquor companies give GOOD rebates around Christmas and New Year's. So if you're going to buy vodka-for-vanilla or whiskey-for-medicine or schnapps-for-granola or Southern Comfort [-for-yummies], now is the time of the year to do it. You may get a bottle of schnapps for $2, or a year's worth of vanilla for $4.

But the GLUE! Oh, the glue!

For a rebate, you have to turn in the UPC code. You have to soak it off the liquor bottle. Now, the labels will fall off my syrup jars in about 20 seconds. The labels will fall off my bouillon jars in 5-10 minutes. But soaking a bottle of vodka? The front label will fall off the bottle in half an hour. But the part of the label where the UPC code is? After four hours, the UPC code can be pried off only with lots of tearing and ripping of soaked paper.

Can the ladies processing the rebates even read the shreds I send them from the UPC code?

Maybe it's a conspiracy to not pay the rebates?

Or maybe the company is trying to protect itself from people who scam businesses out of rebate money? Maybe if you send in a decent-looking UPC code, they will know you faked it ... because you didn't have to fight the Superglue-strong-enough-to-hold-a-spaceship-together!




Whatever it is, I discovered this is one of the dumbest Christmas traditions we have. But a tradition it is, nonetheless.

2 comments:

  1. I don't know what rebates you are doing, but I bought some wine last year with a rebate on the bottle and I just had to write the UPC code on the receipt. I bought some vodka to make vanilla just before New Years and they just need the receipt, not the UPC code at all. Are you sure the directions don't say you can write the UPC on the receipt?

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  2. The rebate on the bottle I bought last week didn't require a UPC at all, just the receipt. The one from mid-December said to send part of the label with the UPC code.

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