>The mail-in rebate.
>
>What's the point? I don't understand how so many companies manage to get their customers to give them a loan, interest free (even less than so-called 0% APR, because that includes the official rate, just zero above it), and they even manage to use this dirty trick as a great advertising bait for the customers. And they actually don't have to have the money to give back, they just use the next su... customer's loan to pay the old loans. So that's free money for the manufacturer, and I just wonder how does that money go through accounting. Must be interesting.
>
>Who's stupid here? Me, for not understanding the fine points of doing commerce here, or?

Silly boy, it's just a ploy to get people to identify themselves. The scam-du-jour is frequent flier miles. I really don't get that one. In the olden days they had Green Stamps and Raleigh Coupons. At least they had some tangible appeal. It all comes to you courtesy of the country that gave birth to the saying "There's a sucker born every minute."