Staples is a necessary evil. They have great selection for random officey stuff, but we aren’t particularly thrilled to shop there. Whenever I shop at Staples, I always feel like I’m being ripped off. Is there someplace online that I can order my office supplies for cheaper instead?

But last month I bought some paper. I love Staples paper. It looks and feels just as good at Epson, but costs a fraction of what Epson and other branded papers cost. No brainer. And this time around, it came with a rebate.

Mail-in rebates are annoying. Not only do you have to remember to actually mail the thing in, but there’s often some old-school cutting and pasting of UPC codes involved. And who can ever find a stamp when you need one! Before you know it, the window has passed and you’re outta luck. That’s how it used to be.

But the new Staples Easy Rebates system is pretty cool. I go online, punch in the numbers, and they cut me a check (eventually). Awesome. (I should point out that it took me about 2 minutes of staring at the screen to determine which link to follow. Turns out I didn’t see the “Bought in a Store” header.)

This is probably the first time that Staples has lived up to their slogan “That Was Easy”. Usually, shopping and large-scale chain stores is a hassle marked with unskilled and belligerent staff, bad selections, untidy shelves, etc. So good on ya, Staples, you’re actually doing things right.

But to play devil’s advocate for a moment, doesn’t this destroy the economic model of rebates? After all, rebates are designed for you to make a purchase, but not to redeem. They are making it easy for customers to get back their own money. Since most decisions get made based on dollars, I’m actually a little surprised that Staples has built a system so beneficial for the customer.

Of course from a branding point of view, I’m glad they do.

The moral of the story, if you’re shopping at Staples, don’t be afraid of the rebates. They actually are quite easy.

// a tale of brands & branding
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