It is good to see that at least a well known high street shop is not dead and buried but can someone explain why you have to apply for the cash back from Canon why not just discount in store or online when you buy? would be a lot easier.
Maybe Canon hope that some will not claim!!!!
I believe that there are a few reasons;
First is maintaining the 'product value' as in the sticker price in the window. Brand names like Nikon & Cannon would probably preffer it if thier products didn't look like they were being cheapened by slash price discounts in the stores, or being price cut to clear stuff thats going out of fasion.
Next; supporting the smaller sellers. If they gave the discounts to the retailers on the whole-sale prices to pass on as they saw fit; then the stack-em-high-sell-em cheap stores would slash the prices probably by more than the whole-salers would like (see above reason); making their money on the volume sales rather than the profit margins. While the small specialists, struggling to make ends meet on the margins they had, probably wouldn't pass on the discount to the customer.
It encourages people buying on credit. Actually paying you to buy their product!
Which tends to encourage people to spend more in one go, hence pottentially getting the second lens or the 'kit deal' with SD card and cary bag or whatever, rather than just the camera.
But its is a negative deposit! Rather than £99 down and 36 months at £15 per month.... its nil down 36 months at £16 and here, you are a pre-pay credit card with £99 on it for you!
I don't know if Cannon do the same thing; but when I got the cash-back from Nikon it was on a Nikon branded pre-paid credit card... I could use it anywhere Visa was accepted... but I suppose like many not bothering to claim back, or missing something in the application eligibility... gives them a few extra shots at 'claw-back'. People not getting the discount; or thinking that they can only spend the discount on Nikon or Cannon branded goods..
But either way.... its the same marketing ploy as 'Kwiksave' supermarkets. Aparently they used to get their stock in from the whole-salers on 90 day credit terms... they would sell it for pretty much 'cost' in the shop, and make thier 'profit' from playing the cash they got from it on the money markets for three months until they had to pay thier bill!
Its a bit of 'Zombie Ecconomy' in practice.
You pay £500 over the counter for a £400 camera. That makes the retailers balence sheet look better. They see a £500 sale not a £400 one. Likewise the Whole-Saler... while the camera is on the shelf at the retailer, they have a £500 asset on the books, not a £400 one.....
And double whammy... in the lag, they have £100 x however many sales they made that month, 'extra' cash in the bank, keeping interest off thier over-draft, or being played in the money markets, before they actually give it back to you.
Quite a canny bit of marketing, really... but a very STUPID bit of financial jiggery-pokery!!
