Many companies are using direct to consumer rebates drive sales

I was quite amazed that I was able to get 60K+ miles from the OEM Dunlop tires. They were not rated very high and when I damaged one, it costed like $200!

So recently when I had to replace all four, being the consumer that I am, I did some research. I am a big fan of the Toyo brand of tires and also because Les Schwab here in the Northwest are everywhere I travel. The tires I was looking at were the new Proxes 4 Plus. $200 a tire. After doing some more research, I find the Nitto Brand of tires. They are owned by Toyo. The tech they used is a few years older, but they had outstanding reviews and are quiet with long life tread. I was pretty sold on the $160 tire. This brand was only sold at Discount Tire. Lucky me, Discount Tire offered a direct to consumer rebate in the form of a debit credit card.

In many industries, many brands and products have what is known at MAP pricing. This means everyone has the same price. This is why when you goto an appliance dealer, the same oven will cost the same no matter where you go.

Retailers try to differentiate by having different models and exclusive models. Tires are considered commodities. And these specific tires are probably sold at more than just Discount Tire.

The direct to consumer rebates serves two purposes. #1. Drive sales by lowering the overall cost and #2. Keeps the manufacturers MAP pricing the same. So in reality my tires were not $160 each. Buy 4 I got $75 back.

This rebate is used across many industries. Think of a retailer who may sell you the whole package vs one portion of the package. You buy the whole package, the invoices will be the published costs/pricing...but you get the rebate for the increase business. This is similar to insurance companies giving you a discount because you buy more (even thought their pricing is upfront vs the backend in the form of a rebate)

Overall this is a widely used trick and cool concept in driving sales. This rebate lowered my over cost of ownership, the manufacturer and brand got my info as a customer. MAP pricing in the marketplace is maintained.