A rumor fresh out of BGR suggests Sprint will be suspending its mail-in rebate program starting March 27th. The mail-in rebates will be replaced by instant savings in a move that may extend to all corporate-owned retail stores and other channels. This suspension may only be temporary and the rebate program could be re-activated in the future.
The removal of rebate is a trend that gaining in popularity. Best Buy and Radio Shack both offer handsets with instant savings instead of mail-in rebates. These instant savings are attractive to customers who prefer to pay a lower price out the door. Verizon Wireless also recently dropped mail-in rebates on its high-end handsets and now offers its premium phones with instant savings. Entry-level smartphones and feature phones still retain their mail-in rebates.
[Via BGR]