CDRLabs.com

Just curious when CD Burners have rebates on them does that usually mean new models are one the way? I noticed the Plextor 48x burner has a rebate now.

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?s ... 43&loc=101

Anyone?

Well I guess rebates mean that the company wants the retailer to sell the drive for cheaper than it has originally been priced. It doesn't necessarily mean new drives on the way. They always have a HotDeal for the BusLink 52x24x52 that doesn't necessarily mean there's a new model coming out soon and LiteOn wants to clear out these drives. It can be seen as a price competition tactic.
Sometimes it may be used to get clearance too. But these Plextor drives are so expensive already, that this is a tactic being used to get back in the competition. As far as I am concerned, this drive is way overpriced. I got a LiteOn 48x24x48 for $83 Canadian and this one is selling for $105 American .

Plextor has stated that 48x will be their fastest drive and they will focus their research and development (R&D) into improving the write quality of future CD-RW drives. It'll be awhile before Plextor comes out with any new drives, because they haven't announced much since the release of their 48x drive.

I recently read part of an artricle that showed that most people never take advantage of rebates, even though many bought the product because there was a rebate on it!

I wish I had the numbers, because they showed that even most of those people who specifically bought the product because of the rebate still didn't submit it...

In other words it is a marketing tactic designed to generate sales, without taking a direct hit in the pocket for EVERY unit sold...
If they expected everyone to submit the rebate, they would just use instant rebates instead, because it would save them having to pay the rebate processing costs...