Menards 11% Rebates
If you shop at Menards on a regular basis, you have seen the 11% Menards rebate sale. If you’re not familiar with the sale – about once per quarter, Menards has the 11% rebate sale. Anything and everything you buy during this sale {which they typically run for two weeks} is eligible for an 11% rebate. {Menards rebates are issued as an in-store credit and mailed to your home after a long and grueling 6-8 weeks.} I have a love/hate relationship with the 11% rebate {I both love it and I hate it}. There are times when the 11% sale is really the best deal or easiest option and there are times when it’s not a good deal at all. Here’s my advice on when to SHOP IT and when to SKIP IT.
Items that don’t go on sale often or ever: SHOP IT.
Some items just don’t go on sale {or rarely go on sale}. Since the last 11% sale a few months ago, I’ve been checking the light switch covers every week. While 50 cents each is cheap, I need to buy a lot of them, so savings definitely add up. I have not seen these switch covers go on sale since the last 11% sale. When the 11% sale started this week, I knew that was something I’d grab.
Items that are regularly on sale at a deeper discount: SKIP IT.
The 11% rebate is NOT very good savings for items that are regularly on sale. If I am shopping for a specific item, I’ll watch the ad for a few weeks to see if they go on sale. Typically, sale prices are a deeper discount than 11%, so if an item is on sale in a regular ad that’s probably the time to buy it. If I watch for a few weeks/months and can’t find an item on sale, I’ll get it the next time the 11% rebate sale rolls around. Bonus tip: there are some websites that archive all Menard’s ads. If you’re not sure whether an item would be available with a steep discount at a different sale, check out what Menards has done over the past few months. Ads tend to be cyclical.
Items that are on sale during the 11% rebate: {Usually} SHOP IT.
There are not usually a lot of items on sale during the 11% rebate sale, but the items that are on sale get a double discount – a sale price plus the 11% rebate. This can make for a sweet deal!
Shopping for a lot of items at once {especially big items}? SHOP IT.
The last situation when I love the 11% sale is simply out of practicality. While I would love to get every single item on sale {at a deeper discount than 11%}, there are times when it’s not practical to wait it out or scour the ads. Since we’re re-doing a large portion of the house right now, we have a LONG shopping list. We’ll be crossing many of the items off our list and getting them during the 11% sale this week. Could we find a better deal if we waited it out? Maybe. Is it worth the extra gas for trips with the truck and trailer and time wasted hunting for a dollar here or there? NOPE. We’ll be getting big items this week {drywall, bathtub, etc} because it’s just easier to get them all at once.
If you’re a patient person in general and not in a rush to purchase: SKIP IT.
For the most part, items will be discounted better than 11% if you’re willing to wait it out and hunt through the ads and the store weekly. If you have this kind of time and patience on your hands {things I do NOT have}, the 11% sale probably isn’t the best deal you can find.
My final bonus tip/11% rebate secret…
Menards has a 14 day price adjustment policy. If you purchased anything at full price in the 14 days before the 11% Menards rebate sale started, you are eligible for a special 11% price adjustment rebate on those items! You won’t see the slip at the rebate center – you will have to ask someone at the desk for the 11% price adjustment rebate slip. I heard about the price adjustment rebate several months ago, but wasn’t sure if it was a real thing until I went in this week and asked for it. Good news – it is legitimate! The 11% Menards rebate price adjustment requires you to send in your original receipts, so make sure to make a copy before you send in your originals. There will be a new price adjustment rebate slip future sales, but the current rebate slip is above {October 2015}. This is what you’ll want to ask for at the rebate center desk.
Happy home improvements!
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