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The "rebates" became popular (and the notion itself seemed to be entirely new to most of us) in the 1970s during the Nixon Administration. The Nixon Administration tried to stabilize the economy, esp in the face of a gas shortage, by imposing a price freeze on the retail prices (and I suppose the wholesale prices also) on virtually everything. The result was that manufacturers of almost everything, seeing their prices on existing products frozen, came up with "new and improved" versions which were entitled to entirely new prices .... which, although new, would be frozen until the merchandise was replaced by another improved version.
Not knowing how long a price would be frozen by the govt, and not knowing how much inflation or expenses (for example, for foreign or scarce materials whose prices would not be frozen) would rise in that period, the manufacturers and vendors hit on a perfect end-run. The price tags would be gazumped up considerably, to represent a price that the manufacturers could live with for years to come, but the consumers would still be lured in with "competitive" prices in the form of temporary "rebates", essentially discount coupons with limited duration. Assuming business was going well, the rebate offer might be repeated to cushion the price tag; if necessary, the next rebate offer would be a smaller discount or would not be offered at all. The Nixon price freeze fixed the prices on the price tags -- but couldn't touch the temporary rebates which effectively reduced the price considerably. In this way, most manufacturers found a way to foil the Nixon price freezes.
The practice continues to this day, either because the notion became popular with the consumers or because the market fears a new price freeze imposed by the current or future administration, or both.
I don't believe this practice is covered by the UCC.
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