Rumor: Sprint to sell the Palm Pre without a mail-in-rebate

According to the latest chatter surrounding the Palm Pre, it looks like potential customers may be able to make a purchase at a Sprint location and not have to deal with a mail-in-rebate. Initially we saw Sprint selling the Pre for $299 with a $100 mail-in-rebate bringing the price down to $199, however then others such as Radio Shack and Best Buy announced they would be offering the Pre for a flat $199 — no mail-in-rebate required. What made the mail-in-rebate offer even worse with Sprint is that it had to be purchased before July 11 in order to get the rebate.

Personally, I am still not sure if I am going to be grabbing a Pre on launch day, especially now that I know it will be with other carriers in just a few months. But that said, if I decide to make a purchase, I can tell you that it will be at a store that I will only be paying $199, and I would venture a guess that I am far from alone in that thought.

While this is still just a rumor, there is some further speculation based on wording on the Palm.com website. Initially, the description read “after mail in rebate and service agreement” and now it reads “after rebate and service agreement.” Again nothing concrete here, but either way it sounds like Sprint would be doing a smart thing if they ditched the mail-in part of the rebate.

Read [PalmGoon]