Over its many years of writing about the supplier-side of the industry, THE EAGLE regularly encountered the fact of "end-user" rebates - direct payments or credits from manufacturers to printers. Usually, the subject was shrouded in secrecy or silence. When talked about at all, the tone was ominous and negative. No manufacturer seemed proud of its own rebate program. All claimed to have been pushed into the program by irresponsible and greedy competitors that were unfairly seducing customers with big checks and credits.

Dealers looked askance at the money passed over their heads from manufacturers directly to their customers and wondered what it would mean to their margins and account control, the keys to their future viability. Yet, even with their misgivings about loss of control, it was initially easy for dealers to overlook the impact of end-user rebates. After all, few dealers wanted to rock the boat when so much of their own end-of-year profit (see below) was tied to manufacturer generosity in terms of rebates to dealers for growth, prompt payment, marketing expenses, trade shows, training sessions and the like.

Smaller manufacturers of capital equipment fretted about rebate-based equipment sales because it was rumored that 90% of all large ticket items to printers were somehow supported through end-user rebate schemes, to which they had only limited access.