You usually have to actually pay for the phone up front and then mail-in a rebate form. So it really is the price of the phone that you pay up front - mail-in rebate = the free phone.
What is rebate and how does it work?
What is a rebate? Rebates are a retrospective payment which ultimately reduces the overall cost of a product/service at a later date. This makes rebates different to discounts, as you pay the bill for the full amount then, at some point later in time, part of the amount may get returned to you.10 jul 2020
What's the point of a rebate?
Rebates offer retailers the benefit of giving customers a temporary discount on an item, to stimulate sales, while allowing it to maintain its current price point. This method avoids the negative backlash that could be perceived with a price being lowered and then raised later.