The Canon Direct Store is running a new promotion: $50 off a purchase of $500 (or, $25 off a purchase of $250), valid on anything, refurbished or new.

Best of all it can be stacked with the currently running instant or mail-in rebates. Lenses that are already on rebate are a good deal, for example:

• New 600EX-RT for $449 (add filler to hit $500)
• New EF 35mm f/2 IS USM for $499
• New EF-S 10-22mm for $549
• New EF 70-200mm f/4L USM for $579 after MIR
• New EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro for $849 after MIR
• Refurbished EOS 6D for $1469.20

Unfortunately the Canon Direct Store does charge sales tax to almost all states.

Good news: Canon is following through on their rebate promises, and in record time. Quite a few readers have reported they have already received their rebates. These mail-in rebate claims were submitted in early October, after the first big Best Buy sale. Three weeks is a great turn-around-time when Canon’s site says to allow 60 days for the claim. Thanks to readers Wade and Steve for this info!

If you purchased one of the recent deals don’t forget to pre-submit your rebate before mailing it in. The promotion id is 819101650.

B&H, Amazon, Adorama, and other authorized dealers are still featuring the rebates. They continue on through to the end of the holidays. Hopefully these one-day double-dip deals continue, where retailers discount by the amount of the instant rebate. If you want to get notified whenever a retailer double-dips, please sign-up for a notification using the ‘Notify’ button at the top of the main page.