cash back

An "incentive" offered by companies where they charge you more money and then give it to you at the time of purchase. Also known as "customer cash," cash back is frequently a ploy used by car dealerships and more recently cable TV providers. It plays on greedy consumers' tendency toward impulse buying. To the dealer it sounds like "here's some of the money you're going to pay us" but to the average consumer it sounds like "I can go buy a new car AND a flatscreen TV!"