All About Ebates

Today I have a continuation of my “series” about websites you can use to get free stuff or cash for reviews. Previously I wrote about Influenster, BzzAgent, and Pinecone Research. This one is different – it’s the first non-review site I’ve written about, and instead it focuses on cash back for your purchases. Today we’re talking about Ebates!

(Edit from the future: you can click here to see all my similar posts about saving money and getting free stuff!)

Ebates is a site I actually learned about from my mom, and she’s been using it for ages so I know it’s legit! They offer cash back on almost any online purchase you make through their website. I know it seems too good to be true, but I promise it’s super simple to get started earning cash back 🙂

Ebates puts it best themselves on the welcome page of their site:

I’ll add in a bit more detail – here’s a rundown of how you can get cash back with no extra work (or costs) required on your part:

Sign up for Ebates (it’s free)
Use their website to search for whatever online store your heart desires
Click through their link to the site and do your shopping
Earn a percentage of cash back from your purchase
Request a check or paypal deposit and get your money!!

The amount of cash back depends on the website you’re shopping through – most offer between 1-8% normally, though Ebates frequently offers double cash back days. They claim you can get up to 40% cash back on certain purchases – I think the most I’ve ever earned is 15% so I haven’t seen it quite there but maybe I’m just missing out haha

Here’s some screenshots to walk you through the process. Literally all you have to do is look for your store in question – today we’ll be shopping at Sephora, which is currently offering 4% cash back on purchases. Just type in the name and select it:

The store page looks like this:

It’s got some info about the store, as well as other coupon codes and promos that may be available, but the button we’re looking for is that one on the left:

You just click that little “Shop Now” button to activate the shopping trip and it redirects you to the site:

And just like it says, that’s all you have to do! Just go shopping for whatever you want and when you check out you’ll automatically get 4% of your total added to your Ebates account. Just make sure if you open any new tabs or anything that you go back in and reactivate the shopping trip before checking out. What I usually like to do is start out on the regular website, do my shopping, put everything in my cart – and THEN open the site through Ebates at the end to actually check out and finish the purchase. That way I don’t have to worry about closing the original tab or accidentally closing out of the Ebates shopping trip and losing out on my cash!!!

Ebates also has a browser button you can add on depending on what internet browser you use. If you install the button, a little popup like the one above will automatically appear whenever you open a site that offers cash back. This is a great way to ensure you never forget to activate your cash back. Unfortunately it sometimes has issues with certain pop-up blockers I use – I usually end up double checking my orders just to make sure the cash back properly goes through. Another cool thing: the button also automatically offers you coupons that may be available for your site!! It’s like…aggressively trying to save you money. It’s awesome.

Another way to use Ebates is through their mobile app. They have apps for android, iphone and ipad. I actually really like the app for when I’m shopping on my phone. It’s a hassle to log into each site and shop that way on mobile, and the app makes it super easy.

Finally, Ebates also has a few features that I’ve never even tried – they also offer in-store cash back AND they even have a credit card you can apply for! I’m not really interested in the credit card right now but the in-store cash back looks promising, and I intend to check that out soon.

I’ve only been using Ebates for less than a year and I love it!! There’s no reason not to use it… if I’m shopping anyway I might as well get some money from it. Since they’re partnered with over 2000 stores, almost everywhere I shop offers cash back. Recently I’ve made money back from Aerie, Ulta, Vistaprint (for our save the dates) and even Zenni for my glasses! Honestly the only con I can think of is that it can take a long time to earn a lot of money back…but it’s still free money so I’m not complaining ^_^

They also have an awesome referral program so if you’d like to give me some points AND get a bonus for signing up, you can click on my link here!

I hope you enjoyed this post in my semi-series about free money and stuff! I try to use Ebates every time I go online shopping now and it’s a great way to get some cash back on stuff I’m buying anyway. If you know someone who likes free money be sure to share this post with them too 🙂

Until next time <3 Kaela