A reader asked on the KOAB Facebook wall the other night about cash-back sites like Ebates. I realized that I talk about them all the time, but I have never explained how they work – and why they are so wonderful.
So if you are new to Ebates, let me give you the quick run-down on how this helps to save you money.
Ebates partners with thousands of online merchants. When you click through to the merchant via the cash-back site, you earn back a percentage of your sale in a rebate after your purchase.
The amount of cash back can range from as little as 1% to as much as 60%. You just make your purchase like you normally would, and then – almost like magic – you get a check in the mail. It’s like getting paid for doing the shopping you’d be doing anyway.
While there are many cash-back sites out there, Ebates is really the standard bearer of cash-back programs. It has been around the longest – and, in my experience, is the most reliable. It has the lowest pay-out threshhold and pays out on time, every single time.
Ebates offers new members a $5 sign-up bonus – or, at the moment, you can even choose instead to receive a $10 gift card to Target, Home Depot, Barnes & Noble, or Magazines.com.
In order to get your $5 (or selected gift card), though, you must make a qualifying purchase of at least $25 within the first 90 days.
Ebates pays out quarterly, as long as you have met the minimum threshold of $5.01. (Although, even if you haven’t, Ebates has been known to send you your check anyway – they are that kind of company!)
Additionally, Ebates offers members a $5 referral bonus. If someone that you refer to their program becomes a qualified member (making a minimum $25 purchase), you earn a $5 bonus credited to your account. These bonuses are great because everybody wins!
You get an extra $5 – and so do your friends and family when they sign up and make their first qualifying purchase.
If you ever shop online, you can’t afford NOT to be using a Ebates.
Are you new to Ebates? Or do you use it already and love it as much as I do?
Thanks!
I think you made a mistake when it comes to Ebates – Ebates pays out quaterly if you have met the 5.01 threshhold.
Woops, thank you Aviva. I just corrected that.
I got my first check in July. That $9.44 was so exciting!