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Monday, January 17, 2011

ebates - What's the 411


I was skeptical at first about this program. I later learned that it is free.


WHAT IS IT?

Many people are unaware that internet retailers pay a kickback to sites that send shoppers to their site.
For example, if you click through yahoo shopping or a coupon site to get to an internet store, that site will get some kickback, usually 2-5% of whatever you purchase. Ebates gives you a way to get some of that money back.


HOW DOES IT WORK?

1. Sign up for the program by entering in all of your personal information.

2. Next, you can shop through the site. Site navigation is easy, as it is well organized. Generally it is easy to find out if a store you are interested in participates in ebates. There is a good chance you will find what you are looking for because hundreds of stores participate in ebates.

3. You may save money on ebates in two ways.
     a) One way is to earn a rebate on your internet purchases. Rebates from most participating stores are in the 2-6% range. Some stores pay back even more. For example, some magazine sites may rebate as much as 25%.
          1. To internet shop at the store, you need first to go to the ebates site.
          2. Find the store name on ebates. Next, click on the store name. You will get a new window allowing you to shop at that store. If you make a purchase, your purchase will generate a rebate on ebates. The rebate is not immediate. It can take a few days to much longer to appear in your account, depending on the store. Ebates will send you an email when your account is credited. You can also check the ebates site to see how much you have earned.
Important things to remember ...
you have to click through the ebates site. If you leave the store site and come back later, they might not know you started through ebates. So, if you close the store window and come back at a later time, remember to open the ebates site first and click back through to the store again.

b) Another way ebates saves you money is to offer coupons. Some stores don't have rebates but simply give you money off at the time of purchase. If a store listing on ebates has a little coupon tag next to the store name, click on the coupon to see what it offers. Some stores offer both coupons and rebates so you can maximize your savings.

OTHER WAYS TO SAVE MONEY

STACK COUPONS
Several internet stores offer coupons to customers on their email lists or repeat customers or other subsets of customers or potential customers. These coupons often take the form of a "code" that can be entered on one of the checkout screens as you purchase items on a site.

To see if a store offers a discount code, go to a search engine (such as yahoo or google) and type the store name plus the word "coupon" or you could try "coupon code." There are many sites out there that offer codes you might not find on ebates. If you find several codes, write them all down because many do not work.

After you find some potential codes, go back to the ebates site. You still have to remember to click through the ebates site to do the actual shopping. If you click through another site, you will not earn any potential rebate.

THE HITCH

There are a couple of hitches you should know about when using the ebates site.
It is important to note that you have to accumulate $5 in your account before you are eligible for a check.
If you are getting only 2% of a rebate on your purchases, you would have to spend $250 to get anything back at all. If you never earn over $5, you don't get anything.
You can only get a check quarterly so there can be a long wait between when you earn the rebate and the check actually arrives.

You may also choose to have your rebates applied to your PayPal Account instead of having a live check cut.

REFERRAL PROGRAM

www.ebates.com/ offers a referral program. If you refer a friend to sign up to use ebates and they actually use it, you can get a $5 referral fee.  If you use Ebates - I would appreciate it if you put down my email as the person who referred you - my email is onexellus1@yahoo.com

MY THOUGHTS

I like ebates and have used the site several times to save money. There is little effort and saving a few dollars. Eventually they can add up. I would recommend this site to anyone that spends over $200 per year internet shopping.

2 comments:

  1. I recently saw someone post on this and how much they had on their account and it actually works. Went on it and tried signing up only to realize I already sign up a long time ago & could have been earning cash back from Ebay & other store purchases. I am super pissed I neglected it.. Lol

    ReplyDelete
  2. @ kimmydadiva...I understand. I kept having to remind myself that I needed to go through ebates. I placed a metrostyle & an hsn order that I could've gotten credit for! UGH!

    ReplyDelete

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To date, I am NOT compensated for my use/review of products. I buy 99% of the products that I use. If I ever receive anything as a gift, I will state it in that specific post. I am NOT affilated with any fashion, cosmetics or hair company. I offer my sincere, unbiased opinion on how the products work for me. No warranties, expressed or implied are intended. Please use discretion in selecting products and suggestions at your own risk. I am not a professional. Unfavorable reviews are not malcious, nor are they intended to harm any company. Reviews are my own opinon. Information posted on this blog is for educational purposes.