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Ebates: Online Cash-Back Program

Published on 08/23/11 at 18:53:16 EST by Darkbee

When was the last time you had a free lunch? Trick question! Of course we all know there's no such thing as a free lunch, you don't get something for nothing, do you? Generally speaking, I always approach any such offer with a healthy dose of cynicism, the old adage if it appears too good to be true then it probably is, are sound words to live by. However, perhaps every once in a while something comes along that seems too good to be true, but does turn out to be true. That's how I feel about Ebates.

Their tagline is "where is pays to shop online", and the basic premise is that if you shop at many branded online etailers' stores, via Ebates, you can earn cash-back on a percentage of the value of your purchases. The percentage available to earn varies from etailer to etailer but typically ranges from about 3% to 8%. What's the catch? Good question. Actually, before I answer that I should probably inform you that Ebates operates out of the United States, and gives cash-back rewards paid in US Dollars. So, if you're not in the US then you probably won't find Ebates all that useful (you might want to stop reading here). Curiously, I looked through the terms and conditions briefly but I couldn't see anything about users required to be residents of the United States to use Ebates. I suppose if you have the means to cash US dollar denominated checks (or you have a Paypal account) and for what ever reason have no issues with paying import taxes there doesn't appear to be anything stopping you from being an Ebates member, that I know of. Naturally, many stores will not ship outside of the US (although they may ship to Canada as an exception). It also occurred to me that some goods may be digital so perhaps that might work out. Anyway, I suppose that is up to you the reader to decide. Let us continue!

Back to the catch... Well, I can't seem to find one. Ebate's terms and conditions state that they don't sell your personal information to third parties and there aren't any membership fees involved. Apparently, they make their money by being affiliates of all the stores that they advertise as being eligible to earn cash-back on. They then pass some of the commission they make from referring you (and you buying something), back to you the user. I say there's no catch, but I'm guessing that you must be prepared to make some sacrifices in privacy which many people seem to find objectionable these days. To explain what I mean I need to go a little deeper into the Ebates process.

The way it works is that when you're ready to purchase something online, instead of going direct to your favorite etailer, you log into Ebates and then click on the store you wish to make the purchase from, from within the Ebates website. At this point, I assume a cookie is placed on your computer, presumably allowing Ebates and affiliated sites to communicate that you're an Ebates member and to track potential purchases. Now, this is where the privacy issues come in. Typically my default settings are pretty much block everything. Ebates doesn't like that. They want me to allow third party cookies and all that jazz. I don't want to do that. I'm wondering if either Ebates themselves tracks stuff, or also work with other Internet advertising agencies and such to track your browsing movements. They can then make money selling information about your shopping habits (which for the purposes of their terms and condition they might not consider "personal information"). I honestly don't know if this is what happens or not, and ultimately even if it does, then you have to ask yourself do you care? For some privacy-sensitive people the answer is an unequivocal yes, in which case then Ebates is probably not for them. However, for the majority of most Internet users they probably couldn't care less and so it would seem like it's not a show-stopper for Ebates. I personally use a different browser from my regular one, when I'm ready to make an online purchase through Ebates and that is pretty much all I use that secondary browser for (for the curious, I'm currently using Firefox 6 as my primary browser and Internet Explorer 8 as my secondary browser).

You might also be thinking to yourself, what if the store I want to make a purchase from isn't listed on Ebate's site? Well here's psuedo-catch number 2. I guess that's part of the point of their site, they don't want you to use Uncle Joe's Trusty Local Computer Store Online Incorporated. They want you to use TigerDirect.com or NewEgg.com. However, don't be too sad, Ebates has scores of popular stores listed, and many recognized nationwide brands including TigerDirect and NewEgg as mentioned, plus Apple Store, Best Buy, Cafe Press, Gap, JC Penny, L.L. Bean, Sears and Walmart to name but a few. I can't find an exact figure and it probably changes all the time, as some stores are added and some are removed, but if I had to make an educated guess I'd say there were at least 500 stores. Naturally there are always stores that are missing, that you will definitely miss, like Amazon.com for example, but I have other rewards programs with Amazon so it doesn't matter where I shop, I win either way. Basically I research the product I'm looking for, find the best price and go with that retailer.

So once you've done all your shopping how do you get your cashback? Well this is one of the nice things about Ebates compared with other online paid programs, you actually get paid in cash and not some MyPointlessPoints™ reward points of which you need 10,000 to cash in for a single dollar. Basically, Ebates pays out users every quarter, but you must have earned at least $5 to be eligible for a payout. Don't worry if you haven't, you don't lose any it simply rolls over into the next quarter and you keep going until such time as you've amassed enough to reach the payout threshold. Certain promotions can help you reach that threshold faster, Ebates often features stores giving additional cash-back, plus the "daily double", which is a store at random where the cash-back is double that of normal. Furthermore, they are constantly offering coupons and promotions that can gain you things such as free shipping when spending x amount, along with the percentage cash-back for a given store.

Since I seem to be adage-happy in this article let's get to the bottom line: Is this for real? Well the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and I have eaten the Ebates pudding and it's good. There are lots of sites and schemes online to make money, some are scams and some are sound, and Ebates is definitely the latter. I've personally received checks from Ebates (as illustrated below), cashed them and enjoyed the rewards of doing what I was already doing, shopping online. They have a wide selection of stores available, that cover anything from flowers to flame-throwers (okay, maybe not flame-throwers) but you're sure to find stores selling the things that you want. The process isn't really much more involved than what you would already do, and if you're not overly concerned with people potentially watching your shopping habits then I really can't see any reason to not take advantage of a great rewards program. Happy shopping!

Before I sign off here's a scan of a check I received to prove this the real deal:

And I have one final favor to ask. If you think that Ebates is something for you and would like to join then I ask that you please do so by following my referral link below. I've posted the link as is, to show there's no shenanigans going on, simply click it and then complete the prompts for email address and password as directed. You consideration is appreciated. As expected you too can earn extra cash by referring your friends and family, once you've signed up. My referral link is as follows:

http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=6/FU0Nh7+51+4BFHs/EQHg==

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If I Were a Rich Man

Written on 09/07/11 at 19:32:09 EST by Darkbee

I just looked and apparently I've earned over $50 on the lifetime of my account with Ebates. As I like to say, better than a poke in the eye! It looks like that scan of the Ebates check I received was actually my first, but certainly not my last! :)

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Credit and debit card information

Written on 02/18/15 at 08:26:23 EST by Anonymous

What I am concern about, is that they are getting our credit or debit card information and I don't know if they might use them for a wrong thing against us in the future, when they have a bunch of numbers in their hands.

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re: Credit and debit card information

Written on 02/23/15 at 07:39:54 EST by Darkbee

I can understand your concern, but transactions are always completed through the website from which you are purchasing. There's no processing done via Ebates (so they should never see that type of information). Aside from which, if Ebates were a giant credit-card-number farming scam, I'd like to think they'd have been shut down long ago (otherwise our law enforcement agencies really need to get off of their rear ends!). According to Ebate's website, they were founded in 1998. That's a long time to be setting up a credit card scam. I've personally been a member for several years and never had any issues.

You're certainly right though to approach any website with a healthy dose of cynicism.

Thanks for stopping by to comment!

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