So several months ago, I ran into this thing called eBates.
Oh, I’d heard of it off and on for a long time, but until a friend finally talked me into trying it, I was content to do all my online rewards shopping through Swagbucks (which is still one of my favorite websites ever!).
eBates works by having users shop through their affiliate links, then they split the affiliate commission of your purchase with you in the form of a “big fat check”.
And that check is the thing I love most about eBates! Whereas most rewards, like Swagbucks, sites pay you in points that can be cashed in for gift cards, with eBates, you get actual cash. Woop!
That makes it easy to use eBates to start a little savings account for Christmas or even vacation with your cash-back rewards.
Probably the biggest hurdle for me was remembering to actually use eBates when I made online purchases. It’s such a habit to just go straight to Target.com to make my order – but a rewards site doesn’t do much good if you don’t use it. 😛
Speaking of Target, I have to mention something really cool that I’ve been doing. So, you know how you use Swagbucks’ search tool or use Swagbucks tv to earn points and cash them in for gift cards?
Well, I’ve been cashing my Swagbucks in for Target gift cards and then using eBates to order through Target.com.
So not only am I getting stuff for free thanks to Swagbucks, I’m actually getting paid real money thanks to Ebates.
Mind. Blown.
So here’s a rundown of how it works:
Go to EBates.com
Type the store you want to shop into the search bar, then hit “shop now”.
The button will redirect you to the online store you chose, and you conclude you shopping like normal.
After you’ve made your order, your cashback reward will show up in your account. That’s it!
Okay, so let’s be honest; while some of the stores that work with Ebates offer up to 8% cash back, the stores I shop at typically offer 1-3%. And that’s not a lot.
Even so, if I buy as much online this year as I did last year, I should earn enough to pay for Christmas presents this year. Woop!
To be perfectly honest, though, referring friends is where you earn the most.
I started telling people about eBates when I first used it because I was so blown away that I was earning money off of things I was getting for free in the first place.
Then I was even more blown away when I found my “big fat checks” stacking up because my friends were signing up through my link in droves.
Within two weeks, I’d referred 6 friends for a total of $150. Whoah!
So is eBates worth it? I don’t stress about it if I forget to shop through eBates link, but I do try my best to remember because, yes, it’s totally worth it!
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Missy says
You can use the ebates addon on your bookmarks bar for your browser, and it will automatically tell you when you can earn ebates from a website.
Monica says
If you use Chrome as your browser, there is a button you can get that will notify you if you go directly to a site that is an Ebates affiliate! go to https://www.ebates.com/button.htm to get it, then if you go to target.com without going through Ebates first, you will get a notification at the top of screen asking if you want to activate Ebates for that site. Particularly good if you visit a site you didn’t even know was an Ebates affiliate! I went looking on Lowes.com recently to purchase new doorknobs for my whole house and WOOHOO! the button told me I could get cash back!!
Lisa says
I’ve been using Ebates for years and love it! I do most of my Christmas shopping thru Ebates. They have never given or sold my information and I have never experienced any problems with them. I LOVE IT!