At today’s Super-Couponing 2 workshop in Naperville, I discussed Ebates as a way to get cash back while shopping online. If you’re not familiar with how to use Ebates, here’s a quick overview.
First, if you don’t have an Ebates account, create one online. It’s free! This is a great time to sign up too, because you’ll also get a FREE $10 gift card to the store of your choice once you make your first purchase of $25 or more online through Ebates.
Once you’re signed up, any normal shopping you do online at any of Ebates’ participating online retailers, will earn you cash back! But here’s what you need to remember – you MUST log into Ebates FIRST, then select your online store. If you don’t do this, Ebates can’t track your purchase and award your cash-back bonus.
Many online retailers participate in Ebates – Kohls, JC Penney, Macy’s, Target and more.
Next, I’ll walk you through how to use it, step by step:
Recently I wanted to buy something from Radio Shack. First, I logged in to Ebates:
Then, I went to the “Shop All Stores” link at the top left side of the page. I searched the stores that begin with “R”:
There’s Radio Shack – and today I’ll get 5% cash back for shopping there. When I click Radio Shack, Ebates pops up a message that it’s tracking the purchase I’ll make, and then it sends me to Radio Shack’s website.
From here, I can shop as I normally would. But any purchases I make will earn me 5%. And you know I’m going to want to get 5% cash-back bonus on this!
The cash-back bonus is usually posted to your Ebates account anywhere from 2 to 30 days after you shop. If you forget to shop through Ebates, you cannot get the cash-back bonus, so remember to log in first before you shop online. If you switch stores, you will also need to go back to Ebates, then search for the next site (if I decide to shop at Jelly Belly next, I’ll go back to Ebates, sort by the “J’s”, and choose that store) so it can credit my cash back bonus again.
That’s it! Ebates cash-back bonuses are issued quarterly via a check mailed to your home, or you can choose to receive the cash via Paypal. With all of the online shopping we’re likely to do this season, this is a great way to save yourself even more money. It’s fun when those bonus Ebates checks show up in the mail too! Happy Shopping!
