With the recent crazy appliance deals at Kohl’s, several people have written to ask about using Ebates. If you’ve never used Ebates, it’s easy – and indeed, it does pay you back for shopping!
Here’s a quick overview of how to use Ebates. 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 through Ebates.
Once you’re signed up, any normal shopping you do online, at any of Ebates’ 1500 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.
Pretty much every major department store online participates in Ebates – Kohls, JC Penney, Macy’s, Target and more – even shopping site you might not think of too, like Ebay! I’ve gotten into the habit of logging into Ebates before I look to buy anything online, because so many stores participate in Ebates.
So, come along with me and I’ll show you how it works! This morning, I wanted to buy something from Radio Shack. Instead of battling crowds, I decided to do that online. First, I logged in to Ebates:
Then, I went to the “Shop All Stores” link at the top left side of the page. I clicked on “R” to bring up 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!
Outlander says
Just do the search on top, you don’t have to go through all the stores. And make sure to fill out all the info in your account, because they need your address to mail you a check. It took me forever to figure out why I wasn’t getting checks when I first signed up! Well they needed my address, duh! :)
tberry64 says
I found Ebates last year and thought it sounded like it was too good to be true but, it definitely is the real thing. At the end of the holiday season in January I received my check in the mail. It really is an added bonus to our savings!!! Give it a try!!! :-)
jmdetz says
I did the Kohl’s appliance deal without ebates, but since you explained it with ebates, cypber20 and the $15 Kohl’s cash I ordered 5 cami’s, 2 bra’s and a washcloth that will end up costing me $36 – wayyy cool!!!!
DealJunkie says
Sometimes I’m so caught up with the fuel rewards, Kohl’s cash, gift cards, promo codes, discounts, etc. that I forget the Ebates. This is especially important this year as I hope to do most of my shopping online.
The more savings the better!
NFriday says
Hi- I noticed that Amazon gives you up to 6% back, but how much do they give back on books? I noticed that it said that some transactions at Amazon are not eligible for the cash back too. Does anybody have any idea what departments do not qualify for cash back from Amazon? Thanks, Nancy
Ruby Red says
Okay…I finally signed up and shopped online at Kohl’s, but I am curious as to how they are able to pay us. Do the stores pay them for us shopping there? Are they kind of like a headhunter? Are there ads that they get money from?
naisula says
I KNEW I saw a $10 gift card offer for new sign-ups, but I haven’t received any notification about it whatsoever, and I never got an option to choose which store I wanted it from when I signed up. Did I miss something? I’ve already made several purchases through Ebates and they are showing me credit for that, but did nothing on the gift card. I signed up on Thursday. Perhaps I should contact them directly about that, but I hope they won’t say “tough luck, you did it wrong”…
smiles2u says
Ebates sounds great since I’m doing a lot more shopping online this year but I have a few questions before I join the party.
How safe is Ebates?
If they track your web selections and how much you spend in order to get their vendor payment, wouldn’t they also have access to your payment information? This raises a concern regarding potentional identity theft.
Maybe I’m missing something; thus, I welcome clarification.
Happy Shopping!