We are all interested in saving money right, especially cashback sites, well in this Ebates Review 2019 we are going to be unravelling a number of things to give you a better idea of who they are so that you can determine whether they are worth signing up for.
I don’t know about you but as I tend to do all my research online before I purchase anything, then don’t you think it all makes perfect sense to check out the best cashback websites that are available to you, especially as they are free to join?
You should be able to decide which cashback sites are the best without too much hassle.
More and more people are turning to the Internet because it is too damn easy to find what we are looking for.
With comparison sites shooting up all over the place, then cashback sites have to be your number one for all you’re shopping requirements. Just be careful when choosing the right one!
- Parent Company: Rakuten
- Product: Ebates
- Website: www.ebates.com
- Price: Free
- Founder: Alessandro “Sandro” Isolani and Paul Wasserman
- Founded: 1998, Website launched in 1999
- Based: San Francisco, CA
- Summary: One of the oldest and best Cashback sites out there.
- Recommended: YES
Internal Summary and links
- Some facts about Ebates
- What is Ebates about – Not just another Cashback site are they?
- How to Get Started with Ebates
- How to Make Cash with Ebates
- Easy Ways to Earn More by Doubling on Cashback
- Other ways to get Cashback with Ebates
- How You Get Paid
- Who is Ebates for?
- Ebates Pros and Cons
- What is Ebates About – Final thoughts!
- Comments
Some facts about Ebates
- Started by 2 former deputy district attorneys
- In September 2014 Ebates was bought by Rakuten for $1 billion
- February of 2017 they acquired ShopStyle and Cosmic Cart
- Paid out over 800 million dollars to its members so far.
- Microsoft includes an extension app for Microsoft Edge, their new browser.
Partner sites to expand your shopping experience.
- Canada
- Korea
- Japan
- BFAds – Get advanced warnings of Black Friday promotions
- Cartera – Major airlines to top banks and more…
- Shopular – Get latest promotions straight to your phone.
- ShopStyle – Fashions such as Gucci, St Laurent, Jimmy Choo, etc
- Shop at Ebates – Household, food, Electronics and more…
All accessed at the bottom of the Ebates website
What is Ebates About – Not just another Cashback site are they?
Ebates is simply a cashback website founded back in 1998 and steadily grown into one of the best and largest free member savings programs in the US.
In just 20 years they have amassed a following of more than 11 million and have already paid out over $800 million in Cash Back to their members.
A cashback site with a difference and straight off the bat I see positive things with this company.
Somethings that aren’t going to change and that is the Internet is not some sort of fad, here today and gone tomorrow!
It is expanding at such a rapid rate and the main reason why our high street shopping days are numbered. Retailers just can’t compete!
Businesses like Ebates offer you the consumer a way of shopping with peace of mind.
As you are already online and just part of around 3.8 billion potential shoppers then why not use cashback sites like Ebates where you can save some cash? Every little helps right?
That’s basically free cash in your pocket and the beauty about this is that it is 100% free to join and they give you back 100% of the cash and sometimes more, it all depends on the offer.
Ok, so you are not going to get wealthy using these Cash Back sites but that is not what they are for, are they?
You might want to check out the Ebates sitemap first before pursuing further!
Why not check Ebates out and if you go through this link here, then you will receive $10 as a sign-up bonus.
How to Get Started with Ebates
To join is simple, and is 100% free.
To create an account all you need to do is enter your email address and a password.
What I wouldn’t suggest doing is signing up using your Facebook or Google accounts. I would keep it separate, I mean you really don’t want family and friends to know your business, do you?
Once, you have created your account which takes seconds you will receive a welcome bonus of $10 and to qualify for that bonus all that is required of you is to spend at least $25 within the first year of joining.
“Not only do you receive $10 but whoever introduced you to Ebates (if indeed someone did) they will also get a bonus which comes under the Refer-A-Friend link”
Don’t forget to install the Ebates Cash Back Button to your Google Chrome!
How to Make Cash with Ebates
It is easy and straightforward.
To start a shopping trip, all that is required is for you to click on any Ebates merchants’ store before you make a purchase.
Once, you arrive at the merchants’ store, a pop-up confirmation will appear letting you know that you are ready to shop and earn Cash Back at their store.
Once, you have made a purchase like you would do at any store then that payment is tracked by the store.
When the Store or Merchant has informed Ebates of your purchase which can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days, then your account will be credited with the Cash Back amount.
That’s it.
Depending on how you set up your payment process with your account determines whether you receive a Check or through PayPal.
Maybe refer a friend
This is great and one of the best I have come across with a Cash Back or Rewards site.
“Just remember this current referral fee of $25 is on a promotional period and can change at any time!”
Just refer a friend and when they spend $25 you receive $25 as cash back and your friend receives $10.
No limitations either. As many friends and family as you wish!
Just think about it, invite 100 friends and once they have spent $25 you will receive a tidy sum of $2500.
Not bad for doing absolutely nothing.
I’m sure you can find at least 100 persons to invite.
Easy Ways to Earn More by Doubling on Cashback
Another great way to increase your Cash Back is by taking advantage of the Double Cash Back Stores”
Granted there isn’t a massive amount of stores to choose from but some major ones that should be very useful such as, Oakley, Banana Republic, Amazon, and RayBan to name a few.
Some discounts are as high as 42%.
Other ways to get Cash Back with Ebates
Just install this useful app for free to your iPhone, Android or IPad where you can use in-store coupons, as well as scan products and compare prices and get real-time deals.
Don’t forget to install the Cash Back button when you become a member.
This is a Chrome Extension and once installed you will get informed when and where there are discounts by finding them for you.
Cool eh?
The Ebates Cashback Visa Credit Card.
Why not apply for an Ebates Cash Back Credit Card and increase the amount of Cash Back by an additional 3%?
As well as reaping the cash rewards online you can also take it to another level and get Cash Back whilst you are out and about on the retail high street.
Just check out the offers online, see which stores are in your area, add your card details and that’s it.
Ensure that you have Email setup correctly.
You will be notified by email and can always activate an Ebates shopping trip by following links, and if the link sends you shopping, then a window will open which lets you know that Cash Back has been activated.
Through Ebates.com.
Through the website home page, members activate an Ebates shopping trip by clicking on any Ebates link, which can be found in buttons, coupons, store links, banners and more.
When you click, a new window will open and this window will let you know that a shopping trip has been activated and will send you along to the store’s site to start shopping.
How you get paid
Unfortunately, there are restrictions on when and how you get paid.
Ebates will pay their members every quarter.
Either by Check or PayPal
Ebates Pros and Cons
You can have the best product or service in the world and something you won’t be short of and that is complaints.
Whilst there will be an abundance of negative aspects there will also be a fair share of positive ones too.
What I have tried to do is highlight what I think are the main issues so that you can decide for yourself whether Ebates is worthy of your membership.
The Pros
Free to join
We all like something for FREE, well that’s exactly what you get with Ebates. Also means that you will not be hit by any administration costs either.
Cash Back Rewards
We are all using the internet to shop nowadays and there is no better reason to use a site like Ebates. It doesn’t cost you anything except a little of your time to log-in and find what you are looking for.
If, you do a lot of shopping on the internet then why not save yourself some cash?
Partners
With Ebates they have expanded your shopping experience by partnering up with companies such as…
- BFAds – Black Friday Ads.
- Cartera – Earn Air-miles, points or cash back at 900+ stores
- Shopular – A mobile shopping experience.
- ShopStyle – Take you’re shopping in fashion.
- Shop at Ebates – Another shopping experience.
A bunch of additional ways to shop!
Customer service
If you check out Better Business Bureau (BBB) website you can see that any complaints have been dealt with in a professional fashion.
These are mainly about payments!
There are always going to be issues with not receiving payments on time and this goes with every cashback site.
All issues take time to resolve especially with the number of members they have, you just have to be patient and Ebates seem to get on top of any issues that they have.
Great reviews
Just check out the Trust Pilot review stats and currently out of a total of 664 there are only 19 that are average or worse.
Check out the Trustpilot reviews for yourself here
Professional Looking Website
Just by checking out the website tells me that they are not a tin-pot outfit.
Everything is so clearly laid out which explains in detail everything you need to know. Nothing is hidden!
All the merchants’ are easily identified by the cash back percentages that you get and is also displayed on the merchants’ website just in case you happened to forget.
Refer a Friend
One of the best I have seen for a cashback site.
Support
A very good way of judging any business is to look at support and what you tend to find is this is what usually lets the side down.
Checking out the issues that members have reported on the various review sites including Better Business Bureau I see that support seem to be on top of things, which is a good thing.
The Cons
Despite some glowing positives, there are some obvious negatives ones too.
Missed Payments
As the company currently only pays out every quarter then you would think that they would have their payment strategy sorted, but unfortunately, there are some issues, but that is to be expected, I mean no company operates a flawless business do they?
No excuses I know but the odd glitch here and there is to be expected, especially with the number of members they currently have.
For a payment process to work perfectly there are so many parameters to take into consideration.
Even computer programs screw up sometimes, but very rarely!
You will find that missed payments are the main cause for complaints and this will be evident on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website, but you will also see the support team trying to rectify those issues.
Amazon Category Restrictions
Although Amazon is the biggest online 
retail outlet it surprises me that there are only certain categories that Cashback is allowed on.
I have noticed that this list has grown slightly over the last few months and therefore I would assume that it will continue to grow.
This list to the right is when this article was published.
You can check out the category list here to so see if Amazon has been so kind as to extend their list.
Disgruntled members
With good reviews also come bad so I thought I’d include these here just to show you that nothing is just black and white.
Who is Ebates for?
If you are a big shopper online then Ebates could the perfect addition.
If you are the total opposite and you only shop now and then, Ebates would be a complete waste of time!
Don’t take these Cashback sites for granted and expect that because you are getting cash back that you are also going to get the best deal.
Still, do your research and check out other avenues as well.
Some people just like to spend no matter what it is and having a site like Ebates displayed in front of you might encourage you to spend unnecessarily. Use wisely!
A big no would be not to use these sites as a way of trying to earn some extra cash. Remember you have to spend first!
What is Ebates About – Final thoughts!
OK, so you now have the rundown on Ebates and whether this could be a cash saving opportunity.
I am always a little sceptical when it comes to any online opportunities because most are just not worth you getting involved with, but with this Cash Back site, I think it is one of the best.
I don’t like putting my name to anything without thorough research and based on my findings I try to give an unbiased opinion as well.
I know there will be some who disagree but that is life and we all have our own opinions so we’ll leave it at that.
I’m sure you have seen many reviews with “Scam this” and “Scam that” which quite honestly I don’t agree with.
To label a product or service as a “SCAM” has to be absolutely terrible where something is costing you and you are getting absolutely no value at all.
Ebates is a legit cashback site that costs you nothing and as you are already shopping online then why not sort out a few of these cashback sites to cover most of your shopping days.
Swagbucks is another Cashback site where you accumulate points and have to redeem those points for cash, although you might find this site a little more entertaining. You can check it out here!
Ebates operates its business in the Affiliate Marketing arena, which is, if not the best business model there is when it comes to building an online business.
If you want to know more about affiliate marketing and where you can learn all this you can check out a review I wrote here. The beauty of this training platform is that it wouldn’t cost you a dime to check it out and you wouldn’t be asked for any Credit Card details either. What have you got to lose?
Comments
If you are a member of Ebates or any other Cashback site for that matter I’d be interested in your personal experiences both good and bad.
Tell me what you thought of the review.
If you have any questions at all don’t forget to drop them in the comments below.
All the best
Mick
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Hi Mick,
Your website about Ebates is really well put together, it is comprehensive and gives all the information on how people can make money working from home by joining Ebates.There is a good section on the pros and cons of joining Ebates which is important so that people know exactly what they are getting into before they commit to the work.
Hey Fintan, thanks for taking time out and reading the review on Ebates. I think if you shop a lot online then you can benefit with a little cash back here and there, but just don’t spend for the sake of spending. When I shop for anything I like to research thoroughly which takes long enough so using cashback sites would just quadruple the amount of time for me.
These sites are not make money opportunities, and I always try to explain this, but if you are looking for an opportunity then I would recommend what probably is by far the best online training platform and has been for well over a decade now. The beauty about this, like Ebates, it is Free to join, with no credit card ever asked for.
Hi Mick,
Believe your post is the most in-depth review of eBates I have found, such an amazing read!
I am not familiar with Ebates because here in the UK we have Top Cashback, which is very popular.
I know Top Cashback can pay users 100% of their affiliate revenue because the company generates revenue through advertising. Do you know if Ebates use the same method?
Another question is: Can one really get the best price on the market combined with cashback?
Thanks
best
Stefan
Hey Stefan, thanks for stopping by my friend. To my knowledge, most if not all these CashBack rewards sites generate income through advertising, well I haven’t come across one that doesn’t as of yet.
I don’t agree with many of these cashback/rewards sites because they cram them with all sorts of unnecessary activities which is just “BS” and only attempting to keep you on the site for long periods of time. What a waste of a life, right?
When I shop and it always starts online with research, I don’t have the time and energy to include my research with these cashback sites, but I have used them in the past.
Thanks for the great comments, much appreciated
Hi. Never before I heard of Ebates. Sounds like a good thing to be involved in. You did a great job with this review and I will bookmark this post so I can reread it to decide will I get in. Thanks for sharing, All the best!
Hi Ivan, thanks for taking time out my friend and thanks for the great comment. It’s much appreciated.