Let’s learn more about the most popular cashback website with this Ebates review. Ebates is a cashback site with over 2000 affiliate relationships. When a customer shops at one of these affiliate stores through the Ebates website or app, the store will pay a commission to Ebates for the referral which is then split with you, the shopper.
Ebates is far from the only cashback site like it available, but it is one of the oldest and most trustworthy. It doesn’t offer as many features or frills as some competition, but the features it does offer are straightforward and attractive, like a sign on bonus and payouts that correlate to money spent.
If you don’t want to get payments through PayPal or check, if it bothers you to wait for a couple of weeks for your payouts, or if you want an app that offers more ways to save and make money than just shopping, another cashback site might meet your needs better.
If, however, you are looking for a straightforward cashback site with an easy-to-use app and website browser and dependable payouts, Ebates might be the best choice for you.
What is a cashback site?
Cashback sites work by paying customers to shop. They maintain relationships with affiliate businesses to use the cashback site to increase sales. When a customer buys something from the cashback website, the affiliate business pays the cashback site a predetermined percent or flat fee. The cashback site then rewards the customer who bought from the affiliate business by providing them with a percentage of the affiliate fee.
Payments are generally not made as soon as the purchase is made. Rather, the time that it takes for you to get your money after making your purchase depends on the cashback site. Some cash back sites pay every month or six weeks while others only pay out every few months. This is done to eliminate the risk that the purchaser will return the item.
There are a variety of ways in which a participating shopper can be paid. Bank transfers, PayPal, bank checks, or gift vouchers are all possibilities. Sometimes you need to meet a certain amount of purchases in order to receive your reward. Whatever cash back you decide to use, it is essential that you understand the rules and conditions before participating.
What Is Ebates?
Ebates is an American company with its headquarters in San Francisco. Ebates was one of the first cashback sites to be developed, founded in 1998 by Alessandro Isolani and Paul Wasserman. The former Deputy District Attorneys received funding and the business was rapidly successful. In 2011 the company acquired competitors: Any Coupons.com and FatWallet.
Click here to join Ebates and receive a $10 bonus.
How does Ebates work?
Ebates works by receiving payment from affiliate sites then passing half of each payment on to their participating customers. To put it simply, if you buy something from the Ebates website you will receive a percentage of cash back for that purchase. Let’s learn how Ebates makes money. Ebates makes money by keeping half of the money that they are paid by the participating store. Since they provide nothing but a platform for shopping, this is plenty of income for them to thrive.
Is Ebates a scam?
While at first Ebates may seem unintuitive, it is not a scam. When you buy something online, there is a good chance that somebody besides the producer of that product is making money. You can think about it like this: If you click on a link from a review website or Blog to Amazon or another merchant site, the owner of that website will be paid by Amazon’s affiliate program or another program. Ebates simply shares this commission with you as an incentive to encourage you to shop through their store. Ebates has been in existence for a long time and has a good reputation for paying what they owe to customers.
Ratings and reputation using BBB, Trustpilot, etc.
Ebates has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, with a customer review rating of 4 and 1/2 stars out of 5 from an average of 326 customer reviews. This is an excellent review, especially when you consider that the only reason for contact between customer service and Ebates staff is some kind of problem. On Trustpilot, 87% of 825 reviewers consider Ebates to be an excellent company, while 5% thought the company was great and only 5% thought the company was bad. Some users do report Ebates eliminating their account or not paying out, but these complaints appear to be quite rare.
Is Ebates free to join?
It is free to join Ebates and you will never be charged to shop there or belong to the programs. You can earn cash back while you shop as soon as you sign up. Ebates goes even further than not charging you to join. They provide a $10 welcome bonus to all new members, so they actually pay you to join the program. Furthermore, Ebates provides a refer-a-friend program which allows you to make money from introducing friends to Ebates, providing they follow the link you provide or enter your email address when applying.
Click here to Join Ebates today!
Benefits of Ebates
If you are trying to decide between Ebates and another cashback site, there are some good reasons for choosing Ebates. Ebates offers the My Wallet program, which is a virtual credit card holder that lets you store your credit card information automatically to make shopping easy. If you shop online very frequently, this feature could really save you some time.
Unlike some other cashback sites which pay you a flat rate no matter how much you spend per purchase, Ebates rewards you a percentage depending on how much you spend, so the more you spend the more you earn. If you make fewer big-ticket purchases as opposed to lots of little items, this will matter to you.
In-store cashback allows you to get paid even on your real life shopping trips, which is revolutionary in the concept of cashback sites. Previously, cashback sites were only useful for people who did almost all of their shopping online, but with this capacity, even people who prefer brick-and-mortar sites can benefit from Ebates.
How much can you make on ebates?
The earnings that you can expect to make on Ebates depends entirely on how much you spend. If you make many online purchases for your private or business life, the percentage of kickback can add up quickly. Devoted shoppers can make hundreds of dollars or even more per month on Ebates. Keep in mind that this is money that has already been spent on a purchase that you are getting back, not newly earned money, but if you would have been making these purchases anyways, this money can represent real savings.
What stores are on Ebates?
There are over 2,000 stores on Ebates, so there is a very good chance that you will find what you are looking for at one of their Merchants. This is especially true since so many Ebates stores are general stores that sell a variety of other goods, such as JCPenney, Target, and Walmart. Other attractive options are Dell, Sephora, Apple, Adidas, QVC, Quill, Wayfair, Walgreens, Footlocker, TJ Maxx, Macy’s, eBay, Gap, at&t, CVS, crocs, Michaels, Nike, Costco, and more. The percentage of cash back varies by store, so shop carefully to find the best deals. Ebates has been growing steadily, so we can expect that they will be able to offer even more stores in the future.
Start making money with Ebates!
Refer a friend bonus
The refer-a-friend bonus is an awesome feature of Ebates which allows you to make even more money just for telling your friends and family how great the program is. You will be paid when you refer somebody. All they have to do is click on the link that you send in your e-mail or enter your e-mail when they apply.
Comparing Ebates to other cashback sites
Ebates absorbed several other cashback sites as they have grown, but there are still plenty of competition available. There is BeFrugal, SwagBucks, Topcashback, and more. With that said, Ebates is the top cashback website. Why should you choose Ebates as your cashback site? Whether you compare Ebates and Ibotta or Ebates and Honey for the top cashback option Ebates comes out on top.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Join here today and receive a $10 bonus.
- Well-known and respected company
- Percentage cash back dependent on how much you spent
- Easy to shop with
- Over 2000 affiliated merchants
- Sign on bonus
- Bonus for referrals
- In-Store Cash Back
- Ebates Hotels
- Ebates Cash Back Visa Credit Card
Cons
- Not as many ways to get paid as competing cashback sites
- Won’t work with disabled cookies
Customer support
Ebates has great ratings on the Better Business Bureau and throughout the reviews, it seems clear that they do a good job of following up on customer inquiries and providing support. You won’t be likely to interact with anyone at Ebates unless you have a problem so good reports are a sign that Ebates responds well to problems.
Mobile app
Ebates has made a mobile app that is intuitive to use as your primary mode of shopping. The app will automatically connect you to the merchant when you click a link through it, so shopping and getting paid back through the mobile app is as easy as a normal shopping experience. The app had some time to work through potential problems and is generally pretty glitch free.
Bottom line – Is eBates worth it?
If you are looking for a trustworthy, no frills cashback site that pays you to join, pays for referrals, and pays on a percentage of the purchase price, Ebates might be a good choice for you. For the average shopper who is already accustomed to clipping coupons and looking for deals, the effort required to use Ebates will not be bothersome. If you do a lot of your shopping in brick and mortars, want more merchants to choose from, or would prefer an app that allows you to perform tasks in order to get more money, you may want to look at a competing cashback site, but Ebates is great at what they do.