There are many programs that offer you cash back or refunds for purchases. Recently I did a post on Paribus and how it worked. You can read about that here. This time I am writing about Ebates site. This is very similar to the above, mentioned program, yet a little different. This program is one in which you shop online and get cash back from them. I will go over how it all works and what you can expect in this Ebates review.
What is Ebates
They are an affiliate marketing company that is owned by Rakuten and gives you cash back for making purchases through their links. I know I talk a lot about affiliate marketing and how it works throughout this site. That being said, this is a company doing this and has reach agreements with its vendors they use.
In a normal situation, you cannot give cash back offers as an affiliate marketer. It is generally against the terms and service agreement between an affiliate marketer and the vendor. Before you try to emulate this program on your own, make sure you are following the TOS of your vendor. If not, you could lose your standing as an affiliate and you may forfeit any money you earned. You have been warned!
Back to the item at hand. Affiliate marketing is where a person, or company, sells products of another company and in-turn earns a commission. This commission can vary from 1% to 75% depending on the product and the affiliate agreement. The price of the product is not inflated to cover the costs, it is the same if you buy direct or through the affiliate link.
Ebates uses this commission and splits it with the person who makes the purchase. To explain more in detail; if you make a $100 purchase from a site to buy product “x” without Ebates you pay $100 and get your product. If you buy that same product from the same store, but use Ebates link, then you pay $100. Let’s pretend Ebates get a 10% commission, just to make the math really easy. Then you would receive $5 back from Ebates and they keep $5 for their work.
The price is still the same to you as the buyer, but you get the cash back just for using their link.
How Does Ebates Work
First, of course, you need to sign up for the program. It is free to join. In fact, if you join through my link you will get $10 for free when you make your first purchase. By joining through me, I receive a small compensation as well. In other words, I do make a commission, but this is not charged to you nor does it affect the cash back you receive.
Once you sign up I would suggest adding the chrome extension to make it easier to build up your balance to receive your cash back. Don’t leave the page you click through from the shop now until the purchase is complete, otherwise, you may not get the points.
The points add up and are converted into cash after 60 days. This is to confirm that there were no returns, and everything was received as planned.
Once the points are converted into cash, Ebates will pay you directly to your PayPal account once per quarter if you have at least $5 credit in the account. Payments are issued on the 15th of February, May, August, and November. If you do not have $5 credit in the account, it just rolls over until you have accumulated that amount.
Is Ebates a Scam
The quick and easy answer is, “NO, Ebates is not a scam”. It is an affiliate program that shares their commission with you. As I stated earlier this is normally not allowed, but they have negotiated this deal with their vendors.
It will not be going away anytime soon. It is backed by the Rakuten company, which is a large online retailer.
My Final Opinion on Ebates
The thing I don’t like about it is that you must be making purchases and need to wait for 60 days before you can get your cash back. That being said, it is a way to get free cash back that you otherwise would not have gotten. They do have caps on some amounts that they can give you, but most are around $50 per purchase.
While it is not a way to earn a living online, it is a way you can make money that you would have normally lost. I think it is a great way to get a nice little sum of money for purchases you would have already made anyway. It is also free, and you get $10 back for joining with this link. Join Now!
If you want to learn to make real money online, then check out my top recommendation here. Please post any questions or if you are a member of Ebates please tell us about your experiences with them. Thank you.