I’ve earned over $1,500 through cash-back shopping sites in the past few years. You can too, with very little effort. This Ebates review & Mr. Rebates review will explain how.
If you don’t currently earn cash back by using rebate shopping, you’re spending too much on just about everything you buy. Read below how to get started!
If you do ship cash back, read below for how you can maximize your cash back.
How cash-back shopping works
If you’re not familiar with cash-back shopping online, I’ll explain a little bit about how it works to start:
Cash-back shopping allows you to receive a rebate of some amount of the purchase price (typically 1-8%) when you make a purchase online. In order for this to work, you must start shopping at the cash-back site, and not go directly to the merchant that you are shopping at. This allows the merchant to know that you are shopping in “cash-back” mode, so that they can credit you with your rebate after you checkout.
Keep in mind that this cash back is on top of any credit card rewards or coupons you may be applying to your order!
You might think 1-8% is not much money, but it can really add up Consider the purchase of a $998 dishwasher on lowes.com. You could earn 2% cash back with Mr. Rebates, which equates to $19.96.
Over time, these rebates will add up to a lot as you shop and (optionally) refer friends.
How-to cash back shop
- Sign up for cash back sites (see below)
- Start your shopping at the cash-back site
- Shop and checkout
- Watch your cash roll in!
How to choose the best cash back shopping site
When deciding on the best cash back site, there are a couple primary things to consider:
- Is the site reputable?
- Do they pay the best rate of cash back available?
Let’s take a look at the top two cashback sites, Ebates & Mr. Rebates.
Ebates Review
Is Ebates reputable?
Ebates, being the number one cashback site, is a reputable company. They are A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau, and widely known.
They’ve been around since 1998, in the early days of the World Wide Web.
Does Ebates pay the best rate of cash back available?
In short: No. Not always.
Ebates pays a decent amount of cash-back. But, if you don’t consider other options for cash back, you might be leaving money on the table.
Let’s consider a few examples, comparing Ebates with Mr. Rebates (another A+ reputable cash-back shopping site)
Ebates | Mr. Rebates | |
Wal-Mart | 1% | 2% |
Amazon | 3%* | 5%* |
Macy’s | 3% | 4% |
eBay | 2% | 1% |
*On select categories
As you can see in our Ebates review, Ebates trails Mr. Rebates in many of these examples.
Therefore, you should consider using Mr. Rebates when you shop along with or in addition to Ebates, unless you will obtain a higher rebate using Ebates. It’s important to check both sites before shopping, as sometimes they will offer promotional cash-back amounts, especially around major shopping events like black Friday.
Need to sign up for Mr. Rebates? Sign up right now through this link and get a free $5 in your account!
It’s also a good idea to sign up for Ebates and compare. Sign up for Ebates right now through this link and get a free $10 in your account!
Mr. Rebates Review
Is Mr. Rebates reputable?
Mr. Rebates has been in business for 15 years and has an A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau.
I’ve found them to be very reliable in tracking rebate earnings and issuing checks to me. They even remind you when you have a check waiting to redeem!
Does Mr. Rebates pay the best rate of cash back available?
As covered above, Mr. Rebates often does pay the best cash back rate of any reputable cash back site. Always compare between the two when you make a purchase to ensure you are receiving the highest level of cash back.
Other Considerations
In addition to the two primary considerations we covered, there are a few other things to consider:
- How easy is it to get paid?
- How much do I have to earn before I can get paid?
- What bonuses can I get for referring my friends?
How easy is it to get paid?
Ebates: After earning $5, you can cash out your rebate by Postal Mail or PayPal. You can request this every 3 months.
Mr. Rebates: After earning $10, you can cash out your rebate by Postal Mail or PayPal. You can request this every month.
What bonuses can I get for referring my friends?
Ebates: $5, and a $40 bonus when two friends sign up and make a purchase.
Mr. Rebates: 20% of all cash back the friend earns – forever.
Using multiple cash back sites at the same time
Can you use multiple cash back sites at the same time, stacking Ebates on top of Mr. Rebates, for instance?
No.
However, you can maximize your cash back by following the tips below.
Maximizing your Cash Back & Saving the Most While Shopping Online
How can you save the most when shopping online?
Scout out which site has the lowest price on what you want.
Once you know what you want, check the following sites to see who has the best deal:
Yes, there are other price comparison sites, but rarely will you find a better deal on anything outside of these sites, unless you are looking for a specific class of product. For instance, if you are looking for Home Improvement supplies, you might want to check Home Depot & Lowe’s in addition to the above sites.
If you’re shopping for appliances, check out our article: You Pay Too Much For Your Appliances
Don’t buy now, watch for a better price
Instead of buying something now, watch the item for a better price.
For Amazon items, use CamelCamelCamel to setup a price alert.
For eBay items, setup a watch on the item you want to buy.
For any type of item, setup an alert on Slickdeals.net to watch for specials that may be available for the item.
Start your shopping with a cashback shopping site, in a new browser
After you find the deal you are wanting to take advantage of, start a new Incognito or Private browsing session. Then, visit your cashback site (Mr. Rebates or Ebates) and use that to access your preferred shopping site.
If you do not do this, you may forefit your rebate, especially if you leverage coupon sites for your shopping.
Checkout with a cash back credit card
You can add to your cash-back savings by using a cash-back card in addition to the a cash-back shopping site.
You can save an additional 5% with the Amazon Prime Visa at Amazon.com
You can save an additional 2% with the Citi Doublecash Mastercard everywhere.
Use free shipping benefits
If you have an American Express Card, you have free 2-day shipping through Shoprunner on many sites.
You Too Can Save Big
By signing up for Mr. Rebates & Ebates, you’ll earn $15 without doing a thing. Then, you stand to earn hundreds, even thousands more over time as you use these sites to shop. We hope you enjoyed our Mr. Rebates & Ebates review!
If you have any questions how to get started, or comments as to how we can improve this guide, please leave us a comment below!
Shopping online via Ebates is a lot of fun and very convenient. It can be done from the privacy of your home. Whatever you buy will be delivered to your doorsteps. It takes only a few seconds of your time.
Very good insight into these rebate programs.