Can I Make Money With Ebates.com Or Is It A Scam? A 2017 Review

I’ve heard about Ebates.com before but didn’t really know what it is all about until now because I want to find out whether Ebates.com is a scam or not before joining, so here’s what I found out for an Ebates review and an in-depth look.

To many, getting rebates is a great way to get a little money back for what you bought.

This used to be done offline.  You buy something, and there’s a rebate coupon at the back of the box that you can send in for a little cash back.

Now, they’ve been taking this old concept online and making it so easy for you to get a little cash back for all the shopping you do online.

Let’s check out Ebates with the following sections:

• What is Ebates.com?
• How does it work?
• Tips on getting maximum cash back
• Things to watch out for
• Can I make money with Ebates?

 

 

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WHAT IS EBATES.COM?

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Ebates.com is a website where they will pay you a percentage of your total purchase or a fixed flat rate at the stores they are affiliated with, if you start your shopping by clicking on the store links on their website.

They have been doing this since year 2000 and are well known as a legitimate site on the internet.

Ebates is using affiliate marketing to the next level.  Affiliate marketing is when you refer people to a company’s store and if they buy something, the company will pay you a commission for the referral.

Essentially, Ebates is an affiliate for over 2,000 stores as of this post and if you buy something after clicking their links on their site, the stores that you buy from will pay Ebates a commission, and then Ebates in turn will pay you a portion of what it earns.

This is a very good situation for everyone, the company gets a sale, Ebates makes money, and you, the customer, got a little cash back for your purchase.

If you’re like me and shop online anyway, this may seem like a wise place to start making some money.  However, read on to find out more.

 

 

HOW DOES IT WORK?

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I just gave your a high level look at how Ebates.com works in the above section.  Now let’s take a closer look at how this all works.

 

TO GET SHOPPING:

First, you get yourself a FREE account here.

Then once you sign up, you should go to your Account Settings, which is in the menu under your name at the top right corner of your Ebates page.

Make sure you fill out your name, mailing address, and select whether you want to be paid by check or PayPal.

Once this is all done, you’re ready go go shopping.  You can search the store you want to shop at the top middle search bar on their site, or you can shop by category under the “All Stores” menu.

Once you find a store you like, click on it, and you’ll be at the store’s page which has all the information about the cash back you’ll get and any special offers.

Before you start shopping, look at Cash Back Terms!!  You could visit the store Best Buy on there, and from the first look, you can earn 1% Cash Back:

 

However, when you look at little closer, you can’t earn 1% cash back on laptops, desktops, tablets, and more (see below image).  This is why it is very important to always look at the Cash Back Terms section before you start shopping.

 

When you are satisfied with a store that has the right cash back amount and terms for you, just press on any of the “Shop Now” buttons on that page.

Clicking on the “Shop Now” button will take you to the company’s site, where you will make your purchase.

 

HOW MUCH CASH BACK CAN I GET?

It all depends on the individual stores and you can sort the stores by how much cash back you can get when you’re at the “All Stores” view.

You can earn cash back that’s a flat rate or you can earn a percentage of your purchase.

As of this post:

• A flat rate ranges from $0 – $187.50
• A cash back % ranges from 0% – 40%

 

WHEN DO I GET MY CASH BACK?

Most cash back credits are posted to your account within 48 hours of your purchase but some stores can’t confirm your purchase until the return period has elapsed which can be up to 30 days!  Yikes!

Ebates only payout 4 times a year, every quarter on these dates:

This payout schedule allows them time to collect from the companies that pay them, and then in turn you wait longer because you’re the last one on this payment train.

 

 

TIPS ON GETTING MAXIMUM CASH BACK

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Here are a few tips that you can use to maximize your cash back:

• Use PayPal versus check through the mail – many mail pieces get lost in the system daily.  Eliminate this stress of waiting for your check and get yourself a PayPal account and your cash back downloaded there.  You can always transfer to your bank account once you get it there, all for free.

• Ebates offers lots of coupons.  Before you shop, make sure you search for coupons for the store you want to shop at.  All the deals are usually posted on the store’s page inside Ebates.com.

 

 

• Use the Ebates browser extension on your internet browser.  This is an easy way to shop so you don’t have to even sign into Ebates.com to earn cash back.  Once you’re on a site that has Ebates available, you will see a notification which makes it super easy to shop and get cash back.

• Make sure you enable your cookies on your desktop, laptop, or whatever device you’re using to surf the net.  Cookies are needed to track your purchases, so if you don’t do it, then you’ll lose out on your cash back credits.

• If you usually block pop-up ads on your browser, you may want to add ebates.com to your whitelist and allow pop-ups from Ebates, so you can get the notifications you need when you shop.

• Whenever you shop, make sure you make your purchase within 24 hours of clicking from Ebates.  It’s just to make sure you get your purchase tracked properly.

• Read the Cash Back Terms on every store you shop before you start so you know what you’re getting yourself into or to see if it’s worth the purchase if you can find the product on a different site for cheaper.

• They also have a in-store cash back option where you can link your credit or debit card and add certain eligible shops to your card.  This way, while you’re out and about, you can still earn cash back on in-store purchases.

• Ebates also offer a credit card that offers more cash back on all purchases made on the credit card.  Of course, this option is for those who can responsibly use a credit card, and one who has good credit history.

• Finally, you can also refer a friend to make some extra cash on the side.  You get $5 per referral plus a bonus amount which differs as you increase the referrals.  You start at a $20 bonus for the first three you refer and after that, you get different amounts, see chart below:

 

 

THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR

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I’ve seen many things on the internet that you need to watch out for and, if you are aware of these things, you’ll get a better experience on Ebates.

This info will also help you determine if Ebates is even worth your time:

• Tracking issues have been known.  Your purchases don’t always show up even if you think you’ve done everything right.  Sometimes it doesn’t track properly and if this happens you need to click on Help on top right menu, then click on “Where’s my cash back?”.

• You need to read Cash Back Terms carefully as not every purchase or everything you buy will be eligible for cash back.

• You will see on their site that there are stores with “No Discount” which means the store no longer allows Ebates to pay out their affiliate earnings to you and me.  One big company that stopped recently was Apple.com.

• Missed payouts!  Yes, even with such an infrequent payout schedule, they somehow can mess this up and not pay you.  If this happens, you will have to contact customer service to sort this all out but that also means you’ll have to wait till the next payout date to get that payment to you.

• Cancelled cash back is a thing.  For one reason or another, if a store doesn’t pay Ebates, you don’t get paid either and they can cancel your cash back.

• “Up to” language can be tricky or ignored.  Don’t think you see 30% and be all wide eyes!  Look to see if it’s “Up to 30%” and see what terms it has.  Never assume anything and read it in black and white.

• Customer Service used to be good, but recently, they have taken longer times to respond and resolve issues which makes things frustrating for little dollars you’re getting back.

• I’ve heard others complain of increased junk mail after signing up with Ebates, which could be a problem if they are not protecting your email address and opting you in email lists you don’t want to be on.

 

 

CAN I MAKE MONEY WITH EBATES?

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Yes, but only “extra change” in your pocket.  Is Ebates.com a scam?  No, it’s a legitimate site for sure.

However, earning cash back from Ebates is definitely not something you can depend on or anything you can make a living off of if you want to make money online.

The dangers of this is that you have to spend money to make a little bit of money, so you’re never going to profit!  It’s a forever losing game.

If you shop a lot anyway online, sure go for it.  But don’t buy something just so you can earn cash back, because you will get yourself into a big hole.

 

BETTER ALTERNATIVE FOR MAKING MONEY ONLINE

If you really want to make money online instead, then you should also use this affiliate marketing concept and have your own website like mine and Ebates.

You can become a blogger and use affiliate marketing to make money from your blog.  This is done all the time by bloggers to earn a passive income.

This will turn into an online business that you own which has the potential of earning you a full time income plus much more if you are committed to it.

Don’t know how to build an affiliate marketing website?

No problem, invest in yourself and get training at one of the best places I know!  You can also test drive the online training platform for free for the first 7 days and after that, if you don’t want to upgrade, you can still remain a free member and use your two free sites!

Visit my full Wealthy Affiliate review by clicking this button below and see what this awesome platform can do for you:

 

If you have any questions or thoughts about Ebates.com or Wealthy Affiliate, please leave me a comment below and I’ll reply within 48 hours!!

 

 

Let’s make money online!