Imagine a world where any time you went shopping to the largest and most popular stores in the nation you received a discount. This discount might be as little as 4% off or as high as 20% off on every single purchase with no coupons or expiration dates to worry about.

In this progressive world where you’re treated like royalty, you will have done nothing to earn this privilege. It’s just there. You’re an honored and respected shopper who gets discounts on everything, no questions asked. The only caveat is that you have to shop online to get your discount (which is great because I hate leaving the house if I don’t have to).

Now imagine that a small percentage of everything you spent accumulated slowly into a separate bank account, and every time it reached $25 or so, it moved into your normal checking account. This is basically what Ebates.com is like, except you can do all of your shopping from the comfort of your own home.

About Ebates.com

As mentioned above, depending on which store you choose to shop from, you’ll enjoy discounts of varying sizes. But a discount is a discount and a cause for celebration. Ebates.com has reached out and made connections with over 1,700 stores, including the ones you were going to shop at anyways. Think of the big online stores and think of all of the stores you encounter when walking through the mall. You can expect to find all of them and more in the list of Ebates eligible shops.

Ebates is very straightforward. You sign up using an email address or social login and a password and start shopping. That’s it. They don’t spam me, they haven’t sold my information as far as I can tell, and they’ve given me no problems when it came time for a payout. My check simply came in the mail. You can even use Paypal if you want and get paid immediately.

Here how it goes. You sign up, you go shopping, and you get a free gift card as a welcoming present as well. You keep shopping and every three months the payout date comes around and you get a payout. You can login and look at the cash back earnings you’ve made on every purchase and see which items were excluded or not (some stores exclude certain brands, like all coupons).

That’s it. It’s literally that simple with no complications. You shop like you normally would and get rewarded for it. There’s zero reason not to use Ebates.com. You know they are legit, too. They’ve paid members over 250 million dollars since they started!

Top Features of Ebates

There is a lot to be said about Ebates, but the main thing is security and comfort. The company was started in 1998 by two deputy district attorneys specializing in online fraud and identity theft. So you know not only do they know the law inside and out, they respect it and make sure all of their customers are safe.

Knowing you’re going to average around 5% off per purchase allows you to spend a bit more. That’s what I like. I think to myself that shipping and taxes are essentially paid for. That’s how I rationalize and justify treating myself to extra stuff. Then every three months I get a small nest egg that I can turn around and blow on more stuff.

The thing about Ebates is that they truly give you access to the best stores around. A lot of sites like this sound great until you realize you have to shop at or buy brands that you’ve never heard of. With Ebates.com, I’ve shopped at Amazon, Best Buy, Macy’s, Old Navy, Target, JCPenny, and much more. The list goes on and on.

Beyond just the standard discounts, Ebates also collects coupons, gift cards, shipping codes, and more that you can apply to your purchases as well. It’s incredible. Some stores aren’t able to offer the flat discount but occasionally will list coupons and temporary discounts. Ebates will let you browse those as well. You’ll never shop without a discount again. There’s no telling how many thousands I’ve saved by now.

Ebates Prices

Here’s the deal. Shopping through Ebates.com costs you nothing. It is completely free. The reason being is that Ebates the company will receive a commission on every customer they send to the stores. Then they share a portion of that back with you as well.

I know it’s hard to comprehend because it seems too good to be true. Let me state it very clearly. Not only are you allowed to shop with a discount at all of these stores, but you’re being paid to shop there. There’s no hidden fees, no sign-up costs, no membership fees. It’s 100% free.

In terms of the prices you’ll find at the stores, it’s all of the typical costs you’d encounter online or at the mall, but with your discount percentage. The discounts might be 2% up to 10% in general. I’d say they average around 5% across all of the stores. But you can look at the store list and see the discounts listed as well. Some are up to 25%, and some offer a specific cash discount. Others will offer coupon codes versus a flat percentage off. Either way, you’re saving money on stuff you’re going to buy anyway.

Criticism of Ebates.com

If you search around online for negative reviews of Ebates, you’ll find them. You’ll also find that the complaints are ridiculous. I’ll tell you about them just in the effort of full disclosure. For instance, some people are complaining that not every single item on their purchase gave them cash back. They received the discount on them all but didn’t get a percentage of the cost back. If they’d bothered reading they’d find that some brands don’t provide cash back. Yet they are screaming about scams. It’s really an issue of not paying attention.

Some people have reported issues with logging into their accounts, but I suspect this is your typical problems with internet browsers or intermittent issues. It’s not that serious of a problem.

Otherwise, for every one negative review you’ll find that makes no real sense, you’ll find tons more singing the positive praises of Ebates, which has been my experience as well. You get your discounts, you earn cash back, and they pay it out when they say they will.

Customer Support

The worst thing on the planet is to contact a company that doesn’t have it’s customer care together. Ebates.com has among the best account support available. There is a very large knowledgebase that is categorized into helpful sections that feature questions you may have.

You can look through there to see if you can find the answer without having to pick up the phone or wait on an email response. There are trouble shooting questions and even questions just related to curious customers who want to know a little more about the company.

Of course, you can always send in a support ticket, an email, or pick up the phone and give them a call. I’ve never seen a live chat option on the site, but I’ve never needed to contact them. That’s a testament to how good the service is!

Conclusion

Ebates can be summed up very quickly. They allow you to get paid to shop with a discount. It’s fantastic because you aren’t limited to stores you wouldn’t like. They’ve linked up with all of the big stores that we all prefer as well as other smaller stores.

From electronics, airplane tickets, home goods, food, and more, anything you’d normally purchase can be had at a sizeable discount.