I know a lot of people hate shopping online, whether it be because they have a hard time ordering the right size or having to pay shipping and handling costs; but after much experience, I've officially dubbed myself an online shopping expert.
My first big trick of the trade? Get paid to shop online!
Let me introduce you all to Ebates.
It's a website that gives you cash back when you purchase things off websites (when directed to off the Ebates site.) Aside from the cash back, it also gives a list of coupons, promo codes, and exclusive offers on their products.
Many different stores offer cash back through Ebates, such as:
Nordstrom, Sephora, Target, Patagonia, Macy's, J. Crew, Nike, Bloomingdales, Victoria's Secret, Express, Piperlime, etc. -Those are just some of my favorites, but you can see the LONG list of other sites
here.
I usually just browse online, per usual, and before I put anything into my shopping cart, I'll head over to Ebates to see if they are on the list of websites that offer cash back. If it isn't, oh well, but if it is... All you have to do is click the link and it directs you over to the site through your Ebates account. The cash back percentage will then be credited to your account after your purchase.
I recently ordered a pair of Jack Rogers off of Nordstrom and used Ebates. Here's how it works:
1. After making an account, log into Ebates. Search the store, and click on the big orange "Shop Now" button. -It'll then redirect you to the online store.
2. Shop, check out, and purchase, just as you normally would. *For Nordstrom, there was 5% cash back. My purchase was for $104.95.
3. After your order has been confirmed by the store, you'll get an e-mail from Ebates saying your account has been credited. *An amount of $5.25 was credited to my "Cash Pending."
4. Every 3 months you'll get the cash back for all of the purchases you've made since the last time a check was sent. *I currently have a total of $10.89 in my Cash Pending which will be sent to me in a check on August 15th.
-You can even change the way you get your cash back to either: a "Big Fat Check", PayPal, or to a charity of your choice.
It's really that simple... and NOT a scam. For those of you skeptical of how this is even possible it is because the stores pay a percentage of their sales to Ebates for marketing and therefore creating traffic to their site, Ebates then shares a portion of that amount back to their users. I only briefly talked about the program in this post, but if you're still confused you can look at their
FAQ.
Whenever I forget to check if I could get a cash back and order something without using Ebates, I always kick myself for it. I think of it like: I was going to make this purchase regardless of getting cash back or not... and now I'll eventually get a few bucks back later on that can buy me lunch one day.
Online shopping can have its perks!
For signing up and making my first purchase, Ebates sent me a $10 gift card to Target for FREE (they also offer gift cards to Barnes & Noble, The Home Depot, Magazines.come, and Ebates).
If you guys are interested, here is my referral link. I think it's definitely something to check out, you have nothing to lose.
Will any of you try to use Ebates for your next online purchase? -I hope so!!
xo, cheri
