The internet is filled with lots of giveaway prizes, cash rewards, and money-making schemes. “Make money online” is one of the hottest keywords on the internet and for good reasons.
People have unwittingly fallen prey into the hands of scam artists masquerading themselves as money making proponents. The best way to prevent this from happening to you is to carry out due diligence before undertaking any investment or money making programs on the internet.
A good place to begin that search for genuine money making programs is this post, and I’m here to review a very unique money-making program. You could call it a money saving program and you would still be 100% correct.
The program in question is called Ebates and it offers tremendous opportunities for online shoppers to save money on purchases, earn cash back rewards, and earn different bonuses for your activities on the platform.
What we’ll cover in this post:
- What is Ebates?
- The Main Features of Ebates
- Benefits to be derived from Ebates
- Money Making Opportunities on Ebates
- Pros and Cons of Ebates
- Conclusion
What is Ebates?
Ebates is an affiliate system designed to help shoppers earn and save money through its cash back, extra check backs, and bonuses. Ebates’ mother company was originally established in 1998 by Alessandro Isolani and Paul Wasserman to promote sales of its retail partners through the use of cash back rewards and referral system.
It has since been acquired by Rakuten though it still retains the name Ebates in Canada. There are about 10 million users on its platform with more than 2,500 retailers including notable brands like Amazon and Macy’s. The company has given out more than $1 billion worth of cash back since inception.
Ebates helps online shoppers earn more by savings from shopping done through its platform, and a referral reward system for inviting family and friends to sign up.
The reward system has continued to grow in popularity, primarily because of its rich features and many benefits to its users. Some popular features are outlined here.
The Main Features of Ebates
- On Ebates, members have the opportunity to earn income through cash backs by simply clicking on the network links of the company’s affiliate partners.
- The company owns the Ebates app with versions for desktop and mobile apps (both iOS and Android), and allows members to shop from the comfort of their homes, making purchases from Ebates affiliate stores and earning commissions and cash backs.
- The Ebates mobile app provides members with daily updates on products and sales across stores to get them and the friendliest deals on offer.
- Membership on Ebates is free and open to all.
- A newly signed up member receives a welcome bonus of $10 only if a total purchase of $25 is made on any of Ebates’ retailers within a 90-day period from the day of registration.
- Ebates makes money by acting as an intermediary between its retail network and shoppers. For every product purchased by shoppers through the Ebates site, there is an affiliate commission earned3, and this is shared with the buyer based on some agreed percentage. The higher the number of sales originating from Ebates sites the more revenue the company earns for itself and for shoppers.
- There is a wide variety of stores for shoppers to choose from on the Ebates network of retailers.
- There are also check backs for services like hotel bookings and flight bookings on Ebates. The list of services available can be found on the Ebates official website.
- Signing up is quick and easy on Ebates. You create a free account via Gmail or Facebook account or you simply register with your email address and fill out the basic information requested for.
- Although creating an account on Ebates is completely free, there is a penalty fee of $2 monthly imposed by Ebates on accounts that have remained inactive for up to 12 months.
Benefits to be Derived from Ebates
Ebates is an affiliate marketing program that is beneficial to all stakeholders on the network – Ebates, its retail partners and members! Our focus is however on the benefits those members of Ebates derive from participating in the program.
1. Competitive Shopping
Members are the beneficiaries of the competitive shopping that has evolved from the Ebates business model.
As thousands of retailers compete for shoppers’ attention and money, retailers constantly offer deals intended to outdo their competition and get members of Ebates to purchase from them. This has a positive effect on the members since retailers put their best before them.
Also there is competition in offering quality products and services on the Ebates network. Competition among the retailers helps to bring out the best in the retailers. The members of Ebates become the beneficiaries of this competition through exposure to the best offers and products.
There are different restrictions and exceptions for the stores on Ebates having a range of benefits. Some retailers offer flat cash back rates for all their products while some others have different rates for different types or categories of products. Some retailers choose not to offer cash back on some particular products while offering for others.
All the offers are plain to the members who decide what deals are best for them.
2. Wide Range of Products and Retailers
Ebates has more than 2,500 participating retailers selling different products and services that cover a wide range of niches. Members of Ebates are free to purchase any of these products and services since there are no restrictions.
Members can access different offers and deals for the different products and services.
Some well-known partner stores of Ebates are Amazon, Macy’s, Nordstrom, Best Buy, OLD Navy, Target, JCPenny and many more.
3. Dashboard to Easily Manage Your Ebates Account
Signing up on Ebates is free, and after you must have created your account, access to your account may be through any desktop app, iOS or Android. As a member, you can easily make purchases for any products or from any store listed with Ebates.
The mobile app gives you important daily announcements of deals and products available for sale, and the stores that have these products. This helps to minimize the efforts you have to put in doing searches online for the deals. You get to select the best deals that appeal to you right from your dashboard.
Members can place their favorite stores on bookmarks so they can easily track the stores.
The dashboard also makes it possible for you to view detailed information contained in your account, and to view extra check and cash back history.
You have the ability to enable notification bars which help you respond swiftly to offers that are time-bound.
The application comes with a scanner to scan special offers and different stores.
This app is downloadable on app store or play store which is dependent on your device.
The Ebates desktop app allows for easy navigation through the site and receives updates and notifications of great offers.
For those who make use of the Ebates desktop app, it is recommended that you download and install the Ebates Google Chrome extension. The extension notifies you if any store you are visiting is affiliated with Ebates allowing you to activate cash back for any purchases made on it.
4. Security
Ebates goes the extra mile just to ensure that its system is safe and secure. Your data and credit card information are protected from unauthorized access, using the best practices in online security. All transactions are carried out using secure connection through Secure Socket Layer (SSL).
The company also ensures compliance with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard to ensure the safety of credit card transactions.
Ebates does not sell information about its users, not even information of buying behavior to third parties. Ebates’ major income source is through the sale of products of its many retailers.
5. Ebates Referral
Ebates business model makes it one of the largest affiliate marketers in the world, having thousands of retailers that are promoted by the company.
It also acts as a go-between other affiliate marketers and retailers. There is a referral earning for those who are able to sign up other members using their unique affiliate URL. The referral earning is $25 for a new sign up that makes a purchase of $25 on any store belonging to Ebates retailers.
6. Ebates Stores (Online)
Ebates has a working partnership with over 2,500 retailers, with most of the retailers selling online.
Shopping on these stores can be made through the Ebates software which makes it easy to track and earn cash back for purchases.
These stores have different offers and cashback rates for purchases made through Ebates.
Some of the better-known retailers with their cash back rates are listed below:
- Amazon 5% cash back
- Walmart 10% cash back
- Macy’s 10% cash back
- Walgreens 6% cash back
- Groupon 3% cash back
- Target 1% cash back
- Ticketmaster 5% cash back
- Lyft $0.50 cash back
- AliExpress 3% cash back
- Petco 4% cash back
Some of the rates indicated here are averages, while some retailers offer cash back based on product categories.
7. Ebates Visa Credit Card
Ebates encourages members to use their Visa Credit Card for shopping on its retailers’ stores. Using this gives extra check back bonuses that are not charged annually.
It is advisable to use the Ebates Visa Credit Card for shopping in stores that accept it for payments.
Orders that are made through the Ebates site or app attracts a 3% extra check back while orders made outside the site attract an extra check back of 1%.
There are some limitations and restrictions on Ebates cash back visa credit card depending on the store and products you are purchasing.
Pros and Cons of Ebates
A detailed Ebates review is incomplete without a consideration of the merits and demerits of the affiliate marketing company. This section highlights the most important of them.
Pros of Ebates
- Members of Ebates are rewarded with cash backs, referral bonus, extra check back and other bonuses for shopping on selected online retail stores through Ebates site and app.
- Ebates is easy to sign up and get started. The apps make the process of shopping with the links provided by Ebates very easy to use.
- Members of Ebates are duly notified on the platform about new offers and products that are important to them.
- As a member, you can manage your account from the Ebates app. You are able to view your account and check for different cash back and check back history.
- Creating an account on Ebates is completely free.
- Ebates has a lot of notable brands as part of their retailers. As a result of this, Ebates’ members enjoy quality products and great offers from these brands. Some retailers on Ebates are Amazon, Macy’s and Target.
Cons of Ebates
- Ebates puts a cap on the amount that can be earned as cash back at $50. Members cannot earn beyond that on a single purchase.
- The payment is done every 3 months which is a very long time to wait before getting your earnings.
- Not all stores on Ebates offer cash back for purchases. Some offers are much lower than the average, while some offer cash backs for only specific products or categories while some retailers offer no cash back for their products.
- An account that is inactive for 12 months attracts a penalty fee of $2 monthly
Conclusion
Having gone through the well-researched content about Ebates on this post, would you still consider the platform a scam?
The company has been in existence for over 20 years having become strongly established in 1998, and bought over by Rakuten. I don’t see a scam succeeding this long, or been bought over by a global brand if it were not a genuine and profitable business.
The company has given out over $1 billion worth of rewards to its users since inception, and has more than 2,500 retailers on its platform and more than 10 million users. This is proof that the Ebates business model is a good one, and likely to still remain profitable in the next 2 decades.
Sign up is free and easy plus you earn a $10 reward for signing up. You have nothing to lose and so much to gain by joining Ebates. You can visit the website to start claiming your rewards too.
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