Coupon codes and free shipping are great, but what if you could get cash back for all your online purchases?
There's no catch! It's simple: Online stores advertise by placing ads on various websites that target their demographic. The hope is that you (the consumer) won't just click on the ad and visit the store's site, but that you'll make a purchase while you're there. If you do make a purchase, the store will kick back a percentage of the sale to the website that displayed the ad. These are called affiliate links.
If someone else is receiving cash back for your purchases, why shouldn't you? That's the idea behind affiliate sharing sites like Ebates and FatWallet.
Here's how it works:
Sign up for a free account with Ebates and/or FatWallet. Each site has their own list of merchants, and the percentage of the sale you'll receive. They don't always partner with the same merchants, and when they do, the percentage of cash they offer back varies.
Say you want to purchase a pair of $240 jeans from Bloomingdales.com. First you should check the list of stores on Ebates:
Here we see that they'll offer 3% of the purchase back to you. (Remember--this does not include sales tax and shipping.) That's $7.20 cash back on your purchase! But before we start shopping, lets check FatWallet:
Normally offering 2% cash back, FatWallet is offering double cash back until October 5th! That means 4% cash back, or $9.60!
ding ding ding! We have a winner!!
How to shop:
Click on the Bloomingdale's link. This brings you to a landing page that tells you all about special sales and coupon codes for Bloomingdales.com. Because affiliate sharing sites have relationships with the stores, they only post coupon codes sent to them by the merchant. This means they don't usually have the best selection of coupon codes.
Click "shop now" and a new page opens and directs you to Bloomindales.com. Do not close this window! The special link that took you to Bloomingdales is now tracking your sale. Find your item and checkout like you normally do. Easy!
How to cash in:
As soon as Bloomingdale's reports your sale to FatWallet, you'll receive an email letting you know that $9.60 cash has been credited to your FatWallet account. Most stores report the sale in a couple of weeks. Some stores don't report the sale until the return period is over (usually 30-60 days if you're buying something from a site like TigerDirect.com). Ebates sales are usually reported in a matter of days, but you may have to wait for a store's return period to lapse.
FatWallet - As soon as your cash back is available, you can have the funds transferred to your paypal account. You also have the option of receiving a standard check by mail for your cash. If you choose this option, you must wait until you have at least $10 in your FatWallet account.
Ebates - Every 3 months, you'll receive payment for the cash back accrued during that period. if you've accrued less that $5.01, you won't receive payment--the cash will be carried over to the next month's pay period. This table is provided by ebates, for better clarification:
Ebates will pay you via paypal, standard check, or check to an organization or charity of your choosing.
You'd be amazed at the number of stores offering cash back through Ebates and FatWallet, and new merchants are added all the time!
Happy shopping!
