Every holiday season it always seems to get crazier and crazier in terms of what is out there to purchase and what is on everyone’s Christmas list! I am so thankful that my kids seem to be pretty down to Earth and don’t ask for crazy, over the top, items. To be honest, it seems like I have to pry a Christmas list out of them! Even then, I look at their lists and think OK this is somewhat doable.
Last year, I discovered Ebates, an online shopping platform that works with pretty much any brand, retailer, and store you can think of. I actually had to order a blanket for my daughter’s horse a few weeks ago and, lo and behold, the tack shop was a participating merchant.
I actually decided to write this post, because someone asked me if Ebates really works. I’m here to tell you YES! OK, here’s what you have to do…it’s beyond easy!
STEP 1: Join the site by clicking here. This link will take you to the Ebates home screen. In the upper right hand corner there is a grey button that says “Join Now” and to the right of that button, a green button that says “Sign In.” Go ahead and click on Join Now to register and after you will be clicking on Sign In.
STEP 2: Fill out the registration information. You can opt to register with your email address, joining with Facebook, or joining with Google+.
STEP 3: SHOP!
So on the Ebates home screen, you will see all their extra special deals, like Double Cash Back, Daily Deals, Weekly Deals, and Daily Doubles. I like to peruse these as I think about everyone on my nice list. If I don’t see anything that tickles my fancy, but I want to search for a certain store, then I just use their search option, You can search by brand, store and product. For real, this is so easy! I tend to use my Target, since I have the Target Debit Red Card (comes right out of my checking account…no credit card bills to deal with), gives me 5% off on everything, and free shipping. I also like the Amazon route, because I have Amazon Prime, so free 2-Day Shipping! BAM!
Let me give you an example of something I have in my Groupon shopping cart as I type. I have 2 items totally $114.98. Ebates is giving 6% cash back on Groupon purchases. I logged into my Ebates account and searched for Groupon. If the store is in the Ebates system, you will get a result. Then, you just want to click on the orange button on the right that says “Shop Now.” By clicking there, you will be opening a new tab in your browser that takes you right to that merchant. The Ebates system does the rest by keeping track of your shopping trip and how much you spend.
I also have a Groupon promo code for 5% off (VISA5) that I found online so that brings my total down to 109.23. Then I will be earning back $6.55 from Ebates. FYI – You can set up your account to do a direct deposit to your account, receive a manual check, or deposit into a PayPal account. In one fell swoop, I just saved myself $12.30. It doesn’t seem like much, but trust me it adds up. Last year, I did all my holiday shopping online (except for new desks for the kids from IKEA), and earned back over $100!
Just to give you an idea of the cash back offers they have going on right now:
Amazon 6%
HP.com 3%
Nordstrom 3%
Target 1.5%
Ebates even has a button so that you can activate your cash back savings right from a merchant’s site if available!
Cruelty Free Lucy 