How Does Ebates Work? How To Get Paid To Shop

Have you heard of Ebates.ca? When I first saw the ads for this online retail site, all I could think is “how does Ebates work?” Turns out, this free site is super easy to use and incredibly rewarding.

Simply put, you’ll earn cash for shopping. That’s right, with this site you get paid to shop online at all of your favourite stores.

It may sound too good to be true, but trust us, it’s not. In this detailed post we’ve broken down exactly how Ebates works and how you’ll get paid to shop. Using cashback sites like this one is one of our favourite tricks for saving money.

Read on and find out why you can’t afford to not use Ebates!

• What Is Ebates?
• How Does Ebates Work?
• What Stores Are On Ebates?
• How Do I Earn Cash Back?
• When Do I Get My Cash Back?
• Why Are The Cash Amounts Different?
• What Is In-Store Cashback?

What Is Ebates?

How does Ebates work? Simply put, Ebates is a website that has links to many of your favourite store’ websites. Ebates had partnered with these online stores to offer cash back bonuses to members when they shop at the sites through Ebates.

Some of the stores you’ll find on include:

• Old Navy
• Sephora
• Amazon
• eBay
• Hudson’s Bay
• Gap
• Best Buy
• Dynamite
• Urban Planet
• Reitmans
• RW&CO
• Suzy Shier
• Clinique
• The Children’s Place
• Carter’s OshKosh
• And so many more!

How Does Ebates Work?

As we mentioned, Ebates had partnered with these stores to offer cashback to members. Ebates receives a commission from the sales Ebates members make on retailers’ websites.

The first thing you want to do when you join is make your free Ebates account. You can join through signing up or by using your Facebook login information.

Not only is it completely free to register, but Ebates will give you a free $5 bonus to start shopping once you join!

Once you’re a free member, you can decide how you want to get your cash back cheques, which Ebates calls “Big Fat Cheques”.

Your options are:

• Paper cheque in the mail
• Add the cashback to a Paypal Account
• You can even arrange to send your payments to a charity/organization/family member or your choice  

How Do I Know What Stores Are On Ebates?

The Ebates homepage is always populated with the site’s most popular stores, and they always list their Weekly Hot Deals on the homepage. However, there are plenty of other retailers they’re partnered with who aren’t on this page.

If you are ever wondering if your favourite stores are on Ebates, simply type the store’s name into the search bar. You can also search stores by Category.

When you click a store’s Ebates page, you’ll see more information on the store, any current sales or promo codes, free shipping, etc.

If you look at this example, we’ve chosen Dyson. You can see that the store ships to Canada, how much users have earned from Dyson to date, and the current promotions.

How Do I Earn Cash Back?

Once you’ve found a store you want to shop at, click the logo or name on the Ebates site. The Ebates link will take you right to the retailer and the site will know that you came from Ebates.

If you make a purchase, you’ll get a cashback bonus! You’ll receive a confirmation email from Ebates once the retailer has confirmed to Ebates that you made a purchase. This can take up to a day but usually does not take that long.

When Do I Get Cash Back?

Ebates sends/deposits cash back 4 times a year.

Please note you must have a cashback balance of over $5.01 to be paid. If your balance is under $5.01 you’ll get your bonus on the next billing cycle that you reach this minimum amount.

Why Are The Cash Back Amounts Different?

The stores Ebates has partnered with each determine how much cash back they are going to offer customers.

Oftentimes, stores will have special promotions where they offer double cash back (or even triple!). Ebates will often post these on their homepage and in the Hot Deals section.

Ebates also has a special “2x Cash Back” menu option that shows what featured stores are offering extra cash back.

What Is the Gift Card Shop?

Another great feature on Ebates is the ability to buy gift cards online and earn money back.

You can buy gift cards from stores like:

• Cineplex
• Pizza Pizza
• Uber
• Air Canada
• Shoppers Drug Mart
• Old Navy
• Sobeys
• Indigo
• And more!

Plus, they offer free shipping on all gift cards. So next time you need to buy a gift card for someone, you’ll get some rewards back for yourself!

How Does Ebates Work? In-Store Cash Back

If you’re not much of an online shopper, don’t worry because you can still earn cash back bonuses through Ebates.

Last year, Ebates launched their In-Store Cash Back program.

This video easily explains the process:

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