3 On Your Side: Earn Rebates While Shopping Online
By Jim Donovan
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Newspapers used to be the place to find the best coupons and discounts, but now that online shopping is more popular than ever, there's a new twist.
Destiny Paquette does all of her online shopping through Ebates. It's one of several websites that pays customers to spend money. Ebates.com offers cash back on purchases at 1,700 online retailers.
When Destiny clicks on a link, it redirects her to that store's website. The store pays Ebates a fee for bringing them the business, and Ebates gives Destiny a cut. She says, "The other day I purchased something at Apple and I got 87 cents back. It's 87 cents, but every little penny counts."
Paquette says over three years she's saved nearly 800 dollars. Many other cash back websites work in a similar way, including Hoopla Doopla and Mister Rebates.
"I'm seeing new ones launch all the time," says online shopping expert Michelle Madhok.
Madhok is the founder of SheFinds.com and says these rebate sites are good for frequent shoppers, but you have to do your research to make sure you're getting the best deal.
"What are the percentages you get back? How frequently do you get paid? You kind of want to do some due diligence before you start using the site," Madhok explains.
Ebates users get a payment once every three months. Paquette says the money she gets will help pay for a family vacation.
Ebates says it has paid over $250 million dollars in cash to its members. It even offers new customers gift cards as an incentive to try the site out.
For links to sites seen in this report, click below:
