The cashback train is a trend that many young individuals are getting on as a means to make free money whenever they shop and make purchases online. One of the biggest and easiest ways to make your first purchase and save money through cashback is through eBates, which is also known as Rakuten Rewards, but there has always been one common question on the mind of many individuals’ “is eBates legit?”.
Although eBates has been around for over two decades, the ever-increasing popularity of eBates over the past few years has led to plenty of questions concerning the company, such as How much money can be earned from eBates? Is eBates legit? Is eBates effective? Is eBates secure? With this piece, I hope to answer these questions, clear up all doubts concerning eBates, and give tips to maximize this platform.
History Of Ebates
The company, Ebates, was founded in 1998 in California, USA. On May 3, 1999, the Ebates.com website was launched, offering up to 25% cashback from about 40 online retailers. Ebates was acquired by the Japanese company Rakuten in September 2014. The Ebates cash back brand was gradually eliminated and changed to Rakuten Rewards.
The platform remains very popular, whether as Ebates or Rakuten Rewards. It has over a billion users all over the world, and most importantly, the transition and change of ownership of the company have not affected the earning of cashback or any other functions the website provides.
Its members have gotten billions in cash back at their regular shopping stores. Rakuten Rewards has its headquarters in San Francisco Bay Area and has offices all over the world and in over twelve locations. ShopStyle and Cartera Commerce are also a part of their company.
Yes, eBates is a legitimate company. Since this has been established, let’s delve deeper into how this amazing platform works.
What Is Ebates?
eBates is one of the top best cash-back platforms around. eBates simply helps you make money online by shopping and making purchases. With eBates, you can make up to about 40% cashback on any of your purchases from retail stores such as Target, Walmart and online retailers all around the world.
In other words, you make money by spending money on yourself. On top of all the awesome rewards, eBates also offers special gifts like coupons, promo codes, and hot daily deals, which can be benefited from to make more money.
Is Ebates Legit?
Many people are highly suspicious of cashback sites and online money reward sites like eBates and wonder if eBates is legit or a sham. In this piece, we put it to you that eBates is, in fact, legit. eBates was established in the 90s during the period of the evolution of the internet and the web.
The company has been in existence for quite some time, and they keep growing and expanding. It would not be if it were not absolutely legit and highly rewarding. The company is highly rated by the Better Business Bureau to be excellent, which is highly commendable.
As stated earlier, the number of users is a testament to the absolute legitimacy of the website. With millions of global users, they are firmly and deeply established and entirely legitimate, making them the most secure cashback rewards site. It is important to note that eBates will not make you rich suddenly, but it is a way to make some extra money on the side.
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How Does Ebates Work?
To be a part of eBates, the first thing to do is create an account with an email and a password on the Rakuten Rewards website. No charges are required to sign up, and no sensitive information will be demanded from you to sign up.
Bonus options are available as soon as you sign up. You can choose either a $10 Rakuten bonus or a $10 Wal-Mart gift card. The process is concise and smooth.
The Rakuten app can be downloaded on your smartphone, and you can add your card details to your Rakuten wallet, so any purchases you make with the cards will qualify you for cashback.
eBates offer cash back depending on the percentage of your purchases and the brands you are shopping at offers. For instance, if Target were offering 10 percent store cashback and you purchased a kitchen set for $100, you would receive $10 in your eBates account.
The cashback earnings are paid every three months through PayPal. You can track your cash back by logging into your account to view your earnings history.
eBates also gives you the option of knowing when to expect your next payment. Furthermore, making purchases a minimum of $25 within the first 90 days of signing up automatically qualifies you to receive your sign-up bonus options.
Is eBates legit? Yes, eBates make earning cashback super easy.
eBates offers so much more than just receiving cash back. It offers sections on the website to help you keep up with your earnings, and some of these features include:
Cashback Balance
The cashback Balance feature aids in showing the cash back you’ve earned through your online purchases and every other type of eBates offer you’ve found profiting and advantageous.
Your balance automatically refreshes whenever you withdraw your earnings and keeps your withdrawal history under your Big Fat Check History.
Big Fat Check History
This feature keeps a detailed record of every of your withdrawal on the website. Despite that, there is a 45-day waiting period after requesting your payment before you eventually get paid.
Choose How To Get Paid
This feature allows you to choose your desired payment option by adding a valid mailing address to your account. This option is also valid for receiving your payments on PayPal.
Getting Paid On Ebates
As regards payouts, eBates make payments quarterly into your PayPal account. eBates can also send you a big check if you make a decision not to make use of PayPal. eBates pays only cash. No gift cards.
The more you shop, the more cashback you receive.
Other Ways To Earn Money On Ebates
There are a couple of other ways to earn money from eBates apart from cashback, and some of these are referral option in which you can refer friends and family to sign-up on eBates, and you make $25 for each referral. This earning is immediately transferred to your balance as soon as your referral sign-up and starts using eBates. Talk about more money for doing less. Awesome.
Ebates Mobile App
These days many people are always on their smartphones, and a large portion of their daily life is on their phones. It only makes sense for them to do much of their shopping on their phones on the go.
The eBates mobile app can be downloaded on the iOS store for iPhones and the Google Play store for Android. With the app, you have unlimited access to more features and start your purchases as soon as you activate it.
Cashback Instore
One of the greatest assets of eBates is it offers cashback even in-store. Whenever you walk into a store associated with eBates, you get cash back on every single purchase you make. You just have to activate your cards and fund your Rakuten account and you can search for every online and in-store offer available just for you. Awesome, right?
Cashback Button
The cashback button tool is a feature of eBates that automatically pops up on websites of popular stores offering cashback such as Walmart, Target, eBay, Amazon, and over a thousand stores all around the world.
This awesome feature also locates discounts and coupons you can benefit from. With this, you can save a certain amount of money when you shop online and purchase anything at all.
You can have this feature on your browser by downloading and adding it as an extension from your browser web store. Whenever you shop, the button automatically locates deals you can make cash back from by popping up on the screen.
As a registered eBates member, you receive emails about new rewards and offers available as well as updates on your favorite stores. You can also start shopping and making purchases by clicking on links included on the website and start earning on purchases.
Ebates Visa Credit Card
The eBates visa credit card is a special card for ebates members with which you can earn unlimited cash back anytime you use it to make purchases. With this special card, there is no ridiculous annual fee and the more you shop, the more cash back you earn with the eBates visa card. You can earn up to 5% percent extra on your cashback with the card.
Ebates Daily Double
Owing to the eBates daily double feature, you can earn double cash back every day. eBates singles out a store every day, and customers can earn up to 200% cashback within twenty-four hours.
Ebates Referral Program
As mentioned earlier, the eBates referral a friend option is a great way of earning more from eBates. It is very similar to affiliate marketing, and you earn $25 on every referral of yours that makes use of eBates and makes purchases on the site.
You can make use of the referral by sharing your link with your friends and encouraging them to sign-up and make purchases using your link.
The best thing is both you and your friend earn $25 instantly, which can be paid within 60 days after signing up.
Your first referral bonus earnings are immediately added to your earning balance without delay.
Benefits and Drawbacks Of Ebates
After learning about all the amazing ways to earn from eBates and how easy it is to earn, it is time to learn about the highs and lows of the site.
Benefits
- eBates is absolutely free to use. You do not need to pay any fees to sign-up or use the site. Instead, eBates pays you a welcome bonus of $10 when you register.
- eBates has one of the highest percentages of cashback. eBates offers up to a whopping 40% cashback on any of your store purchases.
- eBates is absolutely legit, secure, and safe to use. It is owned by a reputable company and it has been around for over two decades with millions of loyal members around the world.
- eBates is hassle and stress-free. The sign-up process is so smooth and can be completed in 60 seconds or less. It is basically a breeze.
- eBates offers so many more earning opportunities apart from cashback including discounts, coupons, promo, hot deals, referrals, and daily double options.
- eBates pays earnings on time. Earners do not have to worry about getting their earnings paid. Earnings on the site are paid on PayPal or through mailed checks.
- eBates has made over a billion payments to loyal members. This means the site is widely and is continuously in use by many people. You can put your mind rest and trust eBates as it is legit and fully functional.
Drawbacks
- eBates’ biggest drawback is the waiting period. It takes up to about 90 days to receive earnings from eBates and this is due to the delay on the part of the retailers to pay eBates. Despite the delay, eBates pays every 90 days without fail.
- eBates only offer cashback on the actual price of the purchase. Other additional expenses, such as taxes and shipping fees are not included in the cashback offer.
- eBates is not available in all regions. eBates is only available to members in the US, Canada, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and China.
- eBates doesn’t offer cashback on all products sold by the retailers but only on selected products and purchases.
Is Ebates Right For You?
This greatly depends on your shopping and spending habits. If you are a habitual online shopper or someone who wants to save some extra money on the side for rainy days, eBates is definitely for you.
If you are not, you just need to make it a habit, and you are on your way to making more money.
How to sign up for Ebates Rakuten + $10 Bonus
To sign up for Rakuten, you can Click Here to join the Rakuten website and create a secure account with an email and password, or sign up using your Facebook or Google account. Rakuten also offers a Welcome Bonus to all new members. Alternatively, you can watch this YouTube video for a quick and easy tutorial on how to sign up for Rakuten. Every new user will get a $10 welcome bonus from me for signing up.
Conclusion
The cashback industry is here to stay and booming. To answer the big question of this article, Is eBates legit? Yes, it is. However there are a lot of cashback sites springing up every day, but eBates is legit and certified. They pay $10 just for signing up and pay all your earnings diligently every 90 days. It might not be a flawless platform, but it does the job and offers so much for less. If you are looking to save more money on purchases, you should sign-up on eBates and start getting your cashback.
FAQ
What is Ebates and how does it work?
Ebates is a cashback shopping website founded in 1998 that rewards its users with a percentage of their purchases as cashback. In 2014, Ebates was acquired by Rakuten, a Japanese technology conglomerate that operates in the Internet services, FinTech, and mobile segments. In 2019, Ebates officially changed its name to Rakuten, but the cashback shopping service remains the same. Rakuten operates in a variety of businesses, including e-commerce, travel, banking, marketing, and media. The company’s name means “optimism” in Japanese, and it aims to empower individuals, businesses, and societies to realize their dreams.
Is it safe to buy from Rakuten?
Rakuten is generally considered safe to buy from. Rakuten is a legitimate company that operates in a variety of businesses, including e-commerce, travel, banking, marketing, and media. The company’s cashback shopping service, formerly known as Ebates, rewards its users with a percentage of their purchases as cashback. Rakuten has been in business for over 20 years and has a good reputation. However, as with any online shopping site, it is important to take precautions to protect your personal and financial information. Make sure to use strong, unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication if available. Additionally, be wary of phishing scams and only enter your personal and financial information on secure, trusted websites.
Is there a downside to using Rakuten?
While Rakuten is generally a reliable and safe platform to use, there are some downsides to using it. For example, cash back payments are made on a rigid quarterly schedule with no exceptions. Additionally, you can’t choose to get your cashback from shopping when you wish. Instead, Rakuten will mail you a check each quarter, provided you’ve met the minimum withdrawal requirement (currently $5.00). Some users have also expressed privacy concerns, as Rakuten may collect and share data with third-party companies. However, Rakuten has a privacy policy that outlines how it uses and protects user data. Finally, some stores may exclude certain products or purchases from cashback rewards, so it’s important to read the terms and conditions carefully before making a purchase.
How does Rakuten make money?
Rakuten makes money in several ways. One of the main ways is through its e-commerce business, which operates a business-to-many marketplace called Rakuten Ichiba. Rakuten earns a commission on sales made through its platform. Another way Rakuten makes money is through its cashback shopping service, which rewards users with a percentage of their purchases as cashback. Rakuten earns a commission from retailers when users make purchases through its platform. Rakuten also makes money through its financial technology (FinTech) business, which includes a credit card service and a banking service. Finally, Rakuten earns revenue through its media and advertising businesses, which include a TV streaming service and a digital marketing service.
