Ebates

ebates

Am I the last person to the Ebates party? In case I’m not, anyone who isn’t familiar and shops online should absolutely use it. It’s free to use and gets you actual cash back (well – in my case it’s virtual since I have it dip back into my PayPal). I’m amazed at how this program is structured, as I imagine the back end is extremely complicated. These sorts of third party loyalty/rewards programs that offer real money always seem to be difficult to orchestrate. How does Ebates get the money back from the retailer? Do they provide a monthly report to retailer XYZ that says “We sent 247 customers to your site who ended up spending $3,602, meaning you therefore owe us 3% (2% we gave back to customers and the 1% we keep)”? I know that’s a gross oversimplification, but I always wonder how these sorts of negotiations go when it comes to big box/massive retailers and third party sales/campaign crews. It’s just crazy to think someone like Amazon would give up to 8% cash back via Ebates for particular product categories. It’s a direct cut into their margin, right?

But I won’t complain – as I did cash out pretty nicely after the holidays all cleared up!

LINK TO SIGN UP (selfish disclosure – this is technically a referral link although I think I only get $5 if you actually sign up and use it)

Til Next Time,

Michael