Ebates Review!

Yeah, this is me.

Man, I just got my wisdom teeth taken out and I'm so chipmunk-y right now. So that means no fashion/makeup photos cause it'd just be a terrible time. Or even more of a terrible time than it already is. BOO HOO. I've just been subsisting on smoothies, babyfood, and soups. Have you had your wisdom teeth taken out yet? 

Anyway, since I can't show my face to the world, and have become a hermit inside my home, I thought I'd do a review on a popular service and no....this isn't sponsored. Just my honest opinion. =) 

Have you guys heard of Ebates? I feel like a lot of Beauty Gurus and other "internet personalities" have been advertising this service a lot lately. The tagline that Ebates' uses a lot is "Where it pays to shop online." So if you click through their portal for almost any online store they'll give you a certain percentage of your purchase back, ranging from 1.5% to 50% for some stores. However, I noticed for some shops they just offered some coupons or like "$1 Dollar" back as opposed to cash back. So it really depends for each store. Although Ebates is based in the US, a Canadian Ebates recently launched to cover Canadian retailers.

Ebates is able to give you money back because when you click through their portal, they receive a set commission from the company and they give a portion of that commission money to you.

So this is what I was talking about....

However, I'm appreciative of the large variety of stores that Ebates offers "rebates" back on. The stores that I often frequent are Sephora, Topshop, Nordstrom, Club Monaco, and J.Crew, but the shops that they offer rebates on range from well known electronics stores like Best Buy, designers, like YSL and Betsey Johnson, and even something as "outrageous" as Adam and Eve Adult Toys. So that gives you a clear idea If you shop online, you should probably check to see if a store you like is hosted on Ebates and get rewarded for shopping! 

They don't send you money back after each purchase, but instead send it to you in quarterly installments:

                                                    Purchase                                Date Sent

                                                  Jan 1 - March 31                       May 15

                                                April 1 -  June 30                          Aug 15

                                                  July 1 - Sept 30                          Nov 15

                                                  Oct 1 - Dec 31                           Feb 15 

You have the option of receiving your rebate, through paypal or by cheque, yourself, giving it to a friend, or donating to charity. However, if your first ebates purchase is under $5.00 you won't get your "Big Fat Cheque" until you spend enough to surpass that $5 bar. I haven't received my first big fat cheque yet, but I'm anticipating to get it on August 15. =) So, I'll let you know how that develops. 

However, I have to say that the percentages that the stores promise to give you are not fixed in anyway, shape, or form and there's no way to protect the consumer from this fluctuation. In some aspects, the percentage they promise you at that time, is a bit like a sale that you can "buy into." 

I recently purchased some items from Sephora, for my mother, my sister and myself in order to maximize the money that we received back, and at the time they were offering a cash back rebate for 2.5%. I had waited for the percentage to change for a couple of weeks, but it seemed like it has stabilized at 2.5% instead of the previous 8%. However, within four days of my purchase the percentage jumped back up to 8%. I emailed customer service about this and this is the response they gave:

Thank you for your email. I am sorry for the trouble you are having. The Cash Back offers are subject to change at any time. The promotions can last from one day to a few weeks. Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns. I thank you for your time and understanding.
Sincerely,
Amy
Customer Care
Ebates

So, instead of getting $24 dollars, I'm only getting $7, which is disappointing. I wish I had waited those extra four days.  Honestly, that's the only thing that I've been really disgruntled about. Overall, I am really pleased about the fact that I get a portion of my money back from shopping online. I wish the percentages were stable, or bigger, but I'll settle with this for now. 

What are your experiences' with ebates? I know there are other alternatives out there, how do you think they compare? 

Links of Interest:

Main Site:
http://www.ebates.com/ 

If you click through the link below, I'll get a "tell-a-friend" bonus but I'll leave that decision up to you. =)

http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=VChdbB%2FBCWyRr21zU%2BrzcQ%3D%3D