If you are doing your back to school shopping online and you haven’t signed up for a cash back site yet, you really need to! You can earn anywhere from 1% to 10% cash back (on average) on purchases that you would be making anyway!

The two sites that I use most often are Ebates and Shop at Home.  The way that both sites work is very similar:

1. When you are ready to shop online, visit Ebates or Shop at Home and look for the retailer on their site (they have 100s of retailers and pretty much the only one I haven’t found that I use regularly is Amazon). When you click through that store’s link, it will create a “tracking ticket” and then take you to the retailer’s site.

2. Once you get to the retailer’s site, complete your purchase just like you normally would.

3. Within a few days, you should receive an e-mail letting you know that your “cash back” has been credit to your account.  It can take up to 30 days before your cash back credits to your account.  Make sure you keep a copy of the order confirmation that you received through e-mail.  In case you don’t receive credit for your offer, you can contact their customer service and provide them with your order confirmation, and they will credit your cash back to your account.


Which “cash back” site is best?

I like to get the most for my money, so I usually visit both sites and look to see which site is offering more cash back.  From my experience, typically Shop at Home offers higher cash back amounts, but Ebates sometimes has double cash back offers that can’t be beat (for example right now, they are offering 10% cash back on Old Navy purchases).


Both sites are currently offering a $5 bonus if you sign up:

Ebates ($5 bonus when you make your first purchase or $10 gift card to Home Depot, Beauty.com, Red Envelope, or Magazines.com)

Shop at Home

How does payment work?

Ebates sends cash back payments every three months as long as you’ve earned at least $5.01 cash back.  Payment can be made via a check that they send directly to you or via Paypal.  Here is the payment schedule:

*February 15th (for purchases posted between October 1st and December 31st)
*May 15th (for purchases posted between January 1st and March 31st)
*August 15th (for purchases posted between April 1st and June 30th)
*November 15th (for purchases posted between July 1st and September 30th)

Shop at Home sends cash back payments on a monthly basis when you must have earned at least $20 (this includes your sign on bonus and any referral bonuses).  Right now, they only pay by check, and they send the check to your home address.  Here is the payment schedule:

*January 31st (for cash back earned by November 30th)
*February 28th (for cash back earned by December 31st)
*March 31st (for cash back earned by January 31st)
*April 30th (for cash back earned by February 28th)
*May 31st (for cash back earned by March 31st)
*June 30th (for cash back earned by April 30th)
*July 31st (for cash back earned by May 31st)
*August 31st (for cash back earned by June 30th)
*September 30th (for cash back earned by July 31st)
*October 31st (for cash back earned by August 31st)
*November 30th (for cash back earned by September 30th)
*December 31st (for cash back earned by October 31st)

Will I get a bunch of SPAM/junk e-mails if I sign up for these sites?

I have been with both sites for awhile now and haven’t had any problems with junk e-mails.  I usually get one e-mail from each site weekly highlighting the top deals and any bonus cash back offers.

I have received payment from both sites, so I can assure you that they are “legit” – if you have any questions, let me know!

*This post may contain affiliate links. Please refer to my disclosure policy for more information.