I think of myself as a savvy shopper. Yet, I started reading a blog a while back, Save on (Almost) Everything, and Mike wrote a few articles about cash back sites that got me thinking about ways to save more money. I’ve never really used a cash back site, so perhaps I wasn’t as savvy a shopper as I thought!
But his articles persuaded me to look into a couple of sites, one which I signed up for: Top Cash Back.
How it works:
Sign up for an account with Top Cash Back for free and they’ll send you newsletters and emails about promotions. Then, search for merchants that you shop with regularly. If they’re partnered with them, it will show you how much cash back you can earn. For example, I needed to purchase some pet food, so I searched for ‘Petco’. They’ve partnered with Top Cash Back and offer 8% cash back on purchases. I clicked on their orange button and it took me to the Petco site (it will record cash back purchases up to 7 days from visiting the site through Top Cash Back). I shopped as usual and placed my order.
Next, I wait for my cash back to credit to my Top Cash Back account. As soon as it posts, it will deposit to my Paypal account (the other options are ACH to a bank account or an Amazon gift card.) Since my purchase hasn’t posted yet (it can day a few days to post), I can’t evaluate the speediness of their payout just yet. I’ll post an update when it appears. I’m looking forward to using this site for upcoming purchases through Office Max, Skechers, and Tiger Direct to name a few.
So far, I really like that most of the stores I shop at are listed as partners, even unusual vendors like Scholastic (whoo hoo!). The only store that wasn’t listed, and I was a little disappointed, was my grocery store Ralphs. But, Mike has written an article about an app that could help me with that, too (IBotta)!
I’ll be checking out that cash back site next.
What cash back sites do you use? Have you earned a significant amount back?
5 Comments
I just recently started using Ebates. I haven’t made a lot yet so far, but they have a wide selection of stores to choose from. I’m shifting to buying more things online, so its looking like I can do quite well with Ebates.
@The Wallet Doctor – So far, my experience with Top Cash Back is okay. My first online purchase through them hasn’t posted yet, but my second one is pending. It seems that some vendors take longer than others to verify the cash back amount.
I also use ebates. I’ve earned a nice chunk of money back from them. I typically compare what they offer versus my credit card shopping mall. Whichever has a higher cash back, gets the clickthrough. Of course, with ebates, they tend to have double cash back around Black Friday which is a great thing when looking to save even more money on holiday gifts.
@Jon – I’ll have to check out Ebates as well. I don’t buy a whole lot more during Black Friday, but I like the idea of double cash back.
@Poor Student – I used to think cash back sites weren’t worth it, too. But now, I’m starting to come around to using them for online purchases. So far, so good.