Online Rebates and Discounts
By Michele Blandino
Before the Internet came along and changed virtually aspect of our lives, savvy shoppers anxiously anticipated delivery of the Sunday newspaper and, with scissors in hand, eagerly perused the coupon and store circular sections in search of bargains and discounts.
Virtual Discounts
Today, sites such as Butterflymall.com, ebates.com and others provide virtual accessibility to coupons and other discounts which means budget conscious shoppers no longer need to spend their Sunday morning clipping and organizing coupons or visiting different stores in search of the biggest discount for a particular item.
There are thousands of sites that offer rebates and discounts to shoppers. Some are fee-based however the vast majority are free. And, while there are many ways to save money while shopping online, here we focus on rebates and coupons.
Discounts and Rebates
To earn rebates for your online shopping, you first need to register with a rebate site. Some of the more common sites are listed at the end of this article, but there are hundreds more. The registration process can be as easy as simply providing your e-mail address and selecting a password or you can be asked to complete a lengthy survey which will provide the rebate site with information regarding your buying preferences. Based on the sites reviewed for this article, there didn't seem to be much of a correlation between the type and amount of discount offered and the amount of information provided. This comes as good news to those who may be uncomfortable with providing personal information online.
After you register, you can browse through the list of participating merchants to decide where you would like to shop. In general, the available rebate is listed next to the merchant name; the rebate is usually stated as a percentage of your purchase (net of applicable taxes and shipping and handling costs), although some merchants do offer a stated dollar amount. The rebates vary widely and generally range between 1% and 8% (sometimes higher).
It pays to compare the rebates offered by various sites. For example, ebates.com offers a 4% rebate on purchases made from Barnes and Noble, while rebateshare.com offers 2.5%. however, rebateshare.com also has a coupon code that can be entered to receive $5 off a purchase of $50 or more.
Once you locate the merchant with whom you would like to shop, you need to click on the link provided by the rebate site to reach the merchant site. It is very important that you access the merchant site in this manner; going directly to their site will disqualify your eligibility for the rebate.
Depending on the site, your rebate will either be automatically deducted from your purchase, or a credit will be applied to your account. The process for redeeming the credit varies by site, and it is important that you familiarize yourself with the process before making a purchase. For example, at butterflymall.com, new registrants need to accumulate $15 in credits before they can be redeemed. Credits can be redeemed for cash or sent to you in the form of a check.
Some sites, such as rebateshare.com, offer coupons in addition to rebates. Using specific codes provided by the site, buyers can save a stated percentage off their total purchase and receive an additional rebate. Buyers need to accumulate $25 in credits before a rebate check will be issued.
Coupons
Unfortunately, the process for obtaining coupons online isn't quite as straightforward. While there are many sites available, due to tampering concerns, most of them do not allow users to directly print coupons from the site. Rather, shoppers select the coupons they want and the coupons are mailed. The sites that do allow you to print require that you download software from their site which is used to print the coupons.
While most of these services are free, some do have a fee; centsoff.com has a one-time fee of $7.50 while Q-pon.com has a gift-card type arrangement where you can get $275 in coupons for $24.95.
Other sites require you to enter information about your shopping habits in order to receive coupons. Like the rebate sites described above, the suitability of these sites depends on your comfort level with providing this type of information.