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10 Reasons Not to Sign Up for Rakuten (Formerly Ebates)

This post may contain affiliate links and as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I support the Amazon boycott and I’m working to remove links as I can. Learn more.

April 25, 2018 By Lisa Sharp 32 Comments

Have you heard of Ebates now known as Rakuten? It’s one of those cashback websites. Are you rolling your eyes yet? I know I sure did for a long time. Maybe some of these things are what’s holding you back. Find out more in this Ebates review. 
1950s housewife on vintage pink phone holding cash

This post was written originally in 2017. In 2019 Ebates rebranded as Rakuten. Everything in this post is still the same the name has just changed. 

For now, I’m leaving this post with Ebates because that is still what more people know it as. As Rakuten because the better-known name I will update this post to reflect that.

I have still been using the site and getting cashback. My last payment was on time and all the stores seem to still be on the site. So you don’t need to worry about using it when you go to the site and it now says Rakuten.

10 Reasons Not to Sign Up for Rakuten (Ebates)

  1. You don’t want to save money while shopping online.
  2. You’d rather search for coupon codes.
  3. You don’t believe that people are really making money from Ebates.
  4. You won’t remember to go to the site before you buy something.
  5. Surely they don’t have stores you use.
  6. Cashback sites are always scams.
  7. You probably have to fill out surveys to really earn money.
  8. They can’t really give you $10 just for signing up and spending $25 on a participating site.
  9. You get cashback from your credit card, why do you need more?
  10. Who wants to refer their friends to something that can save them money?

Okay so maybe sarcasm is my love language. Seriously, I’ve tried other cashback sites and for many reasons they didn’t work for me. Either they had a poor selection of stores, were confusing, or they were just flat out scams. I don’t want to have to fill out tons of surveys for a few cents or sign up for offers!

Pile of cash

5 Reasons You Should Sign Up for Ebates & My Ebates Review-

Ebates is different. It’s really easy and it works. I signed up with Ebates just this month and it was after most of my holiday shopping, yet I’ve still made some money from it! So here are some reasons you SHOULD join Ebates.

  1. It works and you really do get $10 just for signing up and making a qualifying purchase of $25 or more within a year of signing up.
  2. They have over 1500 stores including Amazon! Ebates Amazon, could it get better?! I have Amazon Prime and I’ll be honest, the UPS driver sometimes brings neighbors Amazon packages to my house by mistake because we order from there so much. A little cash back from those purchases really adds up. I was also excited to see Etsy because I love ordering from Etsy.
    Amazon on Ebates
  3. When you refer friends they get a $10 gift card and you get $25! They make it easy to share your Ebates link on social media to introduce your friends to the site. Why not share the money-saving love? If you are a blogger or have a large social media following you can get a lot of referrals and that can mean a lot of earnings.
  4. There is an Ebates Cash Back Button you can install on your browser to make sure you don’t miss any cashback deals.
    Screen cap of using the Ebates toolbar tool
  5. It truly is free with no strings attached!

It’s really easy to sign up and get your $10 gift card. Simply head over to Ebates and follow the easy directions and start shopping. It’s so much easier than the apps, coupons, and other cashback sites I’ve used. I am very excited to start seeing some checks.

Need more help? Visit my post How Does Ebates Work. I give a step-by-step guide for how to shop through Ebates and earn cashback on your purchases. 

What are you waiting for? Sign up for Ebates and start earning cashback.

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Filed Under: Frugal, Homemaking

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Chelsie says

    December 30, 2015 at 10:40 am

    Haha, when I clicked on your post I was like: “What person on Earth is going to have anything negative to say about eBates?” I’m glad you were being sarcastic! I love eBates, although I always have a hard time remembering to go through them when I make my orders!

    Reply
    • Lisa Sharp says

      December 30, 2015 at 11:07 am

      Be sure to add the button to your browser, that’s what saves me! It let’s you know when you are on a site you can get cash back for. That’s how I remembered to use it for Etsy the other day. 🙂

      Reply
  2. The Southern Stylista says

    December 30, 2015 at 11:39 am

    I’ve always heard about EBates, but never signed up…I think you twisted my arm and I’m going to try it out!

    xoxo, SS

    Reply
  3. Meredith says

    December 30, 2015 at 11:44 am

    I had no idea that there was a button you can add to your browser, thanks! And yes Amazon Prime is my life saver!

    Reply
  4. Lindsay says

    December 30, 2015 at 12:57 pm

    haha you got me! I love ebates and was terrified I was missing something : )

    Reply
  5. Miranda O'Brien says

    December 30, 2015 at 1:35 pm

    Oh my gosh! When I read your title I was like “how can someone not love Ebates??” I’ve been trying to get better about remembering to go there before I shop, so I might just have to download the browser button. Loved this post!

    Reply
  6. Mags says

    December 30, 2015 at 4:52 pm

    You tricked me on this one! I freakin’ love Ebates and was ready to fight for it!

    Reply
  7. Deanna says

    December 30, 2015 at 7:08 pm

    I’ve seen people mention it for years and figured it was one of those things with the surveys. You’ve convinced me to give it a try!

    Reply
  8. Angie Scheie says

    December 31, 2015 at 12:58 am

    Wow, you got me! :). I was looking for reasons to back up why I’ve been procrastinating lol. Ok, ok, you’ve sold me :).

    Reply
  9. Melissa says

    December 31, 2015 at 5:51 am

    I was thinking those are fighting words- I love Ebates, I don’t use it as much as I should but on big ticket stuff like plane tickets we have had some nice little checks come our way through the last year! It’s like a surprise!

    Reply
  10. Rosalyn O. says

    December 31, 2015 at 9:36 am

    Haha, I had a good laugh!! The title got me! I love using ebates!! :)))

    Reply
  11. Natalie says

    December 31, 2015 at 5:18 pm

    Haha–I definitely came over here thinking, “What did I miss about eBates?!?!” since I’ve had nothing but great results with it. Who doesn’t love saving money!? 😀

    Reply
  12. Shann Eva says

    January 21, 2016 at 2:24 pm

    Great post title! I absolutely love Ebates. I’ve earned a ton of cash back, and some referral cash too. It’s an awesome site.

    Reply
    • Lisa Sharp says

      January 22, 2016 at 2:50 pm

      Glad You liked it. It is a cool site. Who doesn’t like money back?

      Reply
  13. Catherine Short says

    January 21, 2016 at 2:43 pm

    I signed up a while ago but kind of forgot about it. I need to remember to use it for all of our amazon purchases!

    Reply
    • Lisa Sharp says

      January 22, 2016 at 2:49 pm

      You’ll have to check out the new toolbar button. I helps me always remember to use it.

      Reply
  14. Nicole says

    January 21, 2016 at 2:49 pm

    You had me worried! I couldn’t imagine what was so wrong with Ebates! I love getting that check in the mail…even if I had to spend money to get it.

    Reply
    • Lisa Sharp says

      January 22, 2016 at 2:49 pm

      Money is the best mail! Especially when we mostly get bills and junk. 🙂

      Reply
  15. Danielle says

    January 21, 2016 at 9:12 pm

    LOL such a good post, and I love me some good humored sarcasm! Ebates must be awesome, I keep hearing nothing but good things about it!

    Reply
    • Lisa Sharp says

      January 22, 2016 at 2:46 pm

      You’d love me then, sarcasm is my first language. 🙂 It really is pretty awesome.

      Reply
  16. Mindi says

    January 21, 2016 at 10:04 pm

    Thank you for this I have always wondered about Ebates

    Reply
    • Lisa Sharp says

      January 22, 2016 at 2:46 pm

      Glad it helped. If you have questions let me know.

      Reply
  17. Susannah says

    January 22, 2016 at 10:45 am

    Heehee. I love how you baited and switched with this. I was so confused about why ANYONE would think there were reasons for not signing up. 😉

    Reply
    • Lisa Sharp says

      January 22, 2016 at 2:46 pm

      haha I’m tricky sometimes.

      Reply
  18. Sierrah Rafferty says

    May 3, 2018 at 5:07 am

    Oh my goodness, you made me nervous! I just signed up for Ebates a little while ago and I really liked it so I started promoting them on my blog. I’d never want to recommend anything bad to my readers, so when I saw this I panicked! Very clever way to pull in your readers, great post. I’ll definitely share!

    Reply
    • Lisa Sharp says

      May 3, 2018 at 5:57 pm

      Well, I did give reasons not to sign up. haha! Glad you enjoyed it.

      Reply
  19. Lisa Sharp says

    August 12, 2018 at 3:38 pm

    I don’t totally understand the question. I get cashback all of the time from this site. A lot of time it’s just a small amount but it adds up. I earn quite a bit around Christmas when doing shopping. I use the toolbar so it just automatically tells me when that site offers cashback.

    Reply
  20. Carol says

    November 15, 2018 at 3:19 pm

    Okay I am on debates but can’t get to my account it say my e mail is incorrect and it’s the one and only one I use. So need help getting on my account as there are somethings I would like to buy,

    Reply
    • Lisa Sharp says

      November 18, 2018 at 11:24 am

      Are you sure you signed up? You may need to sign up again or email their customer service.

      Reply
  21. KENNETH EUGENE DAVIS says

    July 5, 2019 at 4:56 pm

    I have been an Ebates user for a few years and it is great. However, the one negative is that when you activate it on your shopping website, its record number displays for such a short period that you are unable to write it down. As such, you are unable to prove your claim that you are due CASH BACK when they say they have no record of your transaction. This has happened to me at least 3 times after I became aware to activate the Ebates button first.

    Reply
  22. Sharon says

    March 27, 2020 at 8:44 pm

    Hello,
    How do you get the browser extension on your phone? You’ve been so thorough in all of your instructions on Ebates/Rakuten, and I have been using it for years, but I did not know about this part, and I am very excited to try it. I have been looking into both of your articles to see where I can download it, I didn’t see where you shared this with us. Would you mind sharing that part with us please?
    Blessings,
    Sharon

    Reply
    • Lisa Sharp says

      March 30, 2020 at 8:12 am

      The browser extension is only for desktop. There is an app for phones.

      Reply

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Welcome to my blog! My name is Lisa and I'm the Retro Housewife trying to live a greener life. I share my love of all things vintage, homemaking and green living here on the blog. To read more, click here.

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