Sunday, February 28, 2010

Free Money For Shopping You Do Anyway...

ebatesI have seen other brides blog about this in the past, but I have no idea what took me so long to get on the bandwagon.  Well, I'm on it now.  I signed up for EbatesEbates is this website that gives cash back for shopping, only you don't have to pay for anything or get any email spam in order to participate.  Here's how it works (1) go to Ebates, (2) look for the retailer you want and click on their name, (3) Ebates will reroute you to the retailer's website where you make your purchase as usual, (4) four times a year they will send you a check.

For example, I just bought some custom postage for shower invitations at Zazzle, spent about $100, and since they give 10% cash back I'm getting about $10 for it.  I also buy online from Sephora pretty often, and they give 4% back. See how this could add up?  My personal rule is that I don't use the service unless it is for something I need to buy anyway and the coupons make it all make sense- which has been more often than I expected.

I am also a big fan of Ebates because they have coupon codes on their website, which you can use for even more bargains.  And of course, once you have started shopping, there is nothing to prohibit you from using other coupon codes.  So my Zazzle purchase, for example, I used a code for 12% off, a code for $20 off, and a code for free shipping, so with the extra $10 from Ebates, my fancy postage became much more affordable.

My favorite stores on Ebates include:

The Apple Store (1%)

Ann Taylor and Loft (3%)

Barnes and Noble (8%)

Bliss Spa (4%)

Borders (4%)

Crate and Barrel (3%)

Gap (4%)

iTunes (3%)

JoAnn (5%)

Kate Spade (3.5%)

The Land of Nod (4%)

Nordstrom (3%)

Payless (3%)

PetFoodDirect (5%) - I use this one a LOT

Red Envelope (6%)

Target (3%)

Urban Outfitters (2.5%)

Vera Bradley (3%)

Victoria's Secret (2%)

Vistaprint (5%) - HEY BRIDES, SEE THIS?!

White House Black Market (2%)

1-800-FLOWERS (5%)


And the list goes on.  It's also a great place to book travel (car rental, hotels and airfare) for cash back too!  I will definitely be hooking this up for my next trip.

In the interest of full disclosure, I want you to know that if you sign up for Ebates by clicking on a link in this post, I get a referral credit- so signing up through this post would be very nice of you- but if you would prefer not to do so, you can navigate to Ebates directly in your browser, and I think in either case you will be happy you did!  I don't really mind if you use my referral link or not- I just think this is an easy way to watch pennies- and I think this would have been extra handy when planning our wedding, since we bought SO much stuff online!

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