Shopping through a cashback website is a no brainer way to put some money back in your pocket. All you’re required to do is shop through a certain portal and all of a sudden you’re saving money. But with so many cash back websites popping up how are you supposed to know which one offers the best deals?
Today we’re going to investigate two popular cashback websites and see which is better: EBates vs Top Cash Back.
How Can You Earn Cashback Anyway?
It seems weird that you can shop through a certain website to earn money but the concept is actually pretty straightforward.
Cashback sites have relationships with merchants. These merchants pay the cashback sites a certain percentage of sales and in turn the cashback site shares some of that revenue with you.
In the instance a site passes on all its negotiated commissions to the end user they then earn money through advertisements and sponsored listings.
EBates
EBates is one of the oldest and most well-known cashback sites, founded in 1998. Ebates has relationships with more than 1,700 merchants and has relationships with some of the more popular retailers.
When you sign up through eBates you earn a $10 gift card to Walmart or a $10 eBates cash bonus. You can also earn $75 for referring 3 new members and an additional $5 for every member after that.
To sum it up here’s the lowdown on Ebates:
- Cashback ranging from 1% to 30%
- $10 Sign on Bonus
- 1,700+ Retailers
- Lucrative Referral Program
- Receive Payments via Check or Paypal
- Minimum Payout $5.01
- Quarterly Payments
TopCashback
TopCashback was founded in 2005 and while growing in popularity it’s still less known than Ebates. TopCashback promises to be the highest paying cashback site on the market. They aim to be generous to the end user even if it tightens their margins.
TopCashback doesn’t have a sign on bonus but they do boast 100% commission payouts, a $10 per person referral program, and multiple payment options.
Here are the highlights of TopCashback
- Cashback ranging from 1% to 70%
- 100% Commissions to You
- Payments Available Via Paypal, Direct Deposit, and Amazon Gift Card
- 5% Bonus for Payments Received Via Amazon Gift Card
- 3,500+ Retailers
- No Minimum Payouts
- Be Paid Whenever You Choose
Which is Better: Ebates or TopCashback?
TopCashback clearly claims to offer higher cashback percentages than any other site. Let’s see how the cashback stacks up across different popular retailers:
Amazon:
- Ebates – Up to 3%
- TopCashback – 8.5%
Walmart:
- Ebates – 2%
- TopCashback – Up to 10%
Best Buy:
- Ebates – 1%
- TopCashback – 1.25%
Kohls:
- Ebates – 6%
- TopCashback – 4%
And the Winner Is………….
This site clearly has better deals for the majority of the stores since they pass 100% of the commissions directly to the consumer. Eight and half percent cashback through Amazon is almost unheard of!
There will be some instances where Ebates has negotiated better deals with merchants and can offer a higher cashback percentage. However, for the most part it’s looking like TopCashback is clear the winner.
Do you use either one of these sites? Are you surprised by the findings?
c kessel says
I use both of these sites. Recently, I have experienced problems with TopCash Back.
I have attempted to request a payout on several occasions, but their site will not allow me to authenticate my email or payout information.
Meanwhile, I have continued to use eBates (now Rakuten) with no problems.
Buyer beware!!!!