Millions of people prefer avoiding the crowds while shopping, especially during sales and holidays, and opt to shop online.
Not only can you find great prices, but if you play your cards right, you can actually make money while shopping online.
You can do this by shopping through a cashback and rebate site called Rakuten (formerly known as eBates).
I’ve been using Rakuten for a while, and I love it. It’s like getting free money for doing something you were already planning to do.
Last year, thanks to a nifty tool (more on that later), I made $405 just by shopping through Rakuten.
Now, let me show you a simple trick to make money from your online shopping.
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Table of Contents
What is Rakuten?
Stores often have affiliate programs that allow independent individuals or entities to refer customers to them in exchange for a portion of the sales revenue.
This benefits stores by saving on advertising costs and attracting more customers, making it worthwhile to share some of their profits.
As a typical shopping portal, Rakuten has partnerships with a wide range of stores, including big-box retailers like Best Buy and Target, as well as luxury stores like Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Rakuten is just one of many cashback websites with affiliate agreements with thousands of stores. This means that when they send customers to those stores and the customers make a purchase, the stores send them a commission. Rakuten then shares a portion of that commission with you, the customer.
That’s how they can afford to pay you for shopping through their website or “shopping portal.”
For a more detailed overview, check out my review of Rakuten.
How It Works
First, you have to join Rakuten. And if you join now, they’ll give you $5 for free just for signing up.
You can sign up here and get your free $5.
Once you join the site, the fun begins. Say you want to buy something from Old Navy. Instead of going directly to Old Navy’s online store, you log in to Rakuten and look for the Old Navy symbol. When you click on it, Rakuten redirects you to the Old Navy store, where you can make your purchase as usual.
Rakuten keeps track of your visit using cookies to determine how much commission Old Navy should send them.
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The cashback percentage varies, but right now Rakuten is offering 3% back on Old Navy purchases. Once processed, your Rakuten account will be credited with 3% of your purchase amount. Rakuten keeps the rest of the commission, so both you and Rakuten win.
The Trick
What I described above is the standard process.
Every time you want to buy something online, you need to remember to log in to Rakuten first, check if the store you want is listed on their shopping portal, and proceed from there.
The problem with that is…
Well, it takes time.
And that’s if you remember to check Rakuten in the first place.
As a result, many people miss out on cashback because they either forget to use Rakuten or don’t want to spend a few minutes logging in and navigating through Rakuten’s portal.
But there’s a simple solution to overcome this issue and ensure you get cashback every time you shop online.
The trick is installing a handy app called the Rakuten Cash Back Button.
This browser add-on, once installed, automatically activates cashback directly on store websites and applies any available promo codes at checkout.
So whenever you shop online, this app works in the background and alerts you if Rakuten offers cashback for the site you’re shopping on.
If it does, the add-on will automatically activate your cashback. Plus, it searches for and applies promo codes specific to that site or store. This means you not only earn cashback but also save money with discounts from the store.
Install it, and you’ll never miss out on cashback again. I’ve been using it, and that’s how I made $405 last year. Without it, I probably would have earned half that amount since I would have missed many cashback opportunities.
You can either log in to your account (after joining Rakuten) and find the add-on link at the bottom of your dashboard, or you can install it directly from your browser’s official app market.
Currently, the add-on is available for:
How Much Money Can You Make Through Rakuten?
The cashback amount varies, typically ranging from 1% to much more. It all depends on the agreements that stores have with the shopping portal website and how much of the commission the website keeps.
However it’s calculated, the result is that you earn cashback by simply installing a free add-on—just once!
Your cashback is paid out quarterly, either via check or directly into your PayPal account.
The Bottom Line
There are other shopping portal websites that offer cashback, and some even provide gift vouchers or other rewards. The percentage you get back from a particular store can differ from site to site, so it’s worth comparing them—especially if you’re making a big purchase.
Some platforms, including Rakuten, also reward you for referring friends or just for signing up.
This is a great way to earn extra money while shopping online. It only takes a few minutes to join the site for free and install their browser add-on. From then on, do your internet shopping as usual—with one big difference: now you get a nice check four times a year just for shopping.
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