UPDATE: August 2018
Read my update here, it has been purchased by Rakuten and I am impressed.
Here are my tips and tricks on getting the most of out Ebates Canada.
Here is my Ebates Canada Referral for $5 in your account automatically!
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More than a few readers have written in telling me that I should really stop promoting Ebates Canada because they are just HORRIBLE.
I am fan of promoting coupons, savings and all that good stuff, but not if it is not worth the hassle and the headache.
I only know of them from the U.S., but apparently their debut in Canada has really gone off the deep end and they’ve pissed off more than just a few customers, mad enough to write in and ask me to write a post on it.
1. YOU DON’T GET PAID WHEN YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO
They pay out every 3 months which in and of itself is bullsh*t.
Someone wrote in saying that they’ve been waiting since December 2012 for a payment and now they’re telling him that it will be August before he gets paid because they’ve “reset” the limit on there as they’ve gone past the payout date of May 15th.
Note: He also “missed” the March 15th payout by the way.
Now it’s going to be August 15th and I’ll check back to see how they respond to paying him the money.
He writes: “Thank god it was just a small amount of about $25 but the time I’ve spent trying to email them to get a response has been horrific.”
Ironic huh? Their motto is: “It pays to shop online” 😛
2. CUSTOMER SERVICE IS UNRESPONSIVE
Another person didn’t quite have the same hassle of not getting paid, but when she wrote in to ask a question, 2 weeks went by before she had to write in AGAIN to get a response.
3. THE DEALS AREN’T THAT GREAT
Sure you get 6% off when you buy something, but I did a little checking of my own and came to this conclusion: You are better off finding coupons and cheaper places to buy the things you want online and in-store, than to go through Ebates Canada.
I bought Persol sunglasses at about $350 (taxes included), a price tag that doesn’t quite sit well with me, so I did a little looking around and found them online for no less than $205 (taxes included) with FREE shipping.
That’s a savings of about $150, which is 42%, and far better of a deal than the piddly 6% offered by Ebates Canada to go through one of their confirmed retailers to buy the same pair of glasses.
Who in the right minds would decide to go with a crappy service that doesn’t give you your money back on time as promised, and doesn’t respond to your emails, to get 6% “cash back” when you can just save 42% right off the bat?
Not this girl!
OTHER WAYS TO GET GREAT DEALS WITHOUT EBATES CANADA FOR CANADIANS
- Buy it used or secondhand! Craig’s list is a goldmine.
- Use coupon sites with retailers like RetailMeNot
- Wait for a sale at a store that you know sells it if you don’t need it immediately.
- Look around online especially for things like sunglasses to find a good deal.
EBATES CANADA?
“It doesn’t pay to shop online with Ebates Canada”
I’ve taken down all the promotions and widgets for this site. Thanks to everyone who wrote in to warn me!
(Canadians always get screwed, this is not exception.)
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UPDATE: I emailed the readers to ask them to follow the advice below and email facebook@ebates.ca, and one reader wrote back saying it worked for him and he was paid immediately.
I still think it’s total BULLSH*T that people without blogs, using the company’s customer service the normal way (via contact forms) have to email someone else like me with a blog to complain so that I can write an article and warn everyone.
So you have to write a blog post, and THEN they take notice? This is too stupid for words.
