Buying stuff online and getting free money back sounds like a scam, but with Shopback, it isn’t. This article is an in-depth review of the popular cashback app Shopback, used by millions worldwide.
Shopping online has become an easy and fast way to get products delivered straight to your door, with more than 1.8 billion online shoppers every year.
This is where cashback apps come into play, where you can buy through a link and earn a percentage back on your purchase. Cashback apps have a massive variety of online stores to choose from, like groceries, food delivery services, hotel booking, technology, and so many more!
In the United States, cashback apps are popular and widely used. Meanwhile, in Australia, the variety of options to choose from is limited.
After being an avid user of Shopback for 20+ months, as well as earning $340 $440+ in cashback benefits, I thought I’d do a review for any skeptics.
Disclaimer: This article contains a Shopback referral link, where I may receive a small commission on signups at no cost to you. You can read my full disclosure here.
What is Shopback?
Shopback is a cashback site that will give you money back on purchases made through links on their website or app.
The cashback percentages range from 0.5% – 90%, with up-sized cashback’s occurring daily.
Shopback works with over 2500 stores, including Apple, Amazon, eBay, Targe, and Champion, to name a few.
Using Shopback is the easiest way to shop online and earn money back in the process.
Withdrawing the cash back you’ve earned is also super easy. After the cashback is tracked and put into your account, you can send the money to a bank or Paypal account (minimum $10 required). There are no limits on how often you can withdraw if you meet the $10 requirement.
Is Shopback Legit?
Shopback is legit; they’re a registered company across Asia-Pacific.
The platform has over 19 million users in 9 countries and has paid out tens of millions of dollars to its users since 2014.
ShopBack is available in 9 countries, including Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and South Korea.
How Does Shopback Earn Money?
Shopback uses affiliate marketing to make its money.
Affiliate marketing is when a business will pay you a percentage of the final purchase for giving them a customer. You give them a paying customer and get rewarded for doing so.
So how does this work for Shopback?
Businesses will give Shopback an affiliate link, and they’ll display the link on their website and app. When you purchase through the link, Shopback will earn a commission.
Instead of Shopback keeping the entire commission (e.g., 20%), Shopback will share some of the commission with you too (e.g., 10%). The commission is an excellent incentive for users to buy through their links because they’re making money back with zero effort.
It’s a super simple concept that may seem confusing in the beginning.
For example, if BONDS has a 25% cashback offer, Shopback may get a 30% affiliate commission. Shopback gives you the 25% and then keeps the remaining 5%.
Shopback Features
Browser Extension
My favorite feature of Shopback is its browser extension. It’ll pop up if you’re ever shopping on a website that is available for cashback, which is a super handy reminder to maximize your cash back benefits.
You can install the free Chrome plugin here: Shopback Button
Upsized Cashback Deals
Shopback has daily upsized cashback deals for major retailers. These deals range from an extra 5% to 30% cashback and will help you save as much money as possible.
Three Shopback Tips
#1: Wait for upsized cashback
Wait to see if an online store has an upsized cashback deal coming up. I often hold my purchases at certain stores until Shopback comes out with a deal like (3.5% 25% up-sized cashback from 4 – 8 PM).
Popular stores that often do up-sized cashback:
– Catch.com.au
– BWS
– Cellarmasters
– Boohoo
– Adidas
– ETCH
While writing this Shopback review, I got notified of a flash sale (with up-sized cashback) occurring right now!
#2: Don’t use ad-block
Make sure to disable your ad-block when purchasing through Shopback, as the cashback platform doesn’t work well with it. This includes disabling it on the website you’re buying from.
#3: Always read the fine print
Click on ‘Cashback Info’ after clicking on a cashback link (it’s a button at the bottom).
This tab will tell you how long you’ll have to wait for your cash back, the cashback amount, and a note of the products that aren’t eligible for cashback.
Notice how it says, “The Ordinary products are not eligible for cashback.”
Shopback Pros and Cons
Shopback Pros
- Great range of stores: Shopback has an ever-growing range of stores and businesses to choose from.
- Ease of use: Their website/app is super easy to navigate, with categories and lots of information about different cashback deals. They also have a Shopback Browser Extension.
- Good customer service: There have been times where my cashback hasn’t been registered. I’ve contacted the customer service team and they’ve added it straight into my account.
- Daily up-sized cashback deals: Shopback increases certain stores’ cashback deals for a period of time throughout the day. These flash deals are an excellent way to save an extra 10% or 15% cashback.
- Withdraw money whenever you’d like:There aren’t any rules on when you can withdraw cash. Head to your account, click withdraw cashback, select your bank account, amount of money, and you’re on your way. As you can see below, I’ve withdrawn nearly $300, it’s super easy to withdraw cash, and it gets delivered to your bank account within five days. I’ve never had a problem.
Shopback Cons
Here are some of the negative aspects I’ve come across when using Shopback:
- Verification on cash backs can range anywhere from 30 – 120 days: Don’t expect the cashback anytime soon after purchase, as it will often take months to come. The reason is that Shopback has to verify in these 30 – 120 days that you haven’t returned the product/service.
- Can encourage an impulse buy: They have upsized cashback deals every day. Upsized cashback is fantastic in theory, but it can get you to spend unnecessary money. Make sure to buy products that you truly want and not just for cashback purposes.
- Stores have products that are not included in cashback: You have to make sure to read the terms and conditions of different cash-backs. Sometimes, specific categories are exempt from cashback, so make sure to read the fine print.
Who Should Use Shopback?
If you live in Asia-Pacific and shop online frequently, Shopback is a fast and easy way to earn some money back. It’s completely free and takes less than 2 minutes to sign up.
How to Sign up For Shopback
Sign up with an email address, Facebook, or Apple address, and you’ll be on your way. If you sign up through the link below, you’ll receive an extra $10 after your first $20 purchase.
Shopback is available on the App Store and Play store, as well as online.
Conclusion
So there we have it, my full in-depth review of Shopback.
I thought the premise of Shopback was too good to be true, but after being an avid user for 20 months, I can assure you that it’s a great way to earn cash back from shopping.
If you’d like to join Shopback, sign up with the link below. You’ll get a $10 bonus after spending $20 through the app/website!
Use Shopback? Let me know in the comments below!
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