The coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns has introduced many older Australians into the joys of online shopping, but wait until you discover there is a way to get cash back for the purchases you make online.
Many of your favourite stores will allow you to grab a discount via cashback websites.
Cashback sites are a simple idea. Instead of going directly to a shop, you access a retailer’s online store through a link from a cashback website.
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You still receive your item directly from the retailer, but you also get some money from the cashback website.
Typically, the sites offer around 4 to 8 per cent of the sale price in money that can be paid back into your bank account at the end of the month, or whenever you make a request.
All you have to do is shop at the retailer’s website as you normally would. You just have to navigate to that site from a link on a cashback site, rather than by typing the URL yourself, or by navigating from a link on Google.
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How does it work?
Many online retailers offer commissions to those who refer online traffic to them.
Cashback sites pass on some of those commissions to the consumer.
An online retailer may pay the cashback website $10 for a referral, giving $8 back to you and keeping the $2 for themselves.
The prices you pay are the same as you would pay if you had visited the retailer’s website from a Google search, but this way you get a portion of your money back for shopping smart.
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Most cashback sites allow the payments to accumulate in a cashback account on their website, then you can choose to redeem your money when ready by clicking a button on your account where the money will be paid to your nominated bank or PayPal account.
These sites usually require you to have earned a minimum amount before you can cash out your money.
You will find most of the big-name stores available on cashback sites, including Coles, Woolworths, Target, Myer and David Jones as well as popular clothing, travel and liquor stores.
Here are some cashback sites to help you start saving some serious money:
Do you use cashback sites? How much money have you saved using these sites? Why not share your thoughts in the comments section below?
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