{"id":1942,"date":"2023-11-11T11:18:17","date_gmt":"2023-11-11T18:18:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/financegourmet.com\/blog\/?p=1942"},"modified":"2024-01-07T12:45:12","modified_gmt":"2024-01-07T19:45:12","slug":"ebates-rakuten-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/financegourmet.com\/blog\/deals\/ebates-rakuten-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Rakuten Review Scam or Legit Money Saver"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is Rakuten? Is Rakuten legit, or is Rakuten a scam? Can you really earn hundreds of dollars using Rakuten to shop online? How does Rakuten work? Ebates is now Rakuten. Rakuten bought out eBates and renamed it, just like it did with buy.com<\/em>. Rakuten is legit and Rakuten is not a scam. I’m updating my Ebates review and turning it into one of the rakuten.com reviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s check out my Rakuten review below for answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Holiday shopping bonuses make Rakuten a better deal than it usually is throughout the year. On Veteran’s Day, for example, there is 11% cash back at several retailers. Combine that with already available Black Friday sales or hit those bigger purchases you are waiting for. <\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Rakuten Reviews<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Ebates Rakuten commercials promise cashback for shopping. Does this online website deliver, or is this just a Rakuten scam? I took my own look after a cousin of mine (an extreme couponer<\/a>) asked, “Is Rakuten safe?” So, without further ado, here is my review of Rakuten<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Update: This Rakuten review is still completely accurate, however, it turns out that Rakuten is an especially good deal around holiday time. The reason is that many retailers have a boosted earnings rate during sales periods like Black Friday, and Cyber Monday. For example, many retailers that usually have just a 2% or 3% cash back rate have rates as high as 11% cash back during Rakuten Black Friday sales. They have an 11% Cash Back for Singles’ Day right now (11\/11\/23). If you are pulling the trigger on Christmas gifts for yourself, or the family, target retailer’s sales and then stack that with 11% cash back. Unlike in-store offers or coupon codes, with Rakuten you can add up both deals.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This weekend, I earned 11% at Kohl’s, and 11% at Macy’s, as well as 6% on toys from Walmart. There is 15% cash back with Dell Small Business, which could add up very fast. If you bought a $1,000 computer, that’s $150 in cash back with just one purchase. With rates like these, the cash back really does add up quickly. It still won’t pay your monthly electric bill, but I racked up over $100 in cash back just by making the holiday purchases I was going to make anyway.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to turn these 11% cash back deals into gifts but you need some Christmas present ideas, Kohl’s sells nice fuzzy\/flannaly pajamas at good prices (especially with 11% cash back). Macy’s sells good, not crazy-priced bedding like sheets and blankets. And, then obviously, if you’re looking to buy a computer, there’s Lenovo and Dell and stuff — you might want to roll the dice on a Good Friday special stacked with a Rakuten special, but that’s a gamble you can decide on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, ShopDisney never puts what I want on sale until all they have left is XS sizes. So, 11% cash back gives me a good deal from the Disney Store on things I want to buy now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See maximizing Rakuten cash back below for more details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rakuten pro tip<\/strong>: If you are going to shop with your phone, the Rakuten app makes it much easier to make sure you are using the proper Rakuten links and getting credit for your cash back.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you sign up using this link<\/a>, we both get a bonus cash back payout of $40 that turns your first purchase, plus that 11% rate into a very nice start to earning cash with Rakuten. (Note: The next check comes out in May.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does Rakuten really pay cash back? The answer is yes, but it can take more time and isn’t as straightforward as it may seem. If you are thinking of hundreds of dollars in rebates, you are going to have to spend some serious money or catch some of the higher cash back bonus rates<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can SoFi really save me money<\/a>?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rakuten Scam Detector<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As always, our first order of business is to sniff around for a possible scam, especially when an offer sounds too good to be true. First up, we check to see if Rakuten is not free and is actually a trick to get you to sign up for something that costs money like those free credit score<\/a> offers that turn into subscriptions for a monthly service with a hefty fee.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"rakuten<\/a>
The Ebates Rakuten website promises cash back<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Fortunately, Rakuten gets a passing score here. In order to sign up, you only have to provide an email address. As always, I recommend using a secondary, or shopping-only email address. You will get “periodic shopping-related emails” from Rakuten and their partners when you sign up. That isn’t bad, but you need to know what you are doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During all my clicking around, I was never asked for a credit card number. This is another good sign. If they don’t have your bank information or a credit card number, then they don’t have a way to charge you money. Keep it that way. Don’t enter a credit card number while using the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rakuten mails you a physical check, so they don’t need your checking account information either. If someone is asking for your checking info, then you are likely on a scam, lookalike site, or you clicked a scam link in an email. Use this link<\/a> to be safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having answered is Rakuten a safe website, we need to know how does Rakuten make money?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is Rakuten Legit? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, many free things online come with terrible software or other clients that must be installed on your computer. The Ask Toolbar is one of the worst (if you have this installed, uninstall it right away). Fortunately, Rakuten doesn’t require you to install anything. The exception to this is if you want to use the company’s mobile app, or a browser extension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next up when deciding if something is legitimate, is seeing if you can figure out their angle, or how does Rakuten make money? While it is true that there are hundreds of venture capital backed websites and services banging around Silicon Valley without hope of ever earning a dime, giving away money is a tricky proposition if there is no revenue. As it turns out, Rakuten has a fairly straightforward business model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ever look into whether Credit Karma is legit<\/a>?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is Rakuten?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Whether you know it or not, many online retailers offer a referral fee or commission to websites that send business their way. The user doesn’t have to do anything. Instead, the person that publishes the website<\/a> includes a code in the links you click on. That code tells the retailer where you came from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amazon is famous for its Amazon Affiliates program which pays a percentage of purchases to website owners that send buyers to the company. Many of these retailers offer a higher payout for those who send higher volumes of customers. Rakuten uses this same model to send customers to dozens of retailers, and then offers part of that referral fee back to its users. They keep the rest of the commission and that is the profit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rakuten Catch<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There are two tricks involved here that may make it look to some like Rakuten is a scam. There really isn’t a Rakuten catch, but it can seem that way. Hopefully, this Rakuten review can make it clear what is happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, the online retailer only gives credit to one website for any sale. So, for example, if you visited my website and clicked this link to shop for finance books at Amazon<\/a>, it puts a cookie on your computer marking you as “my shopper.” For the next 24 hours, if you buy anything from Amazon, I get credit for that and make some money. (Not a lot. Don’t worry this doesn’t make me rich \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s the catch. If you go to Rakuten after <\/em>you already have been marked as my referral (or someone else’s) then Rakuten would not get credit for your shopping trip. If Rakuten does not get paid a commission, then they would obviously not give you any cash back. Even worse, if you have already been to the shopping site, they may also not count you as a referral.