Last Day for 15 Percent Cash Back at 200+ Online Stores

All this week you’ve been able to effectively knock 15 percent off the price of everything at more than 250 online stores. Today’s the last day.

Here’s a partial list of stores where you can save through Friday, May 13.

• American Eagle
• Groupon
• JCPenney
• LivingSocial
• Lord and Taylor
• Nike
• Saks Fifth Avenue
• Travelocity

There’s one hoop you have to jump through to get these savings, but it’s a small one. All you have to do is …

Sign up for Ebates

If you’ve been reading us for long, you’re probably familiar with Ebates. If you’re not, Click this link, which will take you to the sign-up page. Just provide an email address. That’s it: You don’t have to provide your name, bank or credit card info, and the process takes less time than it took to read this sentence.

In addition to potentially saving 15 percent on everything you buy online today, you’ll also get a $10 gift card from either Walmart or Ebates just for signing up. (Note, however, that it won’t hit your account until you spend $25 within 90 days by shopping through the site.)

Shopping through cash-back sites

Using cash-back sites like Ebates is simple. You simply go to their site, click on the stores you want — like those offering 15 percent cash back this week — and start shopping.

After getting your big rebates today, keep using Ebates. It offers cash back all year round at more than 1,800 online stores, from Walmart to Neiman Marcus. Rebates range from 1 percent to 40 percent. You get your cash quarterly as long as it’s at least $5.

What’s the catch? There isn’t one. Stores pay Ebates a commission for sending you their way, and Ebates shares the commission with you as cash back. It’s just that simple.

I signed up with Ebates years ago, but until recently never used it. That’s because I forgot about it. To get cash back, you have to start your shopping at the site, and that’s something I’d never remember to do.

A few weeks ago, however, I did something simple that changed everything.

Use the cash-back button

Ebates has a little cash-back button you can download in a few seconds from the site. Install it, and it automatically identifies sites offering cash back whenever you search for something online. For example, here are the results of a recent search I did for “tires.”

See how the plug-in tells you the stores that are offering cash back, and how much? Click on a link and you’re automatically getting cash back. Zero hassle, extra money. What’s not to like?

Another thing you can do is sign up for the Ebates “Daily Double” email. Then you’ll automatically get an email telling you which retailer is offering double rebates that day.

If you’re not using a cash-back site, you’re wasting money. Take five seconds, click this link and stop pouring money down the drain. And then …

Make money while you save money

Whenever you discover something cool, you pass it along to your friends, maybe by sharing it on Facebook. Great! Please share this story by clicking the Facebook icon below. Then, do one more thing.

The way some cash-back sites grow is by paying people to refer their friends. Ebates, for example, pays you $5 for every friend you refer. It gives you a special link, you send it to your friends or post it on Facebook, and when your friends click that link, sign up and use the site for at least $25 of online purchases within a year, you get paid.

This costs your friends nothing: As soon as they spend $25 shopping through Ebates within 90 days of signing up, they get their $10 sign-up bonus, just like you did. You’re simply getting a referral fee — nothing wrong with that.

Speaking of referral fees, we’ll get one when you click the links in this article. It’s not costing you a dime, and I’d never recommend anything I don’t believe in. But it’s cool when you can make a little something for talking about things you’d be talking about anyway, right?

Are you using Ebates or a site like it? Share your thoughts by commenting below or on our Facebook page.