The Shopper's Apprentice

With Christmas quickly approaching, there are a limited number of days to finish off that Holiday shopping. While I love to stroll through a beautifully decorated Mall, the truth is that sometimes the noise, crowds, and stress make the Malls the place not to be. There are so many reasons I prefer to do the bulk of my Christmas shopping online! Here are my five top tips for online shopping:

1. Take advantage of Free shipping offers to purchase gifts for family members that live out of state. Have the gift wrapped and shipped directly to their home. This saves you time and money.
2. Read your favorite blogs daily to keep up on all the latest offers.
3. Use a cash back site like Ebates, where you can get a percentage of every dollar that you spend back in the form of cash.
4. Use a price comparison site like PriceGrabber.com to make sure you are paying the lowest price possible. This is especially important for big ticket items like TVs and other electronics.
5. Save up your Swagbucks throughout the year. Trade them in for gift cards for your favorite online retailers.

Whats on your wish list this year? Here’s a rundown of our family’s lists:

Mom – Slippers, Cutting Board, Silver Earrings, Battery Operated Gloves
Dad – Music CDs, Movies, mp3 Player, Clothes
DS 15 – Vintage Super Nintendo Game System, Vintage Nintedo Games, Books, Board Games
DD 13 – Music CDs, Fashion Design Templates, Debit Card for Clothes Shopping, Books
DD 10 – Motorized Scooter, RC Helicopter, DS Games, mp3 Player
DS 7 – Skylanders Giants, Lego Ninjago, Wii Games, Books
DS 4 – Skylanders Giants, Lego Ninjago, Thomas the Tank Engine Toys, Angry Birds

Looks like everything on our lists can be purchased online, and all through retailers that offer Free shipping (at one time or another).

Let’s spend a few minutes talking about Ebates, a cash back site that helps you save even more. Ebates customers receive 1%-50% Cash Back on their purchases at thousands of different stores.

Signing up is easy! Just head on over to the Ebates page and select your sign up bonus. You can choose from the following $10 gift cards: Macy’s, Walmart, Target, Kohl’s, or select a $5 Ebates gift card. The gift carf will be automatically snail-mailed to the address you provide once you have spent at least $25 through the Ebates site. After you select your reward, enter your email, create a password, and you’re all set!

For future online shopping, head on over to Ebates first if you would like the cash back. Then enter the retailer at which you’d like to shop in the Ebates search window.

The next page will list your store and show an orange “Shop Now” button. Click on this and a window will open that looks like this:

The window will show for a few seconds to let you know the tracking id has been successfully established. Then a regular online store front will appear and you can continue to shop as usual. Your online purchase totals will be tracked by Ebates and any cash back that is coming your way will be credited within 2-3 days. What a great way to save even more when shopping online, whether it be for Christmas (during Black Friday or even Cyber Monday), or any other occasion! As you shop, Cash Back accumulates in your account, and then every few months, Ebates will send you a Big Fat Check (or transfer funds via Paypal).

Disclosure: This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Ebates. The opinions and text are all mine.

Discover how online shopping saves you time and money this holiday season. Ebates is a great destination for online deals and you get cash back! Sign up today!

Reply below and be entered to win $100 cash from Ebates. Sweepstakes Rules.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Ebates. The opinions and text are all mine.

Newegg is offering a $10 discount on any Game Pre-Orders of $39.99 or more with promo code EMCNAJB243 at checkout. My 7 yo is asking for Paper Mario: Sticker Star Nintendo 3DS Game and I’m starting my Christmas shopping! This game is selling (pre-order) for $39.99 over on Amazon.

If you go through Ebates, you’ll get up to 4% cash back. If you are new to Ebates, this purchase will also qualify you for a Free $10 Gift Card to the merchant of your choice. You will select the gift card you want when you sign up, and the gift card is shipped automatically when you make your first $25 purchase.

So I clicked in through Ebates and entered the promo code. I had to sign up for the newsletter in order to get the $10 discount, but that’s ok. I can always unsubscribe later. Here’s my checkout info:

Shipping and tax were Free

Ckeck out this deal here on Newegg or click in through Ebates to save even more.

Tiger Direct is offering a $10 Mail in Rebate on these iBlink Earbuds. Shipping is Free. Today (9/17) is the last day of the MIR.

You can also get 2.5% cash back if you click in through Ebates. It’s not much, but if you are new to Ebates you’ll recieve a Free $10 Gift card (to the merchant of your choice) once you spend $25. The $10 you spend for these earbuds (which you’ll get back in the rebate) will count toward the $25 you need to get a Free $10 gift card!

Check out this Freebie from TigerDirect or click in through Ebates to save a little more.

Newegg is offering a 26 pc Lock & Lock set for $22.99 with Free shipping! This set has a regular retail price of $75.00, so this is a great deal. These are microwave, freezer and dishwasher safe.

You can also click in through Ebates to get up to 4% cash back!

Magazines.com is offering HGTV Magazine for the first time ever on it’s site. The sale is valid only tonight (8/22/2012) through midnight and the cost is $18/year which works out to $1.80/issue. That’s half price, and if you’d rather go through Amazon, the price is the same over there (but it comes with auto-renewal).

If you want to save even more, you can click into Magazines.com through Ebates. They’re offering a whopping 26% back on Magazines.com purchases, which brings the net cost of the magazine down to $13.32/year or $1.32/issue.

Now I’ve never seen a deal for this magazine. It’s a little pricier than most magazines I’ve seen or posted, but I’m puting it out there since it’s an unusual offer!

Ebates is offering 52% cash back on purchases made through Magazines.com. A one-year subscription to All You Magazine is priced at $19.95, so your net cost after 52% cash back is $9.58/year. That works out to just 0.80/issue.

If you are new to Ebates, you will also get a Free gift card for signing up and spending at least $25 through their site. You can choose a $10 Target, $10 Home Depot, $10 at Magazines.com, or $5 Ebates gift card. The gift card will be automatically snail-mailed to your home address as soon as you spend the $25. So you could purchase a two-year subscription to All You for $39.84, get the 52% cash brack bringing the cost down to $19.12, then receive a $10 Target gift card in the mail! Your net cost for two years of All You would be just $9.12 for two years, or 0.38/issue!

To get this deal, log in over at Ebates (or create a new account) and search for Magazines.com. Then click in through the orange “show now” button and a tracking window will be created. If you want to purchase All You, just search for it on Magazines.com. If you are a new member and spend $25 or more, the gift card you select will be automatically snail mailed to your home address!

Get started here!

Amazon has a one year subscription to TV Guide Magazine reduced to $20. That includes 56 issues, and you can choose whether or not to include the auto-renewal. That works out to just 0.36/issue!

Better still, if you click into Amazon through Ebates, you’ll get 20% cash back. That brings the cost down to $16/year or just 0.31/issue. If you are new to Ebates, you will also get a Free gift card for signing up and spending at least $25 through their site. You can choose a $10 Target, $10 Home Depot, $10 at Magazines.com, or $5 Ebates gift card. The gift card will be automatically snail-mailed to your home address as soon as you spend the $25.

Get TV Guide from Amazon or click in through Ebates for greater savings.

Ebates is offering 40% cash back on purchases made at Magazines.com today. This includes All You, a magazine that comes to you each month with lots of manufacturer’s coupons. The cost for one year of All You is $19.95, so your net cost is $11.97/year or $1/issue! If you use just one or two coupons out of the magazine, it’s pretty much paid for itself. I enjoy the articles, too.

If you are new to Ebates, you’ll also get a $10 gift card of your choice just for signing up. The gift card will be mailed to you as soon as you spend $25 or more through Ebates. So what you could do is order two years of All You for $39.84, then get 40% cash back and a $10 gift card for a net cost of just 0.58/issue!

Get started here!

The Children’s Place is offering 20% off all purchases today with coupon code K6G93MRS42, or 15% off with coupon code R3G2012. Shipping is Free! They are also advertising $5 T-Shirts, and it looks like there are some bargains to be found.

To save even more, click on in through Ebates. You’l get 2.5% cash back on all your purchases! If you are new to Ebates, you’ll also earn a $10 gift card as soon as you spend your first $25. Just enter “The Children’s Place” in the search window to open a tracking ticket and shop as usual.

Claire’s is having a ten for $10 sale! Some of the products included in this sale originally sold for $9.50 or more. In order to get this price, you must order in multiples of ten, and there is a limit of 50 items per order. Shipping is Free for orders over $45.00.

If you click into Claires.com through Ebates, you can also earn 2.5% cash back! And if you are new to Ebates, you’ll get a $10 Gift Card to the merchant of your choice when you spend your first $25. The gift card is automatically mailed to your home address.

Check out the Claire’s sale on this page or click in through Ebates here.