Tag Archives: rebates

Maximizing My Online Shopping Discounts and Savings on the Black Friday Sales

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Although we try to keep our present giving to a reasonable volume, between Christmas and birthdays, we still have lots of things to buy at this time of year. Many things, like clothes, I only like to buy in a real store where I can see the true colour and feel the weight and hand of the fabric. Others, though, like books, Blu-rays, Corelle bowls, Vellux blankets, and even Nikon cameras, I will buy online if the price is right. Recently, I noticed some good discounts online to save me money due to Black Friday sales that start a week before the American Thanksgiving, and luckily I remembered to maximize my cash back by buying through my Great Canadian Rebates account.

(If you’d like to join Great Canadian Rebates, please consider using my referral link. https://www.greatcanadianrebates.ca/Register/171462/
It won’t cost you anything but it might earn me a tip!)

What are the Differences Between Using Great Canadian Rebates and Just Shopping at Amazon.ca?

To understand how Great Canadian Rebates works, you have to understand a bit about marketing and internet advertising. Basically, many stores offer a small “commission” to people that bring them business. So if you click on an Amazon ad on my website and then buy something at Amazon, I may get a small cash reward for encouraging you to shop at Amazon. (So far that has never actually happened!)

Similarly, if you start at the Great Canadian Rebates website, and have joined GCR, and then you open the Amazon.ca website from the GCR link on their home page, then GCR will get a small cash reward if you actually buy something at Amazon. To encourage you to do this, Great Canadian Rebates will SHARE the small cash reward with you. They even tell you before you shop what % of your purchase you will get back.

Generally, Amazon.ca does not offer any % back if you are buying books. But if you are buying, say, a Nikon camera, it may offer back a % of your purchase price. The % can change from week to week as there are “specials.”

A few weeks ago, I got 1.3% back on my purchase of several Blu-rays. That doesn’t sound like much but the movies were already on sale. It only took me a few extra seconds to sign in to my Great Canadian Rebates account, then click on their link to amazon.ca then do my shopping as usual. For that I got back as much cash as many cash-back credit cards offer. And over time, it adds up, often getting me $10+ a month.

How Does Great Canadian Rebates Pay Me?

In my case, I’ve signed up for payment in the form of amazon.ca email gift certificates. Once a month, GCR sends me an email with a code to use when I buy something at Amazon. I can wait and use up every month’s gift certificate on one purchase if I want. (In coupon terms, they are “stackable.”)

How Can You Join Great Canadian Rebates

You can just go to their website and sign up.

Or you can be really nice to me, and go to their website from my link, which will pay me money if you ever use GCR to make a purchase. My link is https://www.greatcanadianrebates.ca/Register/171462/.

They have a scheme where if you use my referral code to sign up with GCR, then you get your % back on online purchases made after clicking through to online stores like amazon.ca from the GCR website. And I *also* get an even smaller % back just because you did. It doesn’t change your earnings, it just increases mine.

Like I say, you don’t have to use my referral to join but I thank you in advance if you choose to do so. (I will never know that you joined or what you bought. I just might get a few more cents per month if you sign up and then use GCR as the entryway to making a purchase online.)

In the meantime, I’ll keep trying to remember to use the GCR website to start my online shopping. If I can save $20 on my shopping, I can take the family out for dim sum!

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Do you try to maximize your online savings by using a rewards credit card and making your purchases through an online portal like Great Canadian Rebates? Please share your strategies with a comment.

If you’d like to join Great Canadian Rebates, please consider using my referral link. https://www.greatcanadianrebates.ca/Register/171462/
It won’t cost you anything but it might earn me a tip!

A Review of Great Canadian Rebates and SoftMoc Online Shopping

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The other day (in 2014) I realized one of my children needed boots again to cope with the long trudge to school in the pouring rain. (Yes, some kids DO still have to walk to school. They have rotten parents, from what I’m told.) The last pair were Cougars which had lasted well and had fit comfortably.  So while we were at “the Mall” we looked at Sears to see what they had this time. Unfortunately, it appears Sears no longer stocks Cougars (especially since now, in 2017 Sears is bankrupt). So when we were home, I went online to find out who sells Cougars. The result was that I ended up successfully using Great Canadian Rebates again and saving 5% off my purchase price from SoftMoc.

Who Sells Cougars In Canada?

I quickly discovered that SoftMoc sells Cougar boots in Canada. The only downside was that the boots we wanted to buy are not carried at the SoftMoc stores. Instead they have to be ordered online.

Always Check the Online Return Policy Before Buying

Children’s feet don’t stay the same size from year to year which makes it tricky to buy footwear without trying it on. So I was uneasy about ordering boots online from SoftMoc.

When I checked the details of their Return Policy, however, I calmed down. I could return boots ordered online that didn’t fit to any store location for a full refund.

Always Check the Details for Free Shipping Before Buying Online Too

The other qualm was the infamous shipping fees. Fortunately, SoftMoc offers free shipping to most of southern Canada on reasonably priced goods.

As a bonus, I could also get the order delivered to my nearest SoftMoc store. That meant I wouldn’t have to worry about being available when the courier arrived with the order. (Our workplaces do NOT like to receive personal mail or parcels.) It also meant that if the boots didn’t fit, they could be “returned” immediately at the store with no delay or dispute that they had been worn or damaged.

At that point, I nearly hit the Buy button. But then I thought: I wonder if I can get a discount or cash back on these?

Never Buy Online Before You Check If Great Canadian Rebates Has a Cash-back Reward for Your Order

So I signed in to my Great Canadian Rebates account.

Sure enough, they deal with SoftMoc! In fact, at that time they were offering a 5% rebate on any online purchases made there. All I had to do was start shopping by selecting SoftMoc from the drop-down list of stores under the Merchant heading at the top of the page.

UPDATE: Unfortunately in November 2017, SoftMoc doesn’t currently have a relationship with Great Canadian Rebates. Keep checking though as things often change.

(If you’d like to join Great Canadian Rebates, please consider using my referral link. https://www.greatcanadianrebates.ca/Register/171462/
You’ll be enrolled the same as if you join any other way, but I will get a reward if you shop using their website. It won’t cost you anything and it would be greatly appreciated by me. Thanks to some other kind readers who joined this way, one of my children got the new Vet Volunteers book for free using my rewards.)

So I went to the SoftMoc website from the link on my Great Canadian Rebates page (after signing in) and placed my order.

The order was shipped, as promised within one business day.

I received a phone call from the SoftMoc store telling me my order was in even before I received the confirmation emails that my order had shipped.

We went to the store after school and to my amazement, the boots fit.

That was almost too easy. (I’m sure any parent who has driven their child from store to store desperately trying to find foot wear that fits, and that the child can stand the colours of, will agree this was a major win.)

How Would I Rate the SoftMoc Online Shopping Experience

For my test, the entire process went very well. I will shop from their website again in the future.

Did I Get My Money from Great Canadian Rebates?

Well, I will. They have a policy of paying out after 45 days. This avoids (most) problems with people returning goods after they have paid out the cash back reward.

I can see the correct amount is waiting in my GCR account. I have received other payments correctly.

Will I Use Great Canadian Rebates Again?

Yes.

I have used them in the past and it works. For one extra step for online shopping, I have often saved 2-5% off my bill. Given that my savings account (except for the promotional rate money at Tangerine and PC Financial) is usually only earning 1.3%, this seems like a good saving.

In fact, I just signed in to Great Canadian Rebates and used their link to go to Walmart.ca to buy some Hallowe’en handouts, laundry soap, and cornstarch. All of these were on sale and the bonus is that I won’t have to waste any gasoline driving to buy them in person. Plus they have a promotional reward rate of 4% this week (mid-October 2014.)

UPDATE: In July 2016, Walmart is not a store I can shop at through Great Canadian Rebates but I’m hoping they will return again in the future.

If You Want to Sign Up for Great Canadian Rebates

I wrote an earlier article about how to sign up for Great Canadian Rebates. Whether you choose to use my link and also earn me some rewards is up to you. (Thank you if you do, though!) Even if you don’t, though, consider using this method to save a bit of money on a purchase. If you receive your rebates as amazon.ca certificates you can get paid quickly.

The link that lets you join and gives me a bonus is:
https://www.greatcanadianrebates.ca/Register/171462/
then click on the Not a Member Join Up Here link at the top right side of the screen.

Otherwise, just type the greatcanadianrebates address in your browser to get there with no connection to me.

NOTE:  I am never told who used my link, so I won’t be able to thank you personally. They want to keep your identity 100% private.

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Do you shop through any websites that give you a rebate or reward in addition to that offered by the store itself? Please share your insights with a comment.