Earn Cashback with some of Australia's largest retailers on ShopBack!
If you are reading this, chances are you are looking to make money off your everyday purchases for FREE in the form of Cashback.
You're in the right place, read our comprehensive ShopBack review of our own experiences using the Shopback app and how much money we got back.
To get started straight away with a $5 referral bonus on your first $20 purchase you can start here
What is Shopback?
Shopback is an app or browser extension you can use when you are shopping online to earn money back on your purchases.
It’s that simple.
If you don't want to download anything you can see all your favourite retailers directly on their website www.shopback.com.au
Going to buy something online?
If the website you are purchasing off is affiliated with Shopback you can earn money back on your purchase you were going to make anyway, and it doesn’t cost you a thing.
For example if you purchase an item from a ShopBack retailer and they are offering 5% Cashback. After your purchase you will get $5 put into your ShopBack account.
It's that easy.
This includes some of Australia’s biggest retailers; Ebay, Amazon, The Iconic, Catch, Booking.com
Start getting Cashback now!
What’s the Catch?
That’s always my first thought when using incentives like this.
First you need to understand how Shopback works.
They are partners with the retailers they promote. The retail partners pay ShopBack a commission every time a successful order is placed from the traffic ShopBack sends there and they share that commission with you as cashback.
The key thing to realise is they 'share' the commission with you, they keep some of the commission they make from the retailer and pass the rest of the commission on to you in the form of Cashback.
It’s a win-win for them and you the consumer, they are making money sending customers to the retailers websites and you are making money back on your everyday purchases.
Shopback are the middle-man, making money by saving you money.
How To Get Started With Shopback
You have 2 options - you need to download the extension or the app
Or better yet just download both the extension and the app, it uses the same login and you’re covered whether you’re shopping on your computer or your mobile phone.
The Cashback Buddy Extension is an internet browser extension that alerts you when you are on a website that accepts Shopback so you won’t forget to activate it.
The second option is to download the mobile phone app available on Google Play and the Apple App Store and find the retailers you want to shop at within the app.
After you have the extension, the app or both you can simply shop at your favourite online retailers, activate Cashback and make your purchase.
You then wait out the pending period for the Cashback to become available in your account, which you can withdraw as real cash direct to your bank account or through PayPal.
The best thing about the Internet browser extension is it's relatively non-intrusive, I have used similar extensions and they really alter the user experience on a website with constant pop-ups and they get in the way of you actually using the website.
Does Shopback Actually Work?
In short… Yes.
Here is a screenshot of my current Shopback account.
And here is a photo of my girlfriends account who books a lot more of our holidays on her ShopBack account.
My first Cashback amount was for $0.06 back in November 26 2018 from AliExpress.
I shop for little gadgets on AliExpress frequently.
Looking at this and knowing there was a $10 withdrawal minimum I wondered whether I would ever make that amount.
But the Shopback retailers started growing rapidly and when I travelled, booked accommodation through Booking.com and used Shopback I was able to start getting larger cashback amounts for those accommodation bookings.
The next test was once I had around $60 in the account, could I withdraw it without any hassle?
The transfer was approved for withdrawal on 16-Sept-2019 and the money was in my account on 17-Sept-2019.
There it is!
Cash in the bank… for buying things I would have bought regardless.
It might seem like a small amount at first but if you spend a lot on a particular product or service and it has an affiliation with Shopback it can start adding up quickly and before you know it there's a couple of hundred dollars in your account.
My family travels a lot and the travel cashback amounts accumulate in the background every purchase.
There would easily be a lifetime value of over $3,000 in my extended families accounts of Cashback earned through ShopBack.
What Else Does The App Offer?
Recently, Shopback have brought back a fan favourite in Cashback Troopers.
Cashback Troopers is a game within the app, where you can win Cashback prizes and be entered into the monthly draw to win a cash prize between $500-$1,000.
Initially they were only going to keep this promotion running for a month, but they have made the decision to extend it, which is probably due to its popularity and an increase in people using the app.
I have managed to win a grand total of $0.50 playing the game, but it is actually an enjoyable game just to play and you only have 5 lives before you have to wait for your lives to regenerate and each game is only 1 minute long so it is not going to consume a lot of your time.
My better half loves the game and plays a lot and has managed to win $6.35 total which includes 15 individual cash prize wins ranging from $0.10 to $1.00 each.
And for those who do play the game she also managed to get 16 gems in 1 game. My highest is still only 12.
I have also seen additional incentives recently at Shopback with their limited time challenges. In July 2020 you could earn $3 Bonus Cashback for shopping at 3-7 different stores.
Shopback love to engage their community with giveaways and contests. In May, they ran The Amazing Shopback Race (Carnival Edition) where they hid clues on their social media accounts and website.
By solving simple riddles using these clues, you received a code word that would enable you to solve the next riddle and potentially win prizes.
They do little things like this regularly which keeps people engaged and also keeps the brand front of mind.
Shopback Can Help In The Research Phase Of A Purchase
If you are always looking for the best deal then Shopback can be a great assistant.
When you are searching for the product you want to buy in Google, the Shopback extension will show you which stores have cashback available.
If 2 stores have an identical item for sale at the same price and one has a cashback option and the other doesn’t, you can save yourself some extra dollars!
On more than one occasion, I have been able to find the lowest price possible on the item I’ve been looking for with the additional cashback option and all these cashbacks from purchases keep topping up my cashback account.
Shopback Frustrations
If you’ve read this far so far everything has been positive, and for the most part Shopback is a fantastic app and I use it all the time.
There are some draw backs, if you don't read the fine print around what is and isn't eligible for cashback. I have experienced being on the wrong side of not reading the fine print.
The majority of the negative reviews around Shopback are usually first timers who didn’t use the app properly and never got any Cashback. There are also times, for whatever reason, that the app doesn’t track your purchase. If it's a larger purchase, this can be really frustrating.
Early on when I started using Shopback, it didn’t track the cashback for a matress I purchased (or so I thought). This would have been $25 Cashback. I was annoyed and frustrated at the time, so I completely understand where the negative reviews are coming from.
Although in the end, it was my fault.
I didn’t read the terms and conditions of the deal properly. It stated if you use a coupon code (which I did) you aren’t eligible for the Cashback.
If you think your purchase hasn't been tracked properly, send support an email. Below is what they asked me to supply when I contacted them.
order confirmation email & the tax invoice receipt includes all relevant details, such as dates of purchase, order number, item details, item price, and full payment details.
I provided the details and then the support replied with the following
Thank you for the order confirmation attachment provided.
Upon checking on your order confirmation with the merchant, the reason your cashback was not tracked and reflected in your account is due to the usage of coupon code during purchase. As per terms & conditions, for coupon codes not found on ShopBack, the eligibility of Cashback is subject to the merchant stores’ Terms & Conditions. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that Cashback will be awarded if these coupons were used. To ensure eligibility for Cashback, use only the coupon codes found on ShopBack.
The customer service was responsive and when I provided the details they asked for, they were able to explain the reason why I didn’t receive that cashback. I was happy with this outcome.
ShopBack Didn't Track My Order
So if ShopBack didn’t track your order, here’s some reasons why it might have happened:
- You used an additional promo code or voucher that wasn’t approved by ShopBack
- You used a Giftcard to purchase the item, which didn’t qualify for the Cashback
- The item was returned, exchanged or cancelled
- You were using an AdBlocker that affected the Cashback claim
- Make sure you are using the latest version of ShopBack. Version 5 will no longer be supported after August 22 2020.
The coupon code one catches out people. Who doesn’t use coupons if they're available?
Shopback will only work if you don’t use a coupon code when making your purchase, unless otherwise stated.
Referral Opportunities
ShopBack offer you a referral code when you invite friends to use the platform and you can make between $5-$15 depending on the promotion period per friend that signs up.
It is a great little incentive because unlike other things people try to push you into, ShopBack is always a win-win for both parties and the community they created is a great community to be a part of.
Summary of ShopBack
Overall Shopback is a fantastic way for you to get some extra dollars cashback for your online purchases.
They have provided a fantasic app with enjoyable games and cashback giveaways and limited time promotions.
To get started, you can use our referral code here for a bonus $5 when you spend more than $20 through Shopback on your everyday purchases.