ShopSmarter claims you can find thousands of cashback offers once you become a member. But is ShopSmarter legit or a scam?
It’s a valid question to ask before you join any website and in this ShopSmarter review, I will not only address that concern, but I will also show you the full details of what it offers.
And let me just tell you right now that there are a couple of important things you must know about ShopSmarter before you decide if it is worth it or not. So, let’s go ahead and check out what it is all about, shall we?
What is ShopSmarter, and what does it offer?
ShopSmarter is a cashback site that will let you earn cashback rewards from its cashback offers. And yes, it is legit because you can really earn rewards from its cashback offers. However, that doesn’t immediately tell you if it is worth it.
To figure out if you should sign up for it, the first step is to understand how it works. The only way to do so is to examine the earning opportunity it offers so you will have a clear idea of how to earn from it and how good it really is.
So, here’s how to earn from ShopSmarter.
The earning opportunity – Cashback offers
The only way to earn from ShopSmarter is through the cashback offers found inside the member area. Once you log in to the member dashboard, you can browse all the stores that have existing cashback offers for ShopSmarter.
There are more than a thousand stores to choose from (refer to the photo above), which is the main advantage of this cashback site, in my opinion. Plus, it has partnered with a good number of popular stores, so you will definitely find cashback offers you will be interested in.
What you must remember is that all of the cashback offers have a fixed cashback rate of 10%, which is an average rate, in my opinion. Your cashback reward is calculated by calculating 10% of your order subtotal. Your subtotal is the total cost of your purchase minus taxes, shipping and handling, and any other fees added to your order at checkout.
If you used coupons or other forms of discount, ShopSmarter will calculate your 10% cashback reward using your new subtotal after any discounts are applied. After you complete the purchase, the cashback reward will be credited to your account as long as you don’t cancel the order or return the product.
In the next section, I will discuss how you will get paid.
What you must keep in mind when availing of cashback offers is that you must always access the online store through ShopSmarter’s dashboard. That’s the only way it can track your purchase and award you with the appropriate cashback reward.
Recommended: Check Out the Best Cashback Sites
How do you get paid?
Every time you are awarded a cashback reward, it will be credited to your account balance. You can even see all the cashback rewards you’ve earned on the dashboard.
Now, the question is, how can you withdraw your earnings?
Well, you’ve got two options – you can either get paid via PayPal or check via postal mail. Personally, I prefer getting paid via PayPal because payment via checks is a bit of a hassle and, well, a bit outdated, in my opinion.
Payments are made automatically on the 15th day of the following month. This means you don’t need to hit a threshold to receive your earnings. As long as you’ve earned cashback rewards within that month, expect to receive your earnings on the 15th day of the following month.
It’s a fairly straightforward process, and I like the fact that it uses a convenient payment method like PayPal. If you are interested in more sites that use a convenient payment method, I suggest you also check out the top sites that pay via PayPal.
How much money can you make?
The amount you can earn from ShopSmarter will depend on how often you shop from its partner stores. However, there’s one factor that you must keep in mind, and this has something to do with ShopSmarter’s membership.
You see, to become a ShopSmarter member, you have to pay a monthly fee of $12.97 (at the time of writing this review). This fee may change by the time you’ve encountered the site, but the fact still remains that being a member of the site will cost a certain amount.
To put it in perspective, you’ll have to spend around $130 (since you will earn 10% as a cashback reward) just to break even every month. So, for you to actually profit from it, you have to spend quite a bit. This is why I would say its earning potential is very low, because of the monthly membership fee you must pay.
If it was free to join, then I would say its earning potential would be significantly better.
Can you use it on mobile?
ShopSmarter doesn’t have a mobile app you can download, but you can access the member dashboard using your phone because it is optimized for mobile use. So, you can still shop online even when you are not in front of your computer.
You can also do it conveniently because you won’t encounter any annoying pop-up ads while using it. Overall, I would say the user experience it provides is quite decent, which is all you can ask for from a cashback platform.
Who can join ShopSmarter?
ShopSmarter is only available to people who live in the US and Canada. So, if you live somewhere else, this is not for you. Plus, the Join button won’t be available if you don’t live in the countries mentioned above.
To sign up as a member, you can fill out the registration form. Then, as mentioned earlier, you’ll have to pay a membership fee every month ($12.97 per month when I was testing it). There’s an option to do a 7-day trial for free.
However, you must cancel it if you don’t want to become a member before the trial period ends because it will automatically charge your credit/debit card after the trial period ends. After you are done with the registration process, you can log in to the dashboard and start shopping.
Can you get support?
If you have questions about the site or your account, you can check out the FAQ section of the website. It discusses most of the important topics you need to know about ShopSmarter. If you can’t find the answers you need, you can contact their customer support team through the contact form provided by the website.
You can also speak to a representative directly by calling their hotline. The number is also posted on the Contact Us page. You can talk to their support representative 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
This is why I would say it provides decent support to its members since it provides a convenient way to ask for help.
Final Verdict
ShopSmarter is a legit cashback site that will let you earn rewards from its cashback offers. It has a couple of decent features, but it has certain limitations you need to consider.
Let me end this review by summarizing its pros and cons so you can see a clear overview of what it offers. Then, you can decide if it is truly worth it or not.
Pros:
- Offers a decent cashback rate
- No payout threshold
- Processes payments automatically
Cons:
- You must pay to become a member
- Long wait time to receive earnings
In my opinion, if it weren’t for the monthly membership fee you have to pay, then ShopSmarter would be a better cashback site. But as it is now, there are simply better options out there if you want to earn from cashback offers.
It’s a bit counterintuitive to have to pay just to get access to some cashback offers. There are a lot of good cashback sites that offer free membership, so why would you pay to be a member of one? That’s why if you are looking to earn from cashback offers, I recommend you check out the best cashback sites instead.
The sites on this list all offer free membership. Now, if you don’t want to spend money to earn, I suggest you check out the top survey and GPT sites in your country instead. The sites and apps on this list all have good earning potential, so you can earn a decent amount quickly.
Plus, you will definitely find a site you can join regardless of where you live.
If you have any comments, questions, or experience with ShopSmarter, I would love to hear from you in a comment below.