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    Rakuten

Rakuten

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Overview

Rakuten has a rating of 2.7 stars from 2,124 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about Rakuten most frequently mention credit card, referral bonus, and family member problems. Rakuten ranks 5th among Cash Back sites.

  • Service
    187
  • Value
    151
  • Returns
    64
  • Quality
    121

This company does not typically respond to reviews

Positive reviews (last 12 months): 18.2%
Positive
2
Neutral
0
Negative
9
View ratings trends
61
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How would you rate Rakuten?
Top Positive Review

“Amazing Rakuten! Thanks so much Susan!”

Tetiana K.
5/7/24

Rakuten team are the best service I've come across in the US. We are refugees from Ukraine and we are very grateful to Rakuten for such joy as excellent service, impeccable work, patience, respect for the client and professionalism. I will be happy to buy everything only through the Rakuten service. This is a great savings and a great pleasure to know them! Thank you Susan!

Date of experience: 5/6/24
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Top Critical Review

“Thieves”

Cory C.
12/11/24

They never pay what you actually earned. I have yet to have a single transaction pay what was advertised. Even after purchases have been verified they just delete the payout for no reason. 100% scam!

Date of experience: 12/1/24
See critical reviews

Reviews (2,124)

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Reviews that mention popular keywords

customer service (796) customer care (55) shopping trip (51) customer support (36) response time (19) credit card (31) gift card (35)
Thumbnail of user danb86
Connecticut
1 review
1 helpful vote
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October 6th, 2014
Verified purchase

I'm always impressed by Ebates' quick response time and almost always fast resolution of the problem. I don't have issues too often, but whenever I do, you guys always do a great job resolving them. Thanx--keep up the good work!

Date of experience: October 6, 2014

Thumbnail of user hiepw
Washington
1 review
0 helpful votes
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May 26th, 2016
Verified purchase

Barney's New York cancelled my order during Ebate's 15% off promo. They cancelled it for no reason and this caused my Ebate to cancel as well... and I lost out on a sizable chunk for my rebate. I contacted Ebates regarding this matter and gave them all of the supporting documentation that they asked. They were able to verify my purchase and funded the money back on my account fast. They were so nice and understanding. World Class service I tell ya!

Date of experience: May 25, 2016

Thumbnail of user melanier24
New York
1 review
0 helpful votes
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February 16th, 2016
Verified purchase

I was missing a purchase on my account and asked them to look into it, Within 24 hrs the customer service had it corrected and were in constant communication with me. I couldn't be happier. Always a pleasure with Ebates!

Date of experience: February 16, 2016

Thumbnail of user debb1302
Washington
1 review
0 helpful votes
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September 6th, 2016

Ebates delivers! It is easy to use and it gives you money for shopping electronically. Ebates also has extra cash back frequently. I have been a member less than a year but have received about $80 from different purchases. The last one I received $40 back when I bought shades through JCPenneys. Love Ebates! And they just put the money in your PayPal account. Nice and Easy

Date of experience: September 4, 2016

Thumbnail of user carolp109
Washington
3 reviews
1 helpful vote
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May 4th, 2017

I started using Ebates in 2011 and messed up my account using different emails and ending up with multiple accounts. When I asked for them all to be consolidated my cash back disappeared. Molly in customer service went out of her way to find out where my cash back had gone and return it to me. I actually had a typo in one of my emails when I signed up. All fixed now (and I'll write it down).

Date of experience: May 4, 2017

Thumbnail of user johnniej7
California
1 review
7 helpful votes
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July 23rd, 2017

I really like the idea of Ebates. I signed up and made a few purchases. Within hours or a day the cash back was documented. But it seems like that has slowed. The last 3 purchases have not shown up in my cash back as quickly. The pain in the butt is that you have to keep track of where you shopped, the date, the subtotal, and the order number in order to put in a request to find out what happened to your cash back. It's become more frustrating for me to QC than I want to really deal with.

Date of experience: July 23, 2017

Thumbnail of user tonyk27
Turkey
47 reviews
137 helpful votes
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October 15th, 2019

Ebates was undoubtedly one of the best cashback websites around... however... since RAKUTEN took over that all changed. I've been shopping with ebates and eBay for a number of years and through them managed to get hundreds in cashback. Now with Rakuten every order somehow no longer falls into the category of their cashback and "not eligible for Cash Back at the time of your purchase"

Absolutely waste of time and no longer recommended. Ironically also been with Rakuten a few years ago with their Affiliate Marketing program and even then they never paid commissions and came up with various excuses to avoid payments.
Stopped using them after that and it's sad to see that they've taken over a once excellent Cash Back program and turned it into another one of their scams!

Date of experience: October 15, 2019

Thumbnail of user steveg67
Ohio
1 review
1 helpful vote
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May 1st, 2015

I purchased a refurbished laptop from this seller and had a number of issues. First, it arrived late. It also did not work properly and was actually somewhat dirty when I received it. I spoke with their customer service (after I had installed anti-virus) and was told how to repair the unit. I then found, after providing them with the number from the back of the unit, that it had not actually been "completely" refurbished. I had to return it to them (at my cost) to get a refund, which turned out to be $20 short of the full amount, even though I was promised in writing to get a full refund due to their issues. When I attempted to contact them (email is all they accept) I received no response. They suck!

Date of experience: May 1, 2015

Thumbnail of user marcusj15
Texas
1 review
0 helpful votes
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March 10th, 2015
Verified purchase

I recently purchased items through Ebates from JCP. After a couple of weeks, I didn't see anything listed in my Cash Back. I contacted support and provided the required information. The reply I received surprised me! While Ebates had not received credit from JCP yet, they still applied my Cash Back so that I wouldn't have to wait. I was treated VERY well by support. They did not at any time try to make this my fault. Instead, they were professional and courteous. Overall, this was a very good experience and one that I will share with many other people.

Date of experience: March 10, 2015

Thumbnail of user kiar75
New Jersey
3 reviews
0 helpful votes
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July 5th, 2017

When you have an adjustment or a deal that doesn't seem to want to go through and you contact help, they actually try to help and right away not in a few days or so. Always they are friendly and professional and maybe your deal didn't get accepted but they explain why and how you can avoid disappointments in the future.

Date of experience: July 5, 2017

Thumbnail of user miks
Colorado
1 review
9 helpful votes
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July 3rd, 2014

Every year, tens of thousands of African elephants are killed each year for their ivory. Vast quantities of both elephant ivory are sold on online marketplace sites in Japan, the largest of which is Rakuten.com.

Google and Amazon have removed ivory products, however, the largest online marketplace, Rakuten.com, profits from the cruelty by selling ivory on its site, which it hopes to expand its brand in the U.S. and U. K. A recent survey showed over 28,000 ivory items for sale on its site.

Date of experience: July 2, 2014

Thumbnail of user lizs37
New York
1 review
0 helpful votes
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February 10th, 2016
Verified purchase

This is an excellent company. Not only do they pay you to shop they are by you in every way especially if you have questions, problems, etc. Their Customer Service Dept answers your questions right away. I'm very happy with my experience with Ebates & will recommend them to everyone I lnow. Thank you Ebates & a special thanks to Kathleen in Customer Service!

Date of experience: February 10, 2016

Thumbnail of user jays327
New York
1 review
0 helpful votes
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June 16th, 2015
Verified purchase

I'm sorry I don't have time to really write a review. Suffice it to say that my issue was minor & Danielle treated it like the most important issue on her desk. I guarantee it wasn't. All I really needed was answers to a couple of questions & actually got that and cash back that I wasn't even asking for!

Absolutely top notch customer service. Whenever I shop, it will be through Ebates!

Date of experience: June 16, 2015

Thumbnail of user judyh22
Colorado
1 review
0 helpful votes
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March 23rd, 2015
Verified purchase

Ever delete an email and then think "ugh, why did I delete that? What was the fine print again?" Fear not - just email customer service and before you can say flapjack they will get back to you with all the details of the deal that you were looking for and answer all the mysteries of the universe... okay, not the universe, but answered my silly question about how to find things within my account. Thanks Nicole, and thanks ebates for having great customer service :)

Date of experience: March 23, 2015

Thumbnail of user cheru1
Illinois
1 review
1 helpful vote
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January 12th, 2015
Verified purchase

I have probably just experienced the best customer service ever, to include both online and in-store shopping. After encountering a couple minor issues with the refer-a-friend bonus program and cash back credit after shopping, I emailed customer service to report the issue. No joke, within 5 minutes I received a response and within 10 minutes, the issues were resolved. I am so grateful and so impressed with eBates on every level possible. Thank you!

Date of experience: January 1, 2015

Thumbnail of user taraf46
Illinois
1 review
4 helpful votes
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April 24th, 2019
Verified purchase

I have a list of rebates I should have received, but didn't. It's a good idea and incentives on places you already shop. Disappointed on having to email each rebate I didn't receive, when the company already has the information and can look it up by account.

Date of experience: April 23, 2019

Thumbnail of user victorias27
Arkansas
1 review
0 helpful votes
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January 28th, 2015
Verified purchase

My overall experience with Ebates has been excellent. The rebates are credited in a timely manner, and any issues are promptly resolved. I have had two instances in the past year that required customer service, and both times the issue was resolved. Nicole, my most recent customer service representative, was most helpful.

Service
Quality

Date of experience: January 28, 2015

Thumbnail of user djw9
Georgia
1 review
5 helpful votes
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July 23rd, 2017

I can tell a fake review from a real one. Most Real reviews you can tell because most people make mistakes and spelling and spacing in their reviews. None of these reviews have any mistakes they are perfectly edited reviews which makes me leery. I won't do anything with a company that does edited reviews and they're so perfect you can tell by looking at them. They have somebody spending a lot of time editing s*** that they didn't want people to see because they didn't want the real thing to come out about their company so this is why they edit all these reviews or put them in just just to say that they're 'five star'. They do this all on purpose to F with your head and make you think that irs such a great company to work for when in reallity, its nothing but a scam and a waste of time. I would never do anything with Ebates just because of reading these fake effing reviews! You have ti be smart!

Date of experience: July 23, 2017

Thumbnail of user kennyl25
California
1 review
0 helpful votes
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January 22nd, 2017
Verified purchase

I've been using Ebates for long times and have had missing cash issue for a few time. However, every time I ask, I can always get my issue solved professionally and quickly! Fantastic customer service!

Date of experience: January 22, 2017

Thumbnail of user johnz216
Ohio
1 review
2 helpful votes
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May 22nd, 2019

I opened an Ebate account, made one purchase >$25, referred a family member (of course with the same family name). In my Ebate account, it showed that I earned 1500 points for 1st purchase and 2500 for referral. By the time Ebates promised to transfer the points to my linked account, it didn't. Contacted Ebates. Ebates consistently said the referral is my self because the referral used the same billing address! How ridiculous! We live in one house!

Stay away from Ebates. They will remove your awarded points/cash at its own wish. Compared to Dosh, Ebates is trash.

Date of experience: May 22, 2019

Thumbnail of user heidic110
Massachusetts
12 reviews
71 helpful votes
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July 20th, 2022

After cashing out my first twenty-bucks all I'm receiving now is a penny. Surveys are either full/closed and say finished or if you're lucky to complete one it'll say allow up to 8wks for credit after enough responses have been reached. These surveys are shared by others and are not exclusive to just one so that's why they are full. Here's a penny for one star.

Date of experience: July 20, 2022

Thumbnail of user christinaf43
California
2 reviews
0 helpful votes
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January 12th, 2018

I've received $100 cash back so far for buying things I would normally buy online. I once purchased from Sephora instead of Nordstrom because I got cash back buying the same thing for the same price with Sephora! On top of the great product, they have excellent customer service. Very fast and very helpful.

Date of experience: January 12, 2018

Thumbnail of user marionm30
Georgia
15 reviews
14 helpful votes
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December 22nd, 2016

I have been using this website for about a year or so. If I want to make a purchase online, I look for the item's best price at any website, and then check out whether Ebates has a deal with that vendor. If so, then I open a shopping session of that vendor through Ebates, make my purchase, close the website, and then close the Ebates website and within a day I will get an email from Ebates telling me how much cash I will get back. It is great! And, by the way, Ebates has thousands of vendors working with them, so more than likely, the website you want to purchase from will be listed. Yay!

Date of experience: December 22, 2016

Thumbnail of user karens1227
Florida
1 review
0 helpful votes
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February 8th, 2020

Very cool as you get paid for shopping. I have been a longtime customer and find Rakuten (formerly Ebates) to be fun, reputable and easy easy to use. You can get a check rebate, gift card or card for store. Always great! Karen S

Date of experience: February 6, 2020

Thumbnail of user brianh86
Texas
1 review
1 helpful vote
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August 5th, 2014
Verified purchase

I've been using Ebates for over 10 years and couldn't be happier! They make it easy to get cash back on my purchases, and their customer service is friendly and responsive if there's ever a problem getting credit for a purchase. I will happily keep using Ebates and hope they stick around for a long time to come.

Date of experience: August 5, 2014

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From the business

Rakuten is the new Ebates! Rakuten is the premier Cash Back shopping site that pays you. Join today and start earning Cash Back at your favorite stores. How does it work? We pay members Cash Back when they shop at over 2,500 stores, plus find them the best deals and coupons. With over 12 million members and $1 billion in Cash Back paid out, Rakuten is the easiest and most rewarding way to shop. Become a member today and start shopping smarter. Follow us for the latest sales, member-exclusive offers and more.

Business History

Ebates is the pioneer and leader of online Cash Back Shopping. The company was founded in 1998 by two Deputy District Attorneys in Silicon Valley who used to prosecute online fraud & identity theft before starting Ebates (so you can be sure we are very into secure online transactions!). So go ahead, sign up and start shopping now. Joining Ebates is always free - you'll never pay us anything. And four times a year or more, we'll mail you a Big Fat Check, or transfer the money to your PayPal account if you'd prefer. We can even send the money to your favorite charity. All 100% free.

Company Representative

Thumbnail of user ebatess
Ebates S.
Typically does not respond to reviews

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