ShopSmarter Reviews Summary
ShopSmarter has a rating of 1.5 stars from 331 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers dissatisfied with ShopSmarter most frequently mention credit card, customer service and bed bath. ShopSmarter ranks 714th among Discount Shopping sites.
Beware!
They charge $12.97 for an "alleged" membership, and the $10 they promise to give you is processed between 3 to 6 weeks, meaning, that they will charge you $25.94 before you get your $10, plus the $1 withdrawn from your account at the time of your registration.
Nice scam.
Terrible reviews! I was about to join but changed my mind! I am so glad I read the reviews and avoid further regrets...
Thanks everyone.
Hi Priscila,
We're so sorry you feel that way. If you ever find yourself wanting to know more about our site, feel free to shoot us an email or call us at any time! Or, you can just head over to our Facebook page to see what some of our awesome members have said about using our site! We'd love to help you out however we can. Thanks!
Sincerely,
The ShopSmarter Team
I became a member last month but I didn't receive the $10 cashback for the first purchase. I submitted the purchase receipt but there is no response to my emails.
Thankfully I ended my membership within the free trial... and called my CC company so they couldn't charge me membership fees. (This took half an hour on the phone with the fraud department.) Wouldn't you know it, my CC company called saying they had tried to deduct $12.97 from my card anyway! Thieves! I wouldn't be surprised if they attempted to charge me next month as well.
They increased to $12.97 for the membership! Everyone who has been swindled out of $10 a month from ShopSmarter, count yourselves lucky! Anyone who hasn't fallen for it yet, DON'T!
Hi John,
We're sorry to hear about your experience with the site. Usually, it can take up to 30 days to process your claim for the $10 cash back bonus. Please allow 3-6 weeks for your check to be delivered. If you continue to have concerns about not receiving your $10 cash back bonus, you can certainly call us or email us at customerservice@shopsmarter.com. Thank you!
Previously I wrote about "SHOPSMARTER" not fulfilling their membership obligations. In hindsight, I wish i had given shopsmarter the benefit of the doubt and waited a bit longer. What first set me into a negative mindset was the 2 monthly payments the same month for member fee's. Before the fee charges happened, I was shopping for item's through the links associated with shopsmarter. I followed detailed information on submitting my receipts for the 10% cash back rebates. This was about 1-2 month's into the membership and I was starting to stir about no response. Well after reading some other reviews, mostly negative emails. Well that's when the nasty and defensive postings started. Don't you know the next day or two, my money from the extra fee was refunded to my account and the rebate checks for all the submitted receipts were in my mailbox. I had jumped the gun. There we're only 2 days in between when I had started the assault. For that reason, I sincerely apologize to the shopsmarter organization. My advice to you who are thinking that you have been beat, give them a couple of months to get and process the information you provide to get the financial results you were promised. They'll be on the way. Just chill!
Thanks so much for sharing, Paul! We're so happy you were able to figure things out and receive the savings you earned through our site! Thanks so much for being a customer:)
Sincerely,
The ShopSmarter Team
Wish I could no stars buyer beware. Customer service is not worth a crap
Hi Stephanie,
We're so sorry to hear about your experience! We'd love to hear from you about how we can improve our customer service and our site overall. If you'd like, please email your feedback to customerservice@shopsmarter.com. We'd love to help you resolve any issues and answer any questions you may have. Thank you!
Sincerely,
The ShopSmarter Team
Wow.. you are ripping off your customers both in charging a monthly fee and by keeping rebates /not giving the rebates to your customers for what seem to be excuses you like to call "terms of service" which may be legal but absolutely not moral or ethical.
Hi There,
We're sorry to see you feel this way about our service. Our Terms of Use are set in place to protect us from those who abuse our service fraudulently. These guidelines are enacted for all types of subscription services to ensure that members are fair, ethical and using our service legally. Like any company, if someone uses our service fraudulently, we reserve the right to cancel their membership and decline the savings they earned through misuse of our service. Furthermore, our monthly fee is stated to users upon signing up, directly above where they enter their credit card information. They are offered a 7-day free trial and can cancel their account at any time within that time frame to avoid being charged our monthly membership fee. If there are any other questions we can answer for you, please feel free to contact customerservice@shopsmarter.com for more information. Thank you!
Sincerely,
The ShopSmarter Team
DO NOT USE THIS! IT IS A TOTAL RIP OFF! I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT I WOULD GET $10 CASH BACK JUST FOR SIGNING UP! NO! THEY DO NOT GIVE YOU THE TEN DOLLARS UNTIL YOU SEND A RECEIPT, THAT YOU DON'T HAVE BECAUSE YOU PLACED THE ORDER ON LINE! DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS RIP OFF.
Hi Celina,
We're sorry to hear about the confusion regarding our site. The order confirmation you received via email after placing your order will act as your receipt in this situation. Users must simply follow the instructions after signing up to claim their $10 cash back, and we will send them a check once their order is verified and approved. If there's any other questions we can answer for you, please email customerservice@shopsmarter.com or simply give us a call on our customer service line. Thank you!
Sincerely,
The ShopSmarter Team
I was not told up front that they would be charging money for this service that every other similar service does for free. A complete rip off!
Hi there,
We're sorry to hear about the confusion regarding our site. Our membership fee is stated on the sign up page directly above where users insert their credit card information. All new users are offered a free trial and a sign up bonus upon registering. If you have any further questions or concerns, please email us at customerservice@shopsmarter.com or call our customer service line. Thank you!
Sincerely,
The ShopSmarter Team
Wow... after reading the reviews and (stupid on your part) your responses to your reviews it is 100% clear that you are ripping off your customers both in charging a monthly fee and by keeping rebates sent to you from retailers and not giving the rebates to your customers for what seem to be excuses you like to call "terms of service" which may be legal but absolutely not moral or ethical. Walmart and any other company that does business with you should be ashamed of themselves
Hi there,
We're sorry you feel this way about our site and I'd love to help explain how our service works.
I can assure you that all members who use our service fairly receive a cash back check for their earnings every quarter. As a business, we have practices and guidelines in place to detect and eliminate fraudulent use of our service. Some of the things we consider fraudulent would be registering for multiple accounts or using our site for business purposes. We monitor this closely to ensure all of our members are abiding by our terms and not taking advantage of our service. We reserve the right to decline cash back to those who abuse our service through fraudulent use.
We are a subscription-based cash back website, which means we do charge a monthly fee to those who choose to become members. However, at sign up, we offer new users a 7-day free trial. On the sign up page, it is stated, directly above where users enter their credit card information, that if you do not cancel your membership within your 7-day trial period, you will be subject to our membership fee if you'd like to continue to use our service. The membership fee is also stated in our Terms of Use, which users must agreed to before successfully signing up with us.
If you have any other questions, please feel free to reach out to customerservice@shopsmarter.com at any time. Thank you!
Sincerely,
The ShopSmarter Team
I only used the service over the time of the trial period. The customer service was prompt and helpful with my questions.
Walker,
Thanks so much for coming and sharing your kind words. Very much appreciated, and we hope to reconnect in the future!
Sincerely,
The ShopSmarter Team
I do a lot of shopping online for business and personal use. I use Ebates and Mr Rebates all the time without any issue.
I came across this website and its seemed great. After i placed a bunce of orders for which i was surpassed their $1,000 threshold. I got an email stating that their they only give cashback for personal purchases.
I responded that I (probably like most other people) don't read the small print, especially as the established cashback sites (Ebates, Mr rebates.)don't have this exclusion, and that this kind of exclusion should be Boldly proclaimed, not buried in small print.
I asked that they at least honor the % of Cash back their competitors were offering but they refused, and walked off with cashback they received on my purchases.
It seems that this scam of a company purposely buries this major exclusion (just looking at some of the other reviews...) as they than take all the cashback they receive without giving any to the customer.
They weren't upfront about a membership fee. I found out after they took it out of my bank. I wish I had read the reviews here first. My advise is don't join!
Hi Ruby,
We're sorry to hear about the confusion regarding our membership fee. Our 7-day free trial is promoted as a banner on the sign up page and the membership fee is stated directly above where users insert their credit card information. It is also stated in our Terms of Use, which must be agreed to upon registering for an account with us. If you have any more questions, please feel free to contact customerservice@shopsmarter.com for further assistance. Thank you!
Sincerely,
The ShopSmarter Team
This site & app. Is not in operation anymore. So here's to all of you that have been a victim. As far as I know if you want money owed to you, #*******456) is customer support. I finally was able to get something from them and the bank honors it. Good luck.
Hi Paul,
Our site is very much still up and running! If you have any concerns about your membership or questions about how our site works, please contact customerservice@shopsmarter.com for further assistance. Thank you!
Sincerely,
The ShopSmarter Team
Shop smarter? They charge $10 a month, which means you'd have to spend $100 a month on eligible items just to break even! I, for one, rarely spend over $100 a month online. You don't even know if an item is eligible until you do a search for it. So even if you do spend over $100 a month, chances are, several items won't be eligible. Just compare the value between Amazon Prime and Shop Smarter. AP costs $100/year, and for that you get free shipping on most items, free video streaming from Amazon Prime Instant Video, free audiobooks and Channels from Audible, free music streaming, free Kindle book borrowing (if you own a Kindle), free book borrowing from Amazon Prime Reading (for everyone), free grocery and restaurant delivery (in certain areas), unlimited cloud storage for photos, and much more. SS costs $120/year, and for that you get 10% cash back on certain eligible items... that's it. Need I say more?
I took the membership last month but I didn't receive the $10 cashback for the first purchase.
I submitted the purchase receipt but there is no response to my emails. My account is registered with the email id *******@gmail.com.
They took $10 for the membership.
Hi Ram,
Our records state that your check for the $10 cash back was paid out to you on 12/7, so you should be receiving it in the mail shortly! Keep your eyes open, and feel free to contact customerservice@shopsmarter.com if you have any further concerns. Thanks!
Sincerely,
The ShopSmarter Team
Eabates and TopCash Back are two excellent sites that offer the same service for $0. That's right $0.0 Free! Don't waste your hard earned money!
GinaM.
Hi Regina,
We're sorry you feel that way about us! Although those sites are of course great for online savings, we always offer consistent 10% cash back across all of our participating cash back retailers. Plus, we offer nearly a dozen opportunities for members to earn 20% cash back on their purchases throughout the year! So, even though our members pay a monthly fee, they are earning much more cash back and savings by shopping through us! If there's any other questions we can answer for you, please feel free to reach out to us at customerservice@shopsmarter.com. Thanks so much!
I was just getting ready to submit my card info but decided to check out the reviews. After reading them I don't believe that I'm going to join.
Thanks everyone
Hi Sarah,
We're sorry you feel that way! For future reference, you are always welcome to sign up for our 7-day free trial. If you feel a membership would not be beneficial to you, you may cancel your account before your trial period ends to avoid ever being charged a membership fee.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to customerservice@shopsmarter.com at any time. Thank you!
Sincerely,
The ShopSmarter Team
I do not work or in any way affiliated with shopsmarter.com and this is a honest review of them. I just used them to do some blackfriday shopping and I saved a lot more than i expected. They had 20% discount going on during that time. However, I haven't get paid yet but I'm hopeful and their site has updated with my pay out amount.
I will continue to use them in the future and I hope they will have their 20% off retailers up soon for Christmas. That being said, their customer service reps are not up to the mark- when I called they didn't have any helpful information.
-Rex David
Hi Rex,
Thanks so much for the kind words! We're happy you were able to save with us during our 20% cash back promotion. Don't forget, we're also offering 20% cash back next weekend from December 16th through the 18th! Your payout for this quarter will be on January 15,2017.
I'm sorry to hear about the not so great experience with customer service. If there's any other questions you'd like to have answered, feel free to contact customerservice@shopsmarter.com for further support. Thanks so much!
Sincerely,
The ShopSmarter Team
Selected to opt out after reading about the membership fee I sent countless emails not less than 2 hours after I signed up no response now I was debited from my account so I had to merely cancel my debit card they won't be debiting me anymore
Hi Dayna,
We're sorry to hear about the confusion regarding our site and we're sad to see you go! If you'd like to cancel your membership, feel free to contact us on social media or email customerservice@shopsmarter.com to have this taken care of for you. Of course, we would not want to continue billing you for a membership if you are not finding it useful. We hope this information helps, and if you need anything else, feel free to reach out at any time. Thank you!
Sincerely,
The ShopSmarter Team
I signed up like others on the this reveiw site, with the understanding that there would be no fee for this service. SURPRISE. I got charged twice now for something I have not even used. To call them and cancel this service is impossible. They are not very honest. They will say that it is in their terms but it is so buried and obscure, one will never realize it until the charge shows up on your account. I refuse to use this complicated process of rebate. I will never get my money out of it. I am retired and not a big on buying a lot of things. GET OUT QUICK Or NEVER SIGN UP
Hi Pamela,
We’re sorry to hear about the confusion regarding our site. At sign up, we offer users a 7-day free trial and a chance to claim a $10 cash back bonus. If you choose not to cancel your membership within your trial period, you will automatically become one of our active members. Our members pay a fee of $9.97 a month to access our savings benefits. The price of the membership is included in our terms, which you must agree to before registering, and directly above where users enter their credit card information when signing up.
We hope you find this information helpful! If you would like assistance cancelling your account, please email customerservice@shopsmarter.com with your member ID or your email address and zip code.
Thank you!
The ShopSmarter Team
About the Business
ShopSmarter gives online shoppers consistent 10% cash back, instant price comparisons and exclusive coupons at over 1,000 retailers.
- Sitejabber’s sole mission is to increase online transparency for buyers and businesses
- Sitejabber has helped over 200M buyers make better purchasing decisions online
- Suspicious reviews are flagged by our algorithms, moderators, and community members
- Sitejabber’s sole mission is to increase online transparency for buyers and businesses
- Sitejabber has helped over 200M buyers make better purchasing decisions online
- Suspicious reviews are flagged by our algorithms, moderators, and community members
Hi there,
We're sorry to hear you feel this way. Everyone has the opportunity to claim their $10 cash back during their trial period without continuing a membership with us. Even if you cancel your trial period before your $10 cash back is expected, you will still receive that amount in the mail within 3-6 weeks. Only those who choose to continue their trial period will be charged our monthly membership fee. Additionally, you will see a $0.00 charge on your card for the activation at the start of your trial, but no money will be taken from your account at that time! If you have any further questions, please contact customerservice@shopsmarter.com and reference this post. Thank you!
Sincerely,
The ShopSmarter Team