How do you like the idea of getting money back when you shop online? There are dozens of cashback sites that let you do this.

A few years ago not many of us had heard of cashback websites. Now there are dozens of different sites, all promising to give you money back when you shop online. The idea is that instead of going directly to the retailer’s website, you shop via a cashback site and earn a percentage of the money you spend as cashback. The amount you earn will vary according to the retailer you’re ultimately shopping with and the cashback site you’re using.

How these sites work
The way these sites work is that you get a discount, which converts into cash if you use them to then access another website. So, say you want to buy something online at Marks and Spencer, instead of going straight to the M&S website, you shop via a link from a cashback website and you may be able to get 1-10% of the amount you spend as cashback.

SAVVY TIP: It may sound odd that it’s cheaper to go indirectly to an online retailer than it is to go directly, but lots of retailers let other websites sell their goods and pay a commission for doing so. What cashback websites do is give you some or all of that commission back.

How to pick a cashback site
There are several factors I’d recommend that you look at before you decide which cashback site to use.

• The level of cashback and the range of retailers the site has signed up. Some have far more brand names than others and pass on more of the cashback.

• Whether or not you’ll have to pay a fee. The information about a fee is normally fairly easy to find in the website's terms and conditions.

• How quickly you’ll be paid your cashback. Also check out how much you have to earn before you receive your cashback and how you'll be paid.

SAVVY TIP Don't expect to go shopping via a cashback website today and have your cashback tomorrow. With many sites you'll have to wait for up to three months before you'll receive the cashback.

How much do cashback sites charge?
Many cashback websites are free to use and some will pay you a few pounds when you first sign up, but others charge a fee.

• Quidco, one of the biggest cashback sites, charges £5 a year to join although the money comes from your cashback so you don’t have to pay it upfront.

• Topcashback.co.uk is free to join.

• Simplycashback is free to join.

• Greasy Palm is free to join and you get £2.50 cashback when you sign up.

• Mrscashback.com: costs £29.95 a year to join for ‘gold’ membership (see below).

• Cashback Kings is free to join.

How much cashback might I get?
The amount you might receive as cashback varies greatly from less than one percent to 10% or more. I've carried out a rather unscientific study of four cashback websites and compared how much you might receive from shopping at a handful of different retailers:

Quidco: Marks and Spencer: 3% cashback, Currys: 3% cashback (although that rises to 3.5% if you buy a new TV, which might have something to do with the World Cup!), Argos: 1.5%, Thorntons: 10% (until Father’s day), Debenhams: 4%, John Lewis: 0%.

Topcashback.co.uk: Marks and Spencer: 3%, Currys: 3%, Argos: 1.5% (3% for DVD and blu ray), Thorntons: 8%, Debenhams: 4%, John Lewis: 0%.

Simplycashback: Marks and Spencer: 1% (appliances only), Currys: up to 1% cashback, Argos: 1.5%, Thorntons: 4%, Debenhams: 2% and John Lewis: 0%.

Cashback Kings: Marks and Spencer: 5%, Currys: 2%, Argos: 1.5% (3% for DVD and blu ray), Thorntons: 8%, Debenhams: 4%, John Lewis: 0%.

Greasy Palm: Marks and Spencer: 1.5%, Currys: 2%, Argos: 0.75% (up to 1.5% for DVD and blu ray), Thorntons: 4%, Debenhams: 2% and John Lewis: 0%.

Mrscashback.com: Marks and Spencer: 3%, Currys: 2%, Argos: 0%, Thorntons: 7% , Debenhams: 4% and John Lewis: 0%. All these cashback offers are for ‘gold’ members.

Is it straightforward getting the cashback payment?
Normally you’re paid by bank transfer once you’ve earned a certain amount from the cashback sites. Many of them set a minimum of £25.

• You have to make sure that you don’t inadvertently let a price comparison site receive your cashback so you may have to do things like set your security settings to low while you’re on a cashback site and make sure that your browser accepts cookies – these are sent by the website you’re on to collect information about you while you’re on their site.

SAVVY TIP Lots of firewall systems automatically block cookies so you may have to click on a bar that lets your computer accept cookies.

• You must click on the links from the cashback website to the retailer and not go directly to the retailer's site.

SAVVY TIP If you look on consumer forums you'll see that some people experience problems from time to time using cashback sites. Bear in mind that if you do have problems getting your cashback payment, you could spend far more time and effort chasing it than the original cashback was worth.

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