Freshipping.com Review: Is “Free” Too Good to be True?

Freeshipping.com is owned by Clarus Commerce. This is a well know loyalty programs company that has been around for 19 years.

They are accredited by the Better Business Bureau, and they have an A+ rating.

What is Freeshipping.com?

Freeshipping.com is a shopping website that offers cash back and free shipping on products from over 1,000 popular retailers.

It is very similar to Ebates, with a few key differences.

Cash Back

The first difference is that freeshipping.com offers a consistent minimum of 10% cash back on all purchases.

Ebates and other shopping sites offer cash back rebates ranging from 1% to 5% with an occasional increase from some stores.

With freeshipping, you know the rebate will never be less than 10%, and occasionally it will be more. Some promotions go up to as much as 20% cash back.

Free Shipping

Most partner retailers offer free shipping through freeshipping.com. However, if you do have to pay shipping, the site will refund you up to $10 of the cost.

This includes upgrading to faster shipping if you already get free shipping.

What Other Benefits Do They Offer?

In addition to 10% cash back and free shipping or shipping rebates, there are several other benefits to joining freeshipping.com.

Coupons

Manufacturers coupons are available for many of the included retailers. This saves you the time of surfing the internet looking for available promotional codes while ensuring you get the best deal possible.

Though many companies will not let you stack more than one coupon, you can choose the best offer and still receive your rebate from freeshipping.com.

Price Protection

If you happen to find a better price than you one you got through freeshipping.com within 90 days of your purchase, you can submit for a refund for the difference of up to $100.

Comparison Shopping

If you are shopping for a particular item, you can simply enter a search term, and freeshipping.com will do an instant price comparison of that item at the various partner retailers.

This is just another way they help you make sure you are getting the best price available.

Another option for comparison shopping through freeshipping.com is to download the app. This allows you to scan barcodes in store.

Once you scan an item, the freeshipping app will show you all the stores selling that item and what the prices are. Then you can simply purchase for the best price online.

Free Return Shipping

Lastly, if you find that you are unsatisfied with the product, you can return it for free.

You can either submit for a return shipping refund, or you can print a return Fed Ex Ground label right from the freeshipping.com website.

Please note that if you return a product, you cannot receive the cash back rebate for that product.

How Does it Work?

The cash back rebates are simple. When you decide where you want to shop, you simply click through the link to that site from freeshipping.com. Then you make your purchase as normal.

Once the retailer verifies your purchase to freeshipping.com, they will deposit 10% of the purchase price into your account. This can take 5 to 7 days.

If you have to pay shipping or choose to upgrade and pay for faster shipping, simply submit the proof of payment via email or snail mail.

After processing, which can take a few days, the amount you paid for shipping will also be added to your account.

This process is the same for price protection rebates and return shipping rebates.

How Do You Get Paid?

Payments are sent monthly for any rebates accrued from the week before, via check.

They say to please allow 2 to 3 weeks for processing.

Other Things You Need to Know

You need to pay attention to the specific stipulations of each retailer when you make a purchase.

Some only offer cash back if you ship to a resident and not to the store.

Others may stipulate a return policy or something else other than what is standard on freeshipping.com.

These will be honored, so you just need to be aware.

How Do I Join?

Were you waiting for the catch? The biggest difference between freeshipping.com and other similar cash back shopping sites is that there is a monthly membership fee of $12.97.

They do offer a 7-day free trial for those who want to give it a try before committing, but it isn’t actually free. In reality, the 7-day trial costs $1.97.

After the 7 days, if you do not cancel, your card will be charged $12.97. These charges will continue monthly until the subscription is canceled.

What People Think

There are 108 complaints against freeshipping.com on the Better Business Bureau website. This isn’t bad considering they have been around for 19 years.

Almost every single complaint comes from those who were not paying attention when they signed up. Most of them did not even realize they had signed up.

While this may be the result of some clever advertising on freeshipping.com’s behalf, the burden lies on the user to know what they are doing when they enter their credit card information.

Apparently, after making a purchase on certain sites, a banner will pop up stating you can save a certain amount on your current purchase.

After you click through you are prompted to enter your information, including credit card information, to process your cash back.

Those who are not paying attention may not even realize they have signed up for freeshipping.com until they monthly fee hits their statement.

Then, they, of course, do not get the rebate for at least a month, so they feel they have been scammed, though this is actually not the case.

For each complaint, freeshipping.com responded and refunded where appropriate, even in cases where people simply were not paying attention.

Some were refunded for several months’ worth of fees.

One customer received a total refund of over $400 because that much in monthly fees, at $12.97 per month, had been paid before they realized it.

With the comparatively low number of complaints, it seems that often there are no issues, or the issues that do arise are handled effectively by calling the customer service number listed right at the top of the homepage.

Is Freeshipping.com Legit or a Scam?

They are legit. They pay rebates as promised, and they do not take money unless someone has signed up for their services.

If someone does sign up unknowingly, they are more than willing to issue a refund.

A company does not maintain a BBB accreditation and A+ rating if they are a scam.

Is Freeshipping.com A Good Deal?

It depends. If you shop online enough to make back the $12.97 plus each month, then yes, it is definitely worth it.

Once you add up the benefits of the cash back, free shipping, coupons, and comparison shopping, it would only take a few purchases per month to hit the breakeven point.

If you don’t shop online that much, or if you aren’t great at submitting receipts to get the shipping refunds when needed, this one might not be for you.

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Freeshipping.com is a great deal if you do a lot of online shopping. You can’t beat 10% cash back and guaranteed free shipping, as long as you use it enough to get back more than $12.87 per month.

The only thing I really don’t like about this, other than the fact that you have to pay for the benefits, is that their free trial isn’t really free.

While $1.97 isn’t much, they should just say they offer a 7-day trial for $1.97. The “free” designation is really false advertising.

I also think it should be clearer what people are signing up for on the banners. It seems that their tactics are a little tricky.

That said, the deal is a good one if you shop online frequently anyway.

If that is you, get signed up and then check out Swagbucks and MySurvey to save even more, and maybe even make a little extra spending money.

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Have you been using Freeshipping.com for a while?

We would love to know your experience.

Survey Frequency	High
Rewards	Cash, Gift Cards
Minimum Age	14+
Business Name	Clarus Commerce