Ebates®, the leader and pioneer in online cash back shopping, says families are more frugal this year than last when it comes to back-to-school purchases. As gas prices and the unemployment rate remain high, Ebates has seen more activity from online shoppers wanting online coupons, free shipping, and cash back through Ebates.com.

“We’re seeing a 50% increase in purchases through Ebates compared to this time last year and we suspect it’s because Americans are more frugal than ever,” says Kevin Johnson, CEO of Ebates. “Not only can you get better deals on back-to-school shopping through Ebates, but you can also save time by avoiding long lines and traffic at the store,” Johnson added.

This comes as Ebates special back-to-school sale begins – offering up to 12 percent cash back at dozens of leading retailers including: Barnes & Noble, JC Penney, Kohl’s, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Sears, Sephora, and Walmart.

It’s free to sign up on Ebates.com and families have saved millions on everything from clothing, shoes, and school supplies for the young students; to laptops, dorm room furniture, and even textbooks for the college students.

Amanda Tripp of Portland shops on Ebates throughout the year and saves the cash she gets back just for these types of back-to-school items. “I always check on Ebates first before heading to the store or mall. The cash back usually adds up to about $300 for the year,” says Tripp. “When back to school time comes around, I use that cash for my children’s clothing and shoes.”

“It’s really that simple,” Johnson concludes. “We pay you to shop online.”

In addition to the exclusive back to school sales that run through August 31, Ebates shares 5 tips to give online shoppers the best bang for their buck while purchasing items for the students in the family:

1) Do the Math on Big Savings

On big-ticket items such as laptops, smartphones, and video games you can save big if you do a little homework. Free shipping offers are available at a number of stores; while others may be offering increased savings for back to school products, like you’ll find right now with extra cash back offered at 12 stores on Ebates including Dell and HP Home. Make a list of total savings, add them up, and go with the store that offers the best overall deal.

2) Click on Coupons

Just because you don’t have a coupon in hand, doesn’t mean you can’t get big savings. Find DOUBLE cash-back offers, over 5,000 online coupons and free shipping codes on anything from clothes, shoes, accessories and even school supplies on Ebates right now.

3) Curb Impulse Shopping

Not only are you saving on gas by not driving to the store, but you are also less likely to put items in your basket that you don’t really need. You may even help your diet by not being tempted by that candy bar at the check-out line!

4) Deals on Daily Necessities

Need contacts for class, or a new supply of make-up? Purchase everyday items through stores like 1800Contacts and Sephora, where you can get 5% and 8% cash back. You just made extra money on something you had to buy anyway!

5) Rent to Save

College students can save by purchasing used and reduced-price textbooks through Ebates on sites like Chegg, Textbooks.com, and TextbookStop. Even these sites offer coupons or cash back with a check in the mail or money in your PayPal account.

About Ebates®

Over 1,200 online stores have joined the roster of retailers that offer cash back, special deals including free shipping, and over 5000 coupons to members of Ebates.com. The free membership allows consumers to shop online at their favorite retailers while earning a percentage of every purchase they make; paid quarterly in the form of a “Big Fat Check” or through PayPal. From niceties to necessities, members of Ebates benefit from incentives at top-name merchants for everything from furniture to fashion and appliances to airfare. Because shopping with Ebates is hassle-free: no rebate forms to fill out and no points or miles to redeem, the site supports a strong community of savvy shoppers across the country and around the world.

Information provided to All About Kimberly. No compensation received.

Since I have 2 girls and myself that need back to school clothes and supplies each summer, I am always on the lookout for the sales – in stores and online.  I love when I can find stuff on sale and get free shipping.  There are also several family birthday every summer – more shopping.  One of my favorite places to buy gifts is not so cheap so if I can find any discount such as red envelope free shipping, I”m excited! With 2 upcoming baby showers, I’ve been looking at some of their unique baby shower gifts and would love to find any discount codes at all as they are so cute. How do you handle major shopping periods?

If you have not picked up something for your father yet, have you considered flower?  I know you typically think of flowers as being for females, but there are some great arrangements out there that even a Dad would love. Choose a live plant if you have a gardener in the family, or maybe balloons or candy?  Some type of arrangement could be found for every dad.

And the best thing is if you do a little legwork, you can find some great discounts like a proflowers free shipping code. My only complaint with shopping online is paying shipping charges so when I can find a store that ships free or offers free shipping codes, I feel like I have hit the jackpot.

If you haven’t gotten Dad anything yet (or someone has a birthday coming up), flowers are always a hit!

I am so excited.  Why?  Well for many reasons, but one of them is all the babies that are either in my life or soon will be.

• Two coworkers that I’m fairly close to are pregnant.
• One of my best friends just had a little girl (She’s almost 4 weeks old and so adorable).
• My sister-in-law is due in October (girl).
• My daughter is due in September (boy).
• And I LOVE shopping for baby stuff.

One great place to shop for children’s clothing is Tea Collection.  I only recently discovered this site, but they have the most adorable clothes.   It’s easy to find cute girls’ clothes, but I have a hard time finding cute boy outfits for my future grandson, and Tea Collection is one of the few places I can find clothes that I want to buy for him.

They are having their semi-annual sale right now and you can find some pretty good deals if you dig around.  There’s also a contest going on right now to win a Deluxe Diaper Dude Gift Set so if you head over, check that out as well.

As soon as the weather begins to turn warm (think April), I’m ready to open our pool.  I usually wait until mid to late May (but it’s torture).  I love having a swimming pool, but it seems like every year it has one major expense.  Last year I had to go through websites and search for above ground pool covers until I found one that I thought was reasonably priced and would last a few years.

This year I needed a new ladder and new pump.  YIKES!

I gave up on local pool stores long ago.  Their selections are limited and their prices are large.  I now only shop at online vendors like PC Pools. If you are considering going online for your pool supplies, check their shipping policies. Pool stuff is bulky and heavy so those shipping prices could really add up.  If possible, find places like PC Pools that offer free shipping. I also like to look for vendors with large selections.

Do you have a favorite pool store?