Shopback Malaysia Review (I Earned Over RM6000)

Tbh, there was a bit of hesitation before doing this Shopback review. I didn’t want to give you the impression that I promote mindless spending for the sake of getting cashback.

So here’s what you need to remember before you read on: only use Shopback for things you were going to buy anyway. If you buy a RM100 product you didn’t need for RM50, you didn’t save RM50 – you spent RM50.

Now that’s sorted out, let’s start the article. The first section will introduce what is Shopback and how to use Shopback Malaysia extension, and the next part contain tips to maximise cashback from Shopback Malaysia.

Shopback Review: What it is and how does Shopback work

Shopback is a cashback platform which rewards users for making online purchases. All you have to do is click the merchant shop through their platform (so you are tracked), make the purchase as usual and wait for the cashback is processed and available to you.

If you don’t have a Shopback account yet, consider using my referral link.

Alternatively, you can also download the Shopback Malaysia Chrome extension. It will inform you if the merchant site you’re visiting has available cashback opportunities.

Is Shopback safe and legit

Yes, Shopback is safe and legit. I’ve been a user since 2015 and cumulatively earned over RM6000 from the platform, from a combination of cashback from my online purchases and from referrals. Withdrawals are easy and takes a few days at most.

When can users withdraw money from ShopBack

You can withdraw your cashback money (and referral income) from Shopback Malaysia after you accumulated at least RM10 in your account (as of writing time, May 2021).

How does Shopback make money (also – What’s the catch with Shopback?)

Shopback makes money by helping merchants get more customers, aka you. According to the Shopback Malaysia FAQ,

With every successful purchase you make through ShopBack from our affiliate store of your choice, the store pays us some amount as commission. We share part of the commission with you, which is the Cashback you will see in your account. Once the store validates and approves the Cashback earned, it is yours to redeem!

Shopback’s real value for the merchant isn’t just more customers. It’s also customers who make bigger and more frequent orders through their platform. According to a CNBC report, cashback shoppers spend 1.7x more and make 62% more orders than non-cashback shoppers.

So that’s the catch with Shopback. It’s great for the merchants, but for users like you and me, we better be careful of the additional temptation and really *think* about our next Shopback purchase. We have to really think about our wants vs needs.

Heck, if you think you have a spending problem, then I recommend you to uninstall the Shopback extension altogether.

Other than that, the other catch is some cashback takes a long time. Depending on the merchant, it can sometimes take months after the purchase. So the money isn’t immediate.

5 Shopback Malaysia Tips You Must Know

#1 – Know what you regularly spend money on, and see if any shops in Shopback offer cashback

Everyone spends their money differently. Some of you live by yourself, some of you rent, some of you live with your parents. You are at different stages in your life, earn varying incomes, and have multiple identities. All these contribute to your purchasing patterns and habits.

So rather than saying ‘just use Shopback’, I’m gonna say ‘look into what you normally spend on first, then see if Shopback fits into your life‘.

Here are some examples; all of these have cashback categories in Shopback:

• If you want to buy stuff from China, browse in Taobao
• If you travel, book your flights, hotels and accommodation there. Compare from various companies, including Expedia, Agoda, Booking.com, etc
• Find tickets, activities, SIM cards and more at Klook
• If you want to buy books, find Book Depositary and Kinokuniya
• If you buy makeup, there’s Hermo and Sephora. Related: My 5 Rules to Make Beauty Products Affordable
• If you want to get supplements, iHerb
• If you want clothes, there’s FashionValet, Asos, Zalora and so many other brands. Related: Save Money on Fashion: 5 Steps I Use to Optimise My Clothing Budget
• If you want to buy an iPhone, the Apple store is there

Shopback has a lot more shops than the above, covering more niche areas*. But for the most part, these are the ones you would look for on regular/semi-regular basis right.

Again, if you’re going to buy them anyway, might as well get cashback while you’re at it. Note: you may be able to find better deals outside of Shopback. Shop around if you have time.

#2 – As much as possible, layer it with other cashback, time-limited promotions and points collection

Note: this do not add to your Shopback cashback. They’re extra bonus.

Listing some examples I know of:

• Collect credit card points when you pay by credit cards
• Collect cashback when you pay by cashback credit cards
• Collect airmiles when you pay with travel credit cards
• Additional sales, including but not limited to festivals-related sales, MyCyberSales, Payday sales, Mother’s Day, etc

Know of more? Comment and I’ll add it in 🙂

#3 – Offer to make purchases on behalf of your company and friends

Employees have known of this trick for years, but worth mentioning here. If you need to buy anything for the office and you can claim it back, do it. I’ve booked flights and accommodations and gave the company the bill for the full amount and kept the Shopback cashback for myself (plus credit card points).

For friends, too. Offer to be the one who buys for the group. Important: your friends must be the type to pay you back.

#4 – Earn referrals

Shopback is pretty generous with their referral bonuses. You get RM5 for each person who registered through your link, plus they get RM5 too. They also host frequent referral bonuses, like invite 9 people get RM210. I can confirm they pay out these bonuses.

I know some people on Twitter who actively promote their referral links as a side income. Taking a leaf out of their book, here’s my referral link again.

#5 – Use Shopback + Taobao to generate extra income

The basic rule for sales: Buy low, sell high(er). If you know items that have high demand and not easily available in Malaysia, why not buy them from Taobao via Shopback and sell them to people who don’t want to wait for delivery from China? You’ll get the cashback AND the profit.

To learn more, read the multi-part Shopback + Taobao shopping guide.

Like these Shopback review? Have more to add from your personal experience?

How’s your experience using Shopback Malaysia? I’m sure there are more tips out there that I missed, so give your Shopback review in the comments section!

If you don’t have a Shopback account yet, consider using my referral link to open and start saving money on things you were going to buy anyway.