Wikibuy has become one of the top browser extensions to help people find better prices when they shop online.
It has many features to help you save money that include price comparison, instant coupon codes, and you can even use it to compare prices of similar items inside of Amazon.
While there are many online shopping tools to consider, this review of Wikibuy will help you understand why it is one of the top options for anyone looking for an easy way to save money when online shopping.
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What is Wikibuy?
Pretty much, everyone is shopping online these days. While this gives us more convenience, it also gives us MANY more options for finding a good price.
This is where Wikibuy comes in to help you make sure you are getting one of the lowest prices online without having to spend a lot of time researching various websites or searching for coupon codes.
Instead, Wikibuy loads onto your web browser (Chrome, Firefox, etc.) and does all the searching for you. Once you add an item to your cart, Wikibuy goes to work searching the Internet for a better deal and for coupon codes that can reduce the price of your cart.
Best of all is that the app doesn’t slow down your browsing, and it stays away from showing you ads at weird times. It is one of the most seamless browser add-ons I have ever used.
Features of Wikibuy
What makes Wikibuy so popular is the ease with which it operates and the number of ways it can save you money. The main features that are going to help you include:
Product Search
If there is something you need to purchase, instead of going to the Amazon or Walmart websites, you can click on the Wikibuy icon in your browser bar and search right there.
This will take you directly to the Wikibuy website, which will perform the search for whatever product you are pricing. If you are already on the site, you can skip the icon and search from there.
Watchlist
If you are not quite ready to make a purchase, you can add items to your watch list. Wikibuy will monitor prices for that item and notify you when they drop.
A good example would be kitchen appliances. One of the best times of year to buy appliances is in November. If you need an appliance, but your old one isn’t dead yet, you can add the model you want to Wikibuy and wait for them to let you know when it is at a new low.
Featured Offers
On the Wikibuy website, they list a series of featured offers. These offers are typically a combination of cashback and coupon codes that are a particularly good deal.
The offers regularly update, so it is wise to check the website from time to time.
Cashback Rebates
There are a slew of cashback rebate apps and websites. With all of them, you click on their link to go to a site before shopping there, and you get a percentage back into your account.
Local Offers
Wikibuy has a unique feature where you can earn cashback at local merchants. In my area, this is mostly restaurants.
To get 3% cashback on these purchases, you have to register your credit card with your account, and then pay with that card when you shop or dine. That’s it! 3% cash back at all participating locations.
Coupon Codes
It has become a hassle to look up coupon codes. When you go out to the sites that list them, most of the codes have expired.
Since Wikibuy has more than 4 million users, they know much sooner when a code has expired, and you can avoid the frustration of your promo codes not working.
Wikibuy Credits
When you earn cashback on Wikibuy, the money goes toward “credits” in your account.
These credits can then be cashed in for gift cards to popular retailers and restaurants. The credits accumulate automatically, and you get free gift cards to Walmart, Lowes, GameStop, or many other retailers.
How Does Wikibuy Work?
Wikibuy works mostly as a product comparison tool. That means they have to collect massive amounts of information from websites all over the Internet.
They collect this information by taking their database and machine learning and combining it with crowdsourced information gathered from their users.
Once you are running the extension, they are using the data from your shopping and the millions of other people using the app, to help everyone save more money. The more users they have and the longer the company is in existence, the better the price comparisons get.
How they Make Money
These types of programs make money through affiliate revenue. This means that when you use a code or click on their link, they get a percentage of the sale that is made.
Affiliate relationships do not cost you any money and, with cashback rebate sites like Wikibuy, the affiliate relationship is how they put money into your account. Instead of keeping the full affiliate commission for themselves, they give the user a portion and keep a portion.
With Capital One now owning Wikibuy, I am sure they are also using the data from all the sales to sell the marketing research to advertisers. This is a similar model to how paid survey sites work without the transparency.
Is Wikibuy Legit?
Yes, Wikibuy is a legitimate browser extension and website that will help you save money when you shop online, with a minimal amount of effort on your part.
Company History
Wikibuy was founded in 2016 by Jonathan Coon in Austin, TX. Jonathan was also the entrepreneur who started the popular site 1-800-Contacts.
Wikibuy Alternatives
TopCashBack
If you are looking to get the biggest rebate when shopping online, the TopCashBack will be your choice. Our review of TopCashBack details how they can give better returns on average than the other sites.
Honey
The most well-known competitor to Wikibuy, Honey, offers many of the same features.
Rakuten
Once known as Ebates, Rakuten bought out the company and offers the same cashback shopping and their own browser extension.
Many Others
Online shopping is slowly taking over most of our retail experience. It should be no surprise then that more and more of these money-saving apps are coming online. A few other comparison and coupon apps include:
- Coupons at Checkout
- Everydime
- Piggy
- Shoppingo
- Wait for Savings
- Waldo
Pros
- Savings are significant
- The app is stupid simple to use
- Multiple ways to save
- Site is easy to navigate
- Deals to support local retailers
Cons
- You are giving up your data
- Not sure how Capital One intends to use information
- Not always the best cashback option
- Cashback only redeemable for gift cards
Final Thoughts from My Wikibuy Review
I look at Wikibuy as a one-stop-shop for saving money when you shop online. They are great because you get everything you need in one place.
Wikibuy is not going to be the best in any one particular area. TopCashBack has better percentages on their cashback rebates, and Groupon has better local deals.
What neither of those has is all of the above. If you are looking for the easiest solution so that you keep using it, Wikibuy is going to be the winner.
As long as you are good with getting free gift cards instead of free Paypal money, then Wikibuy is an excellent option.
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