Purchance.com Review

Purchance.com Program Review

Click here to join.

Date Launched: October 2008

Who Can Join: U.S. residents 18 or older with a valid email address

How it Works: Make a purchase through the website's links to one of around 175 merchants and you'll get a chance to win a refund of your purchase price (less shipping and tax). The odds of winning vary depending on the merchant, with your best odds 1 in 3 (Match.com) and your worst 1 in 125 (Dell). Every day a merchant will be chosen to feature better odds than usual.

How You'll Get Paid: You'll know if you won 7 days after your purchase. Ninety days after your purchase you can request a check, and checks are cut weekly. Note that this is considered a "prize" and as such, you'll receive a 1099 for any winnings over $600.

My Take: Interesting concept, and the site looks great and clearly has a good sense of humor ("this ain't your mamma's cash back site!"). You're basically betting what you could have earned in guaranteed cash back elsewhere, in the hopes of winning a 100% rebate. Assuming most people have the same risk tolerance that I do, perhaps Purchance is best suited for smaller orders or for merchants that offer low cashback rates elsewhere, so you're risking less. I'd strongly suggest you calculate out what you would earn at another rewards program first, then look at the odds for that merchant on Purchance before you decide which program to shop through. Fun site, though -- hope that people will post and let us know if they win and how much!