Talk:Online shopping rewards

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[edit] Merge

Loyalty program cashback seems redundant with this article, and should merged into here. --MichaelZimmer (talk) 02:37, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

I think this page should be merged into Reward website. Cashback websites has similar content but I firmly believe that it deserves an article on its own as a distinct type of Reward Website. 'Reward Website' could mean anything from paid to complete surveys down to these cheap, badly made paid-to-click, paid-to-read, paid-to-view sites, while cashback websites can be said to have more in common with the type of cashback and rewards you can get from some credit cards - more shopping related. Identz 21:37, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

I'm having trouble understanding the distinction you are making between reward website and cashback website. I actually agree with the suggestion that this should be merged with loyalty program, which in turn should probably be renamed reward scheme or similar. I agree that some of the content should maybe be moved to reward website, at the same time including information about the existing loyalty card programs which, over the past few years, have moved into the reward website market. Also on the reward website page, emphasis should be put on the many different kinds of reward sites like those you have mentioned. Waindigo 22:04, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

No, I didn't make the suggestion that this should be merged with Loyalty program, I suggest a merge with Reward website. I think that loyalty schemes are completely different things.
This is the way I'm seeing them:

• Reward Website. Any site that gives you a reward for visiting. This a catch-all phrase that includes a lot of different sites including paid to read email sites like archerfish, paid to click banners, paid to do surveys etc etc. Often you're getting paid pennies for doing something.
• Loyalty program. No relation to a Reward Website. A Reward Website is a destination site for people who want to make a small amount of money by performing some action, A loyalty program is where people buy something they were going to buy anyway, but because they are a member of a scheme, they get a portion of their money back either in cash or some other form of rewards. Many existed a long time before they had a website.
• Cashback Website. Somewhere in between the two above. It could be described as a Reward Website, but there's a world of difference between someone going to a site like archerfish to earn a few pence a day for doing a click, and someone booking their holiday via a cashback site and getting 10% cashback. Which is why I belive they deserve a completely seperate article although a small mention in the Reward Website article is appropriate. Identz 02:33, 5 May 2007 (UTC)

I do agree with you on the whole. The additional point I am trying to make however is that this page (online shopping rewards) seems to be a strange mix between cashback websites, reward website and loyalty program. Is there a real need for this page? Should this be the page where loyalty programs and cashback websites come together? For example, financial services and supermarket pages should obviously not be combined just because Tesco offers both of these services. However, if Tesco was to become one of the leading financial services providers, then it would seem sensible to include this information on a page about financial services. Does the online part of such loyalty schemes therefore deserve a mention on either this page (since they do not actually offer cashback) or on the reward website page (in which case I return to my point of whether or not this page is really needed). Waindigo 12:53, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

I don't really see a need for this page either. It is all already covered elsewhere and I don't see why "online shopping rewards" would be a phrase that should be covered by an encyclopaedia. If this page were just to be removed it would be no great loss. Identz 18:32, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Naming specific websites

I've just removed references to Quidco and Rpoints. Naming specific sites just invites spam as well as legitimate high-ranking cashback sites who think they have equal right to be included trying to add themselve. I know because I spent months removing spam from the main Cashback website article until someone had the good sense just to wipe all mention to specific sites. I was moved to do this when some users recently put several mentions to Ipoints in the Cashback Website section(Iponts isn't even a cashback website because it returns rewards rather than actual cash). I really don't want to be spending time reverting when any of the 85+ cashback sites want to add themselves to the article like I was doing previously Identz (talk) 01:55, 11 December 2007 (UTC)