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If you’re wondering is Paribus legit, you’re not alone. Thousands of people search the internet each day looking for the answer to that question. And many thousands more search online for ways to save and make more money.
Truthfully, I thought I heard it all until I came across Paribus. An app that will fight for you to get you money back? So now you essentially do both – save and make money.
Sounds almost too good go be true. But is it legitimate? Is it safe? Well, now you’re about to find out in this unbiased review.
What is Paribus?
First off, Paribus is an internet service with an app that is designed to help people negotiate for refunds from shops, whose prices dropped after they made a purchase.
The company is owned by Capital One and was founded by Karim Atiyeh and Eric Glyman. Paribus is headquartered in Brooklyn, NY and officially opened its doors in 2014.
The two innovators behind Paribus noticed that consumers were falling prey to price discrimination at the hands of many e-commerce companies. And they also understood that most consumers were either unaware or lacked the knowledge to find tools and resources that could help them handle this problem.
So Karim and Eric sat down and created a product that would help their clients get refunds from online stores when price drops happened for items that had already been purchased.
This product became Paribus, which was eventually purchased by Capital One in 2016.
How Does Paribus Work?
Price discrimination is a fairly common practice. Online stores will hike up prices for certain groups of people and then slash them for others. Sometimes, they have a good reason to do this.
For example, some stores give discounts to senior citizens and veterans. But you also have online stores who will use your internet history and shopping habits to hike the prices of the items you frequently purchase.
There are even cases where they will intentionally drive you towards items with higher prices while also hiding their cheaper alternatives. And once you make your purchase, the store will cut its price tags weeks or even days later.
Why Retailers Cut Prices
Again, it’s worth noting that not all stores operate with these sneaky intentions. Sometimes market factors will force an online store to cut its prices dramatically days or weeks after you have made your purchase.
Fortunately, most of these types of stores provide ways for consumers to get refunds. These refunds normally make up the difference between the initial higher price tag and the present lower price tag.
Collecting Your Refund
But collecting your refund isn’t easy. The policies that are in place to handle these issues usually vary with each store. And the process of following up on potential payments from a store can be very time consuming.
Paribus tries to act as a middleman between you and the store from, where you want the refund.
It will track all the receipts you get from your online shopping. And once it detects a price drop related to one of your previous purchases, it will initiate the process of requesting a refund.
The Process is Automated
The service works automatically. Once it has access to your email, it can watch for price drops and seek refunds. Only engaging with you when there are steps you have to take on your end to complete the process.
They know all the rules pertaining to the refund policies of your target store. And once they successfully get you a refund, funds are sent directly to your bank or PayPal account.
Right now the company tracks purchases from 25+ major retailers including:
- Amazon
- Target
- Nordstrom
- Walmart
- Gap
- Macy’s
The Paribus Shopping App
At first, you had to sign up for their online service to take advantage of the tool. But then they introduced an app that can be downloaded. The app is available only on IOS devices at the time of this article and can also be used any computer.
The biggest advantage of the app is that it watches your money and your purchases so you don’t have to.
Permissions
When you’re a member of Paribus, you have to give them access to your email. This means allowing them to read, edit, and even delete your emails.
This permission also gives the app access to every receipt you have ever received following an online purchase. The app will then go through all of these receipts to determine if a retailer owes you a refund.
Once they determine that you are owed money, they will initiate steps to get you your money. The app will also apply for rebates and discounts. This additional service is also automatic.
Basically, you can sit back, relax and watch as the app goes to work for you doing all of the heavy lifting.
How to Join Paribus?
To join Paribus, you can visit the Paribus website and also download the app for IOS as I mentioned. You then have to provide the required information during registration and allow Paribus access your email account with your email service provider.
This is the account that you use for your online purchases. Signing up for Paribus is free and there are no additional fees required.
NOTE: Paribus is a free service and doesn’t charge you a commission for getting you refunds. Instead Paribus earns revenue through display advertisements on their platform.
How to Make Money With Paribus?
If you bought an item in recent days and weeks but then the price dropped, Paribus will help you get the difference between your initial payment and the new price back. The money is sent directly to your account.
So you can have peace of mind while making online purchases because you know that Paribus will secure your discounts and refunds.
Pros of Paribus
- This app does all the work required to get you refunds related to online purchases. That even involves filling out any necessary forms on your behalf.
- The app notifies you whenever you get money back. It also sends your refunds directly to your bank or PayPal account.
- The app helps you keep track of your e-commerce spending.
- Their services are supported by a large number of online retailers.
- The app keeps you in the loop on all of the major price drops that you might care about. This will give you an accurate idea of the refunds you can expect. It also keeps you updated on items with discounts you might want to take advantage of.
- If deliveries from retailers like Amazon are late, Paribus will help you acquire the necessary financial compensation.
- They can also help you monitor and then take advantage of hotel price drops. This will allow you to save on hotel bookings, especially if you travel a lot.
Cons of Paribus
- You need to give Paribus access to your email accounts as well as your accounts on platforms like Amazon. That is the only way the app can monitor your purchases and deliveries.
- The app is only available to consumers in the US and Puerto Rico.
- Only available on IOS devices at the time of this review. The Android app is being rebuilt.
Is Paribus Legit?
We like Paribus and think it is a legit company. People who hear about Paribus for the first time are usually hesitant to use it because they think its services are too good to be true.
It’s usually a good idea to be leery of things that sound too good to be true. But with Paribus, it might be worthwhile to check it out especially if you shop regularly online. Just think, it’s like having your own watchdog for your money when you shop.
The company works hard to prevent e-commerce stores from learning that they are dealing with a bot for obvious reasons. And for the most part, everything Paribus does is above board and safe.
The company currently does not have an accreditation the BBB. But the BBB has assigned them a B rating. To date, Paribus claims to have found over $29 million in potential savings for its users.
Conclusion
There you have it. You now have the answer to the question, is Paribus legit. Like most opportunities to make money online it’s always a good idea to do your due diligence.
It’s free to join, so it might not be a bad idea to kick the tires and check it out. But if you’re concerned about privacy issues when it comes to sharing your email and other accounts you’ll want to give it some thought.
In the end, here’s another breakthrough in technology that allows you to earn money on things you’ve already purchased or are about to purchase. This is basically like creating money out of thin air because without the Paribus app, you probably wouldn’t even know this money existed.