With the high prices in the UK these days, you need to make sure you get the best value from your shopping. Fortunately the internet offers great opportunities for you to buy conveniently online at discount prices. One of the most exciting of these opportunities is the cashback system. The wonderful thing about this system is that not only do you get discount prices, but also get a cash refund after your purchase.



So how does it work?

First you sign up with a cashback company. This is generally free of charge. In fact the better ones give you a cash bonus for joining. Then you shop at your favourite stores via the links at your cashback company's website. The company then pays you a cashback using the free services of Paypal or BACS. Cashbacks are usually calculated as a percentage of the sales price or sometimes as a fixed amount.

The cash back system allows you to make purchases at over 1200 leading UK online retailers. The list is a who's who of British major retailers and high street shopping outlets - Currys, Dixons, Tesco, Boots, HMV, Littlewoods and many, many more.

So how are the cashback companies able to do this? The fact is that when you shop at certain websites online and click a link to make a purchase, the referring website gets a commission. If you make your purchase through a cashback company, they'll share a major portion of this commission with you in the form of the cashback payment. It's a win-win situation. The retailer gets a sale, the cashback company receives a commission, and most importantly, you get the absolute best prices for your online shopping and then your cashback payment.

All purchases are tracked electronically through the links provided by the cashback company so there's no possibility of error. And the amount of cash back is clearly stated in each online retailer's description.

The amount of the discount varies from outlet to outlet. Here are some examples:

Avon 5%, Harrods 2.5%, HMV Up to 3%, PC World 1.25%, The Hut 2.5%, Thorntons 4%, WHSmith 3.5%, DELL Computers 1.5%, BBC Shop 3.5%, Butlins Holidays 2%, Carphone Warehouse ?22.50, RAC breakdown cover ?10.50.

You can check the amount of cashback you receive at the cashback company's website. Reporting from the merchant's site normally takes 24 hours to a week or two as each merchant has his own schedule for processing transactions and transferring commissions to the cashback company.

The cashback is then paid to you via BACS or Paypal on or around the 7th of the following month. Most companies apply a minimum amount before they release payment to you. This is usually a modest ?25 or so.

But discount shopping and cashbacks are not all you get. The best cashback companies also provide money off vouchers, discount codes and coupons for most major

retailers like Tesco, Currys and Dixons to name just a few, and links

to a host of websites. In fact, some of these websites even pay you to visit them and register or take the free trials. This can be a lucrative bonus to your online shopping experience.

What's more, even if you're not interested in signing up for the cashback system, you can still get free access to the latest discount vouchers and money off vouchers. These include discount codes for Dixons, Tesco discount codes and Curry's discount codes. Check back at the cashback company's website regularly for the latest voucher codes, discount vouchers and free vouchers.

So look into the cash system for great discounts on online shopping for everything from books to broadband, to CDs and DVDs, finance and flowers, health and beauty, lingerie and make up, mobiles phones and holidays and travel, and much, much more. You'll get the best prices for your shopping and a nice little cash bonus too.