Rewarded for the exchange

You can get cash rebates or free merchandise just for doing the shopping you're probably already doing on the Internet. Brand-name merchants such as Gap, Apple, Target, Office Depot and hundreds of others are involved.

All you have to do is shop them using one of several rebate sites on the Web.

It may be a long time before you reap enough rewards to earn even a toaster. And you have to be willing to give up some privacy.

That's OK with Christine Sudicky, an administrative assistant in Chicago who makes most of her online purchases through the one of the most popular reward websites, Ebates.com.

"I go online, make a purchase and then without really paying attention a rebate automatically gets added to my account," said Sudicky, who recently moved into a new house.

The website generally kicks back to the shopper 1% to 4% of the retail price charged by its biggest merchants. Sudicky's purchases of furniture and other items have been enough over the last seven months to earn her $300 in rebates.

If you aren't trying to fill an empty house -- or aren't the personal shopper for Paris Hilton -- the rewards will be far smaller.

Let's say you buy a $1,000 computer from Dell, which earns an Ebates rebate of 2%.

So now you have $20 coming. But to get the money you have to wait anywhere from about seven weeks to six months.

That's because Ebates automatically holds on to rebates for 45 days as a hedge against the shopper's returning the item for a refund. And because the rebate checks are sent out quarterly, unfortunate timing can extend the wait.

Ebates, like most reward websites, is set up as a portal to the wide world of shopping. You go to Ebates first and then click on a link to one of the more than 800 merchant sites listed.

If you make a purchase, Ebates gets a commission, part of which is passed to the shopper.

MyPoints.com gives points to its shoppers, which they can redeem for gift cards. Buy a hammer online at Ace Hardware or an outfit at Saks Fifth Avenue and you get two points per dollar spent. Shopping at Hewlett-Packard reaps three points per dollar; At Barnes & Noble, you get 10.

But again, if you're not on a shopping spree, the real-world rewards will not be major.

If you spend $1,250 for a Hewlett-Packard laptop at that company's website, you would receive 3,750 points, which is enough to obtain a Target gift card worth $25.