CashBack on eBay from MS live.com:
NOW 20% try this search for 'onkyo'(12/4 @ 8:20 PM EST) - limit 12 transactions per ebay account, $200 cashback per transaction.
READ BEFORE YOU ASK A QUESTION!!!
At this point, just about any questions you might have has been asked several times. If you don't want to incur the wrath of many short-tempered FWers, read this Quick Summary first. That should answer most questions. If your question is still not answered, SEARCH THE THREAD for your question/answer using the search function up near the top (right under the topic title).
Working search terms:
Terms giving 30%: None known at present.
Terms giving 25%: None known at present.
Terms giving 20%: 'keyboard', 'onkyo'. (You may have to reload the page several times to get the % off eBay link to come up).
These were giving 25%. May or may not work and some of these now at 20%: 'Silver Eagle Roll', 'Paul Potts', 'gold', 'playstation', 'd40x', 'xsi', 'wii', 'ps3', 'net a', Seagate FreeAgent.
You may need to refresh browser/enter new keywords to get above percentage (Note that caching links for later use apparently doesn't work).
>>>Step by Step with Screenshots<<<
******** QUICK OVERVIEW ******* (thanks Troop)
- Go to eBay.com and log onto your eBay account.
- Find an item you want to buy (it MUST have a Buy it now option with paypal) (Note you can get up to $200 per completed item/auction. When the discount is 30% you'd get maximum ($200) CashBack with a $666.67 item ($200 is 30% of $666.67). With 25% you'd get maximum CashBack with an $800 item.).
- Add that item to your watch list.
- Click on one of the "Working search terms" listed above,such as this one..
- Click on the line in the highlighted box that says "You may get 30%(or 25% or 20% - whatever the current amount is) with PayPal if eligible". This will take you to eBay. You should see the CashBack banner at the top of the eBay page.
- Now that you are in eBay go to My eBay here and look at items on your watchlist.
- Click on the watchlist item you want to buy.
- Click on 'Buy it now'.
- Before 'Committing to Buy', be sure the CashBack details are shown on the lower left of the screen with the proper percentage and dollar value (maximum $200).
- Check out and pay with Paypal and the CashBack will be yours!
Note: If you do not receive a
Cash Back message in your
eBay Inbox in a few days, contact
eBay through chat support. They will manually send the message to you.
****************
Useful links:
Live.com's "how Live Search CashBack" works": link.
Live.com's "CashBack FAQ": link.
Live.com CashBack terms: link.
eBay CashBack terms: link.
Microsoft's live search team blog: link.
ZipZoomfly.com's live CashBack step by step instructions: link.
Fatwallet thread on denied CashBack: link.
CashBackr a webpage that purports to show you CashBack % for different search terms (ymmv): link.
Note that the eBay CashBack terms are controlling with respect to the Microsoft terms. In the advent of a conflict, the eBay terms take precedence.
"In the event that you receive CashBack Rewards for a purchase that is later determined to be an ineligible purchase, you provide PayPal with the right and authority to remove the CashBack Rewards from your PayPal account, even if it means that your PayPal account will have a negative balance for which you will be liable. "
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FAQ (please also see live.com's expanded CashBack FAQ here).
1) How long does it take for the CashBack to show up as pending?
From the live.com CashBack FAQ (here) "Most CashBack rewards appear as pending within a day or two, but occasionally a store may take longer to tell us about an eligible purchase. If you made a purchase more than two days ago that isn't displayed in your CashBack account, contact us with your purchase details. We'll get back to you just as soon as we can".
2) How does the CashBack link to your live.com account?
When you make a CashBack eligible purchase eBay sends you email telling you that you have CashBack. When you click on the link in that email from your initial purchase and you either create a live.com account or log into an existing one your live.com account is then linked to your eBay and PayPal accounts.
3) Can I search for something say "Wii" and buy something else on eBay and still get CashBack.
Yes.
4) How do I know if I am eligible for the additional 10% off one-time-use coupon?
If eBay sent you an email to your registered eBay email address or if you can see the 10% off coupon on the eBay homepage, then you are eligible (see also FAQ # 22).
5) How do I "cash out" my available CashBack balance?
60 days after purchase, you can withdraw CashBack funds ONLY through paypal. (No Check/Bank account option) It will take an additional 7 days for the CashBack to appear in your paypal account. There are no PayPal fees associated (personal or business account). Once the funds are in your PayPal account you can either spend them or transfer them to a bank account you have linked to you PayPal account. Note that live.com has changed the procedure for new CashBack transactions, you no longer need to request funds to be paid to your PayPal account when they are available, they will be automatically transferred into the PayPal account you used to pay for your eBay purchase.
6) Does it work for Auction items?
No, this only works for "Buy It Now" (BIN) items and only when you pay with Paypal. (Note that third party checkouts now apparently _do_ qualify for CashBack).
7) Does your Microsoft CashBack email (live.com login) have to be the same as your eBay account?
No, it can be anything (preferably your paypal email).
8) Can I have more than one eBay account linked to the same live CashBack account? Can I use the same paypal account for all my eBay accounts?
Yes. Yes.
9) What is the limit for CashBack?
It is $200 per transaction and a maximum of 12 transactions per eBay account, $2500 total (eBay & other merchants) per live account per calendar year. Note that if you reach the 12 transaction limit in an eBay account you can create an additional eBay account (you may create as many eBay accounts as you wish, but you need a unique email address for each account you create) and use the same paypal account and live.com account - this is permitted by the CashBack rules (you still can't exceed the $2,500 total cap). See also FAQs # 17 and # 20.
10) Can I buy multiple quantities of something (for ex. 3 Wii for $1000) in the same auction and get CashBack?
Yes, purchasing a multiple quantity of something in a single buy-it-now auction counts as a single transaction and the maximum CashBack you can get for the total purchase is $200. In the example here for the purchase of the 3 Wiis in the same auction you'd get $200 CashBack. If you purchased 3 widgets at $100 each in a single auction and CashBack was 25% you'd get 3*100*25% = $75 CashBack.
11) Are eBay Motors purchases eligible for CashBack?
Yes. There used to be problems with eBay motors purchases not registering on Live during the beginning of the promotion but this is fixed now. Note that "purchases of automobiles or other vehicles" are not eligible for CashBack.
12) When will the current % discount change?
Good question. If you know the answer, tell the rest of us.
13) Can an eBay seller tell that I've used live.com CashBack on an item I've purchased from them?
Yes. The seller can see that you've used CashBack on their "Order Details" page.
14) If I make an offer on a "Buy it Now or Best Offer" auction can I get live.com CashBack?
No. Live.com CashBack doesn't work with the "Best Offer" option. You will either have to use
the "Buy it Now" option on the auction or ask the seller to make a new "Buy it Now" auction at your
offer price. Some sellers will, some won't bother.
15) I'm a TWC/RR customer and I'm unable to access the Get Cash Back button in My Message to create my account, what do I do?
1) Goto http://ww23.rr.com/prefs.php (or whatever redirection service is for your area). You can also find this out by typing tracert cashbackaccount.search.live.com on a cmd box and use the IP addresss of the last server hit.
2) Select disable redirection (this is the first option - web address redirection service).
16) Can I get CashBack for buying "modern currency"?
When the live.com CashBack program began, there were sellers offering "modern currency" (i.e. cash) which people bought for the CashBack rebate. eBay/PayPal considered it "money laundering" and put a stop to it, cancelling auctions and CashBack, and booting some sellers.
17) What happens if I exceed the $2,500 calendar year CashBack cap?
It depends. If a single purchase puts you over the cap (from the live.com CashBack FAQ here):
"if a single purchase causes you to meet and also exceed this cap, you can still earn all the CashBack savings associated with that purchase, provided that all other eligibility requirements are met."
If you make purchases once you're over the cap (from the live.com CashBack terms here):
"You will not earn CashBack rewards on purchases where ... (h) you exceed the annual monetary cap on CashBack rewards."
A FWer reported that they emailed CashBack support and received the following concerning overages:
"You can still keep shoping and earn CashBack , simply you just can not cashout your earning until that calandar year is up."
implying that you would still earn CashBack over the $2,500 cap but just couldn't get the extra until the next calendar year, but this interpretation cannot be found in any of the live.com documents online.
Note that there is some evidence that Microsoft is not counting any CashBack earned before the $2500 cap was put in place against the cap.
18) How do I make sure an item I want to buy is eligible for CashBack?
First go to the item you are interested in buying. Make sure you have the CashBack banner showing at the top of the page. Click "Buy it Now" (you won't be committing to buy at this point).
If there are multiple quantities of the item you will get the quantity-selection page which you must also click through. At this point you will be at the "commit to buy" page. If the item isn't eligible for CashBack you should see:
"Sorry, this item is not eligible for CashBack".
If the item is eligible for CashBack you'll see the actual CashBack you will receive on the lower left of your screen.
19) Why is my CashBack now showing "pending" and "0 days left" at the same time?
The "0 days left" problem was apparently caused by an upgrade to the live.com site but now seems to be resolved.
20) Is the "12 online sessions per account" limit per calendar year or regardless of the time period?
It's apparently for the life of the program, regardless of the time period.
From the eBay CashBack terms (here):
vi. You may receive CashBack Rewards for up to a maximum of twelve (12) Online Sessions per account on www.eBay.com. Once you have completed twelve (12) Online Sessions under any eBay.com account, you will no longer be eligible to receive CashBack Rewards for purchases made under such eBay.com account. ;
Note that they could have added "per year" or "annually" several places in the above clause but they didn't. Users that try doing their 13th transaction receive the following message:
"Sorry, you have exceeded the maximum lifetime limits for this program and are no longer eligible."
21) My legitamate CashBack was denied, what do I do?
There's a new discussion thread on dealing with denied CashBack here.
22) Are there any current eBay/paypal coupons?
The following are currently reported active coupons (note in general eBay/paypal coupons only work if eBay/paypal
has specifically sent them to you, they are linked to your account): CHOLIDAYNOV2008 (10%), CPPEBAY110810P (10%), CFALL10P (10%), CHOLIDAYSAVE15P (15%). Your eBay email address must be on your PayPal account for a coupon to work. Note that the eBay/paypal coupon stacks fully with the CashBack discount - both are applied to the full price of the item - so the effective discount percentage is the coupon percentage plus the CashBack percentage. Note that items that use third party checkouts on eBay are now eligible for CashBack but reports are that eBay/paypal coupons may not work with third-party checkouts even though CashBack does.
23) Can I get CashBack for purchasing a gift card on eBay?
Yes. Although the Microsoft CashBack terms exclude store giftcards, the eBay CashBack terms allow them:
"Purchases on eBay.com of gift certificates, gift cards and items acquired for resale will be eligible for CashBack Rewards."
Note that eBay limits giftcards to maximum $500 face value. If you happen to purchase a giftcard of greater than $500 facevalue on eBay, eBay likely will cancel the auction retroactively.
Also there is a chance eBay will retroactively cancel an auction if you pay over $500 for a giftcard with facevalue of $500 or less.
Note that buying a store gift card/certificate on eBay has certain risks. You could receive a card with a balance less than the one you paid for, or receive a card that was filled using a stolen credit card which could result in the store coming after you after you've used the card to purchase merchandise. To protect yourself consider paying for your PayPal purchase using a credit card that allows you file a chargeback for non-delivery, and not buying a gift card/certificate unless you intend to use it shortly after you get it.
24) If eBay cancels the Buy-It-Now "auction" for the item retroactively will I still get my CashBack?
Whether or not you get your CashBack seems to be controlled by the fate of the PayPal payment and not the auction.
If the seller refunds the money to you via PayPal you likely won't get the CashBack. If the seller goes through with the transaction you apparently will get the CashBack.
25) Do I have to pay immediately for my Buy-It-Now auction purchase to be eligible for CashBack?
How long you have to pay is determined by the seller. Check the item's listing for the seller's terms.
Note that the seller can file an "unpaid" dispute with eBay after 7 days have elapsed.
Note also that if the Buy-It-Now specifies "Immediate Payment Required", you must pay immediately.
26) Why is some CashBack paid instantly paid to my paypal account instead of having to wait 60 days?
We're not really sure how it's decided to pay some CashBack instantly. From the live.com Cashcack FAQ (here):
"When you make a purchase that is eligible for CashBack on eBay using PayPal, PayPal might decide that your CashBack reward is eligible for immediate deposit (see eBay's terms and conditions). For these rewards, check the PayPal account that you used to make the purchase, and see your CashBack! For eBay purchases that are not rewarded immediately, your reward will be deposited automatically after 60 days to the PayPal account you used to make the purchase. If you decide to return your purchase with CashBack that was rewarded immediately, PayPal will reverse the CashBack reward."
Someone reported receiving email from eBay customer service containing the following:
If you are a repeat CashBack customer, you'll probably get an "instant CashBack rebate" deposited to your PayPal account within a day ... instant CashBack isn't possible for third party checkout.
Also, someone posted the following on another forum:
"eBay/Live Search CashBack V2 was launched yesterday. eBay and PayPal will determine if CashBack eligible purchases will receive either instant CashBack or will need to go through the 60 day pending period. Microsoft will not have a say in the decision. You will not know if the CashBack will be instant or pending until after the purchase. Another change is that all CashBack payment will automatically go to the PayPal account that was used to make the purchase.
No payment request is needed, everything will be done automatically. Instant CashBack will show in your PayPal account within minutes of making the purchase. Customer waiting the 60 days will have their CashBack automatically sent to their PayPal account when the pending period is over.
$200 CashBack per session and 12 session limit still applies. If a product is returned or if eBay/PayPal determines that CashBack is ineligible (return, cancellation, etc) after instant CashBack, PayPal will take back the CashBack from your account. This will cause a negative CashBack balance in your PayPal account."
From the livesearch team blog:
"When we asked users about the improvements they'd like us make to Live Search CashBack, many said they want to receive CashBack instantly instead of waiting for 60 days. Well, I'm happy to announce that we've just released the Instant CashBack feature with eBay. Instant CashBack will be eligible for some, but not all users. Eligible shoppers will be notified online after completing a purchase on eBay."
27) Will I lose my CashBack if the seller issues me a partial refund?
Possibly. Partial PayPal refunds from a seller on a CashBack transaction seem to trigger a rejection of CashBack in many cases. This includes cases in which a seller is giving you a partial refund for a combined-shipping discount or a partial refund for shipping damage or other similar cases. From the live.com CashBack faq:
"If you return, cancel, or exchange part or all of a purchase, the store may reverse your purchase with us, and we won't be able to pay you any CashBack savings from that transaction".
If the seller issues you a refund by sending you a separate PayPal payment this apparently avoids the problem. (see the discussion thread here).
28) Are items that use third-party-checkouts eligible for CashBack?
Apparently the answer is now yes, although they didn't used to be. eBay removed the exclusion for third-party-checkouts from their terms and eBay stores that didn't previously work with CashBack like 'buy' and 'cametaauctions' now do. When you checkout with an item using a third-party checkout you now see "This item is eligible for CashBack, but this seller doesn't use eBay checkout. Since you won't be completing your purchase on eBay, it's very important that you remember to pay with PayPal."
"After you pay with PayPal and complete checkout, go to your Messages in My eBay for additional instructions. It may take a few days for this message to appear. Your CashBack will be available in your PayPal account in approximately 60 days."
Note that per the above purchases from sellers using third-party-checkouts are apparently not eligible for instant-CashBack, you'll have to wait the full 60 days, and that it will probably take longer for the CashBack to show up in your live.com account than for purchases from sellers using eBay's checkout (there are reports of it taking 24-48 hours to show up). Also since third party-checkout CashBack involves a more complicated procedure things are more likely to go wrong so it might be a good idea to take a screen-shot of the final screen before you pay so you have some evidence to email in case you don't get the CashBack you've earned.
29) Is it possible to combine Fatwallet's eBay CashBack (3% until 12/31) with live.com's CashBack?
Maybe. Some people have reported being able to do so using the following general technique:
You follow the normal procedure outlined above for purchasing your item with the live.com CashBack discount but you stop before paying for your item with PayPal.
You then open a new browser and go to the FatWallet CashBack page for eBay (here) and click through to eBay and complete your purchase by paying for your item with PayPal.
30) Why can't I see the CashBack banner when I go to eBay?
Sometimes the banner disappears for a brief time while eBay or live.com is making changes. Try selecting a buy-it-now item and see if CashBack shows anyway (see FAQ # 18). Try clearing your browser cookies and cache and quitting and restarting your browser. Some programs like Norton Internet Security or some browser add-ons like Adblock in Firefox can block banners, try disabling them during your eBay session.
31) Does CashBack work outside of the US?
According to the terms to get CashBack for a buy-it-now purchase you (the purchaser) must be a legal resident of the US - the seller however can be outside of the US. Many people have successfully earned CashBack purchasing items from non-us-based sellers. As always make sure the CashBack amount shows in the lower left of the screen when you check out.
A FEW UPDATES:
1) Users are reporting problems with registration and invalid security certificates with Firefox. Run Microsoft web code on a Microsoft browser for best results.
2) Many users are reporting missing CashBack entries in their CashBack account, even though they believe to have followed the rules & procedures exactly. YMMV.
3) Some users are reporting difficulty in getting response and resolution to issues through LIVE.com support. YMMV
4) Some users are reporting that Live.com/eBay/Paypal are "evolving" their interpretation of the terms & conditions, particularly for currency and bullion.
5) Once you link an eBay account with a live account by clicking the eBay message from your first CashBack purchase, you cannot change it. Every following CashBack purchase from that eBay account will go to the live account you have first linked it to. You do not have to click the CashBack button in the eBay message for the transactions number 2 through 12.
6) "Second Chance" offers with BIN work with CashBack.
7) If you are outside the United States: Change your live.com site to United States (English), use a US billing address for CashBack, and if you are unable to see the 30% banners, use Hotspot Shield. Without Hotspot Shield, the highest banner I can see in Japan is 20%.
8) File a complaint with the BBB if you've followed the rules and MS won't pay you
9) The eBay 10% coupon stacks with Live CashBack. However, only members that are pre-approved / notified by eBay are eligible. FatWallet CashBack may also stack with the MSFT promo (see FAQ question # 29).
10) Selling a giftcard at above face-value seems a good way to get your auction cancelled.
11) Paypal payouts are usually made weekly by mass-pay, on Fri - Sat.
12) People have been experiencing their "60 day" being pushed back a day at a time. ( Keeps on saying "1day left" ) It's a quite common problem. Just wait it out a few days and it will be available.
13) Oct. 28th press release from eBay discussing upcoming deals and live.com promotion here.
14) eBay's new holiday 'deals' page: eBay Deals.
15) eBay's "Holiday Best Practices" page here. Mentions that "eBay will be hitting millions of buyers with coupons-wherever they're searching".
16) eBay has send email to some sellers mentioning a '"pull-out-all-the-stops" Cyber Monday blitz' ("Cyber Monday" is December 1st this year).
17) Microsoft LiveSearch has started a new program "SearchPerks!" in which you earn rewards for searching via live.com. For more info SearchPerks! Faq. Note that SearchPerks! only works with Internet Explorer and Windows XP or Vista.
18) Two short articles at cnet.com on Microsoft's CashBack: Study: Microsoft Cashback attracting visitors and Microsoft touts 25 percent eBay Cashback rebate.
19) The Official Blog of The Live Search Team at Microsoft.
20) Reports are that some eBay purchases now result in CashBack being instantly paid to your paypal account. We haven't yet determined why some are paid instantly instead of the 60-day wait. (See Faq Question #26 above)
21) Several people have reported getting the "You have CashBack" message from eBay and clicking on "get CashBack" only to be redirected to an eBay site in a foreign country (Germany, .de, Australia, .au, Italy, .it, etc.) with an error message. Changing the end of the domain (".de", ".au", ".it") to .com in the link URL apparently fixes the error (note that there may be more than one place in the URL you need to make the change). You can also contact eBay via the live chat and ask them to resend the "you have CashBack" email to you.
22) Third party checkouts now work with CashBack (For example Buy.com's eBay store (userid 'buy') now works with CashBack. Previously it didn't because they used a third-party checkout. Link to buy.com's ebay store). (see FAQ # 28)
