New program: Get SearchPerks [11/15].
CashBack on MS live.com:
NOW 25% try this search for "gold" (11/16 @ 9:33 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% CashBack: None known at present.
Terms giving 25% 'Paul Potts', 'gold', 'playstation', 'd40x', 'xsi', 'wii', 'ps3', 'net a'(you may have to reload the page several times to get the 25% off eBay link to come up).
You may need to refresh browser/enter new keywords to get above percentage. Cached links may still work.
>>>Step by Step with Screenshots<<<
******** QUICK OVERVIEW ******* (thanks Troop)
- Go to eBay.com and find an item you want to buy (it MUST have a Buy it now option with paypal)
- 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.
- Click on the 30% (or 25% or 20% - whatever the current amount is) banner (Live Search CashBack).
- Now you are in eBay go to My eBay 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 screen with the proper percentage (maximum $200) of the item(s) value.
- 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.
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.
------------------------------------------
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 open live.com account its linked to your eBay and paypal via eBay.
3) Can I search for something say "Wii" and buy something else on eBay and still get CashBack.
Yes (unless MSFT/eBay change the rules).
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.
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 / business account )
6) Does it work for Auction items?
No, this only works for "Buy It Now" (BIN) items and only when you pay with Paypal. Third party checkouts do not 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 max. of 12 transactions per eBay account(see above highlighted). $2500 total ( eBay & other merchants ) per live account per calendar year. (updated to reflect new T&C)
10) Can I buy multiple quantities of something (for ex. 3 Wii for $1000) in the same auction and get CashBack?
Yes, but the max. per transaction is $200, so the purchase of the 3 Wiis in the same auction count as a single transaction and you'd get $200 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.
18) How do I know if a seller uses a third party checkout and isn't 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.
This offer requires you to check out on eBay / PayPal but this seller requires a third-party checkout."
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.
23) Can I get CashBack for purchasing an 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.
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?
From the eBay CashBack terms (here):
"ii You must purchase an eligible item using a www.eBay.com account, and you must pay for the eligible item using your PayPal account within the shorter of thirty (30) days of completing the purchase on www.eBay.com or the time frame specified by the seller."
So you have 30 days to pay unless the seller specifies a shorter time period. Most sellers these days will likely specify a shorter period. Note 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."
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."
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. 1% FW CashBack may also stack with the MSFT promo.
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).
