Yesterday we learned that eBay is starting to crack down on accounts who buy lots of Daily Deals purchases.
In that post people started commenting that they were noticing some clawbacks from various shopping portals (mostly Top Cashback) for eBay purchases back in September.
I checked yesterday and I didn't see any clawbacks, but when I checked today, I did have one clawback which is annoying since it was an expensive purchase but it isn't the end of the world. There are some reports of as much as $200 in clawbacks.
So what's the deal? I'm honestly not sure.
I'll share one reader's theory just because it is important even if it doesn't fully explain everything.
Shop at Home also changed their terms for eBay purchases (this is new as far as I am aware - I could be wrong).
Shop at Home now excludes:
Cash back available on qualified purchases except when seller fees are $0.00
Could it be that the clawbacks were from purchases where seller fees are $0.00? It's possible. This is kind of ridiculous. I recently used a promotion like this to sell with no fees. How in the world are you as a consumer supposed to know when the seller is using a promotion and your payout is negated?
Could be that Daily Deals have no seller fees as a loss leader for eBay to drive traffic and that is where the clawbacks are from? I have no idea. I think the evidence points towards no on this one unless it is being very selectively enforced since most people don't have clawbacks since September.
I understand a policy like this. If eBay makes no money on the transaction they don't want to pay you for a portal either. I just think more transparency is in order so that we can know when we will earn for portal purchase and when we won't.
This all once again points to the fact that reselling ideas should be worth it without loyalty points and/or portals. Those are the delicious bits of gravy that keep us going, but you don't want to end up losing money because some portal changed the way they payout.
Oh and Top Cashback raised their payout to 1.25% so I guess there is some good new there.
Check out your accounts - Did you receive a clawback for eBay purchases? What were the dates? Was it from the Daily Deals? Please let me know in the comments.
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