Live.com Ebay/Paypal 25% cashback

[drewdown]

Live.com is giving 25% cash back on purchases made through ebay using 'Buy it Now' only and paying with Paypal. You need a live.com account though so make sure you sign-up for one if you dont already have one or a hotmail account. Just passing on the good deal to you guys if you aren't already aware of it.

Its simple: Go to live.com and type in whatever you are looking for, IE ebay wii (or whatever for that matter), first link should be an ebay link and should say "Live Search Cashback" next to it. Click on that link and it will take you to Ebay. You will a banner up top in green showing a gold coin and saying "Microsoft Cashback 25%." Looks like this: Terms and conditions are there as well, in it says you can only get cashback for 12 items, and some other stipulations. I bought some shoes already and this is what shows in my live.com cashback account:

None

[glebert]

On a related note, Ebay is giving some users a 10% discount on purchases through the end of the month. The discount code is not transferrable, though, so check you "My Ebay" to see if you have it, it will show up as a welcome screen.

[Jay-Bird]

link to eBay Terms for Live Search Cashback Rewards:
http://pages.ebay.com/cashbackoffer/...ml?_trksid=m38

[traviswise]

I netted a TaylorMade Burner Driver for $65 using this incentive. It works.

[firstcut]

My buddy did this with some camera gear and saved mad money.

Using this I just picked up a much anticipated Leupold GX-i for $214 shiped to my door. Given that it's a $300 unit (retail) and tax would have been about $24, you just saved me a cool $100+ and much spousal grief. PLUS, I get to save my Golfsmith gift cards for other cool toys.

Many many thanks for the reminder!

[TyCobb]

Lol. You'll get your cash back in 59 days. Not really worth it.

[Magnus]

Lol. You'll get your cash back in 59 days. Not really worth it.

Huh? How is it not worth it?

[iacas]

Huh? How is it not worth it?

You don't seem to understand "opportunity cost."

Or to put it another way, you're basically giving them a small, no-interest loan. And by the time 59 days is up, you might have forgotten all about it (and so might they). A lot of "rebates" are scammy. If you're saving even $100, I can see not necessarily finding $100 worth the hassle.

[Magnus]

No, I understand it - a scam is one thing, and then obviously it isn't woth it.

But if it is legit, and if I was planning on purchasing something for the BIN price anyways, and couldn't get it for a lower price, then it would be worth it.

I guess the legit part was my question

I guess I could invest that $$ and avoid the opportunity cost of buying a golf club though......I think I may have had a similar talk with my significant other recently

[gsu_paintballer]

It's absolutely legit. I did this several times a while back (got my money in September).

To those of you who are saying it's "not worth the hassle" and "i might forget about it"....if you're going to spend the money anyways...why not try it?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to BEG you to save money

[drewdown]

You don't seem to understand "opportunity cost."

Opportunity cost? Hassle? If you are buying something off Ebay anyway what difference does it make? You have to sign up for a live account, thats it. Big hassle there! And 60 days? What difference does that make? Its Microsoft, Ebay and Paypal not likely they are going to 'forget' to give you the cashback.

[firstcut]

Ya, I'm sure Microsoft, ebay and paypal are all about scamming people. That's always good PR. Screwing people maybe, but an outright scam I doubt.

You sign up for live and then buy something on ebay (or another authorized merchant). I guess that could be tough for the internet challenged. And waiting for 60 days to get up to a $200 rebate isn't worth it because you have to wait? Uhh.. OK... As noted in an earlier post, after my rebate shows, I'll have received a brand new GX-i shipped to my door for about $214. It will be here next week. Until I get my rebate, the worst that has happened is that I paid $285 for the product I was going to buy anyway.

This is simple economics. It's not a loan that they get to make interest on. It's a deferred rebate for using live to find product. And, the rebate goes directly into your paypal account. Pretty simple. There *may* be some tax incentives we can't see, but either way it doesn't affect the money that ends up back in my pocket. The road to wealth and financial independence is built on long term financial strategy. Saving $100 here and there is part of that road.

God, I can't believe I just wasted my time trying to convince people it's a good idea to try and save money in tough economic times. Maybe I am the dummy here.

[iacas]

It's not a loan that they get to make interest on.

Pardon me, but the money's in their account for thirty or sixty days or whatever. They can make interest, they can make payroll, they can do whatever they want with it. You don't have it, they do.

I realize it's not the standard "loan" but that's what it amounts to: a zero-interest loan. They have your money for a period of time. I value my time at a pretty good rate, so I don't much care about "saving money" if the equation between my time and my money gets out of whack. Everyone has a line. Would you spend an hour doing something I ask you to do for $2? $20? $200? You've got a price, just like me.

[gsu_paintballer]

Pardon me, but the money's in their account for thirty or sixty days or whatever. They can make interest, they can make payroll, they can do whatever they want with it. You don't have it, they do.

You are too much.

Live.com gets NONE of your money. How do you not see that?

[iacas]

Live.com gets NONE of your money. How do you not see that?

So the rebate is instant? If something costs $800, you only ever pay $600? No. Someone other than you has your $200 for 60 days. You gave it to them, and they're giving it back, later on, without any interest added. How about you give me $5k? I'll give it back to you in two days. What would that be called? Oh yes, a loan.

And firstcut, your long post was removed because it's not only unnecessarily snarky but wrong. You don't get to be rude here - calling someone "uneducated" is just that. It's particularly amusing, though, when you do so and you're wrong. My original post was simply:

You don't seem to understand "opportunity cost."

I wasn't the first one to say "not really worth it." The opportunity cost is that if you want to spend that $200 you might get back on something else, you can't. Why? Because you've loaned it out.

I doubt MS or eBay (which owns PayPal) are trying to scam people, but in my experience, rebates require a lot of diligence. They trip you up in a lot of different ways. I got over $700 back from various Canon rebates last spring, but I photocopied and documented everything, I sent the paperwork via registered mail, and so on. For $700, it was worth my time - but I was fully aware of the fact that if I missed any little part of the directions I'd have nullified my chances, and I was fully aware of the fact that I didn't have the $700 to spend for three months or so. The holiday season is upon us. That $200 - and for some people, $200 matters - won't be available to you until after Christmas. I'm simply urging both an understanding of the situation and a little caution. This thread's gotten awfully off-topic. I'll put the decision to another moderator regarding its closure.

[iacas]

BTW, here are the terms and conditions .

I've got no interest in using this, so I've not read it, but anyone who plans to (use it) should (read it).