Crazy Ebay Deal - 25% UP TO $250 OFF ANY BIN PURCHASE

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Posted By: Matt

Update 6/23 at 9:24 AM - Title changes to reflect 25% back at this moment.

Beginning Disclaimer - I am just relaying what a friend showed me (and I actually followed the steps) but don't come angry at me if it doesn't work for you.

The upshot is that Microsoft is running a promotion by which you can get 35% back on BIN purchases paid with Paypal on ebay.

Steps:
1) Go here: http://search.live.com/results.aspx?q=lego+table&go=&form=QBRE
2) At the top, in the gray box, should be a link that says "you may get 35% with Paypal if eligible." If you don't see that link, search for something else that is often found on ebay.
3) Upon following the link, you will be sent to ebay, and can then search for anything you like. The filters are already set to only show BIN items.
4) Once you find what you want, click the BIN> button. You will get to confirm before you commit.
5) On the confirmation page, MAKE SURE IT SHOWS THE REFUND AMOUNT. If so, finish up and pay with Paypal.

The refund, 35% of the BIN up to $250, should appear later in your Paypal account, but after your purchase, you must sign up with the cashback program here:
https://cashbackaccount.search.live.com/cashback/welcome.aspx (which happens to be currently bombarded and slow)
ebay terms are here:
href="http://pages.ebay.com/cashbackoffer/terms.html

Ending Disclaimer: Again, I'm only relaying this in the spirit of trying to be helpful. I make no guaruntees that any of this will work, but it looks legit enough to me that I did it.

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Posted By: Richard S. Simon

Matt - I don't know who you are, if you are a regular poster here or not
but this sounds like an internet scam to me. If you entered your ebay or paypal password to do this, well then I would change them right now. Hopefully your paypal account still has your money in it.
I could be wrong and if so I apologize, but when something is too good to be true, especially on the net, then it usually is a scam.
=

I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.
Unknown author
--
We made a promise. We swore we'd always remember.
No retreat baby, no surrender.
The Boss

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Posted By: Matt

Richard - it's not a scam. The websites are Microsoft and eBay. The scams where your passwords get stolen are at websites other then www.ebay.com (usually just displaying an IP address).

I'm a pretty regular poster here, just don't collect autographs, which is perhaps why we haven't spoken, but it's nice to meet you.

The only question in my mind is if this is some sort of system glitch. Obviously, if you're uncomfortable, feel free to leave it alone, but this looks legit to me.

Actually, I already got a confirmation message in my ebay "My Messages" that says:
"Hi Matt,
It pays to shop eBay! You've earned US $250.00 cashback. To get your money:

1. Click the Get cashback button to access or create your Microsoft account.
2. Microsoft will notify you that your cashback is available after 60 days (in case you decide to return your purchase).
Then, simply tell Microsoft which PayPal account you want your cashback sent to!"

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

This will probably get a lot of people to click on BIN's that are far above market value so ebay can show stockholders that their plan for the future of ebay (fixed price auctions) was the correct plan. Ebay knows that most BIN's are above market value I'm sure.

It may not be a scam in one sense, but it just might be in another way.

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Posted By: Jeff W.

It worked for me today, I was able to get new golf clubs!

Jeff

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Posted By: Matt

Dan - it's definitely going to give ebay a HUGE quarter. Of course, as long as we all get $250 back, I don't really care

As an aside, this is a good example why VCP sale prices shouldn't be sole determinants of a card's worth. Paypal/Ebay run promotions every so often and who is to say what was paid with only the promotion in mind.

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Posted By: Bobby Binder

Matt,

Most of the BIN's come out of the eBay stores and we do not cover this area. BIN's make up a fraction of a percent of our prices in our database. So the information that we do provide is extremely accurate. A promotion like this will have no effect on the prices in our database.

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Posted By: Matt

Bobby - please don't take my comment the wrong way - VCP provides critical information to the hobby. While in the case of this promotion it only affects BIN prices, there have been many past ebay/Paypal promotions that affected regular auction format items as well.

In any event, I certainly enjoy the use of your service. Keep up the good work!

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Posted By: David Goff

This looks to be a promotion for Microsoft Live Search website. If you do a search for anything, ie golf clubs, look for the cashback logo. When I did this search and clicked on the link, I went to another website and not ebay. Now the refund was not 35%, but the refund was around 10-15% on everything. Maybe you only get the 35% on ebay. No scam here...

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Posted By: Red

What difference does it make where the BIN sale occurs? Your service provides examples of what cards sell for. Whether the sale occurs through catalog auction, Ebay auction, Ebay BIN, or Ebay store BIN, a sale is a sale. Store BIN sales have to easily outnumber the number of sales obtained from catalog auctions. I don't see the point of ignoring that those sales occurred. If the BIN prices are unusually high or low then they'll be just like all the other examples of sale prices that are collected.

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Posted By: Jeff

I BIN'd a $325 card and was told I'd get back $113 in 60 days.. we'll see...

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Posted By: andy becker

i tried it too, BIN a $500 card (that i really want and would be happy paying $500 for).
i did not complete the process yet, i am concerned that i am signing up for a future billable account with microsoft. is that true, or is this a "no strings attached" offer?

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Posted By: Matt

It might be worthwhile considering conducting B/S/T transactions over ebay to take advantage of this deal - have the seller setup a special BIN listing with an extra 7 or 8% to cover his ebay/Paypal fees and the buyer will get the 35% savings. According to the terms, this deal can be done up to 3 times.

Certainly, if anyone is interested in any of the M101s, T206s or E cards I have for sale on the BST, I'd be happy to setup an ebay listing for them.

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Posted By: andy becker

matt, i thought of that too.

i didn't read everything last night, but by taking advantage of the cashback offer are we signing up for a microsoft service that will cost money?
it looked like that to me, that's why i didn't complete the microsoft registration.

also, we can do this 3 times? i thought it was one and done.....

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Posted By: Richard S. Simon

Ok, this skeptic is a believer, but I cannot get through to that Microsoft page. Is it a deal that you have to pay for ?? What exactly does it say ??
=

I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.
Unknown author
--
We made a promise. We swore we'd always remember.
No retreat baby, no surrender.
The Boss

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Posted By: David Goff

Richard

Use this link http://www.live.com/

Do a search on what you want to buy. Then make sure that there is a "Live Search Cashback" icon on the link you select. Like I said before, there are other sites besides ebay you can get refunded. I just think ebay is the highest refund. There is also a terms and conditions link on the main page. I would read it before doing anything. Hope this helps.

David

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Posted By: Matt

Updated: The cashback site was unreachable from anyone using Time Warner or Road Runner. Here is the trick I used to get it to work (cut and pasted from elsewhere):
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).

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Posted By: Steve

Thanks for the info. I told the CU guys about it and some have used it successfully.


Steve

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Posted By: Richard S. Simon

I have tried this several times now without confirming a buy.
The first 2-3 times the 35% discount was offered.
However, I just tried it a couple of times in the last minute and the discount is now only 10%
=

I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.
Unknown author
--
We made a promise. We swore we'd always remember.
No retreat baby, no surrender.
The Boss

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Posted By: Rob D.

I'm seeing the same thing as Richard. Before the offer was 35 percent, now it's 10. Anyone else still receiving the 35 percent offer?

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Posted By: Matt

I received emails from Microsoft confirming the cash back for each of my 3 purchases and when I log into my cashback account here:
https://cashbackaccount.search.live.com/CashBack/Summary.aspx
the ebay purchases made it through at 35% and I can see:
Summary
Total pending cashback: $745.09
Total available cashback: $0.00
Total paid cashback: $0.00
Total cashback: $745.09

I'm pretty confident at this point.

Re: the 35 vs 10 thing, you may need to clear your browser cache or open a new browser session if you keep going through at 35% but not completing. Also, you may need to search for different items (not a lego table) as they seem to get "used up" once enough people get the 35% from an item, it seems to revert to 10%. Of course, it could also mean the promotion has been toned down.

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Posted By: Richard S. Simon

I have searched for other items, not the Lego table.
I am only getting 10% offered.
I have cleared my cache file and still only get 10% offered.
I think they have changed the offer, darn we coulda busted Microsoft .
=

I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.
Unknown author
--
We made a promise. We swore we'd always remember.
No retreat baby, no surrender.
The Boss

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Posted By: Matt

Richard - I can still see the 35% offered.

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Posted By: Tony Conte

Is what I am seeing too.

Tony

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Posted By: Matt

try searching for "cheap IPOD" - that currently shows me 35% off, whereas "lego table" no longer does.

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Posted By: Richard S. Simon

That works Matt,,, strange that it should vary like this when searching the same "store". 10% for some and 35% for some.
=

I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.
Unknown author
--
We made a promise. We swore we'd always remember.
No retreat baby, no surrender.
The Boss

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Posted By: quan

i just did a "nintendo wii" search and it came up 10% on ebay. will try some other combos.

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Posted By: Matt

Quan - "cheap Ipod" is working at the moment.
Richard - you're welcome.

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Posted By: quan

matt just read the OP again...i see what ur saying, just use a working search like "cheap ipod" and i can do other searches from there for the 35%. thanks.

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Posted By: Rob D.

Matt,

How long after making your BIN purchases on eBay did your cashback total update in your Live account?

Thanks

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Posted By: Matt

Rob - I made my purchase last night and got a message in my ebay messages within the hour. I didn't sign up to the cashback program until this afternoon due to the issue with Time Warner, but once I signed up, the purchases came into my account within 30 minutes or so.

<ShamelessPlug>For anyone looking to take advantage of this deal and buy pre-war cards, I am posting a number of cards in the $500-$1100 range with BINs tonight that should be absolute steals with 35% off.</ShamelessPlug>

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Posted By: Rob D.

Thanks, Matt.

I made two purchases earlier today and just signed up for the program this evening. I expected the purchases to show up when I opened the account. I'll wait a while.

Thanks again.

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Posted By: Rob D.

For those of you who are like me and get nervous whenever you first sign up for a promotion like this, I spoke to a customer service agent from the cashback program who said the system has been swamped with transactions, so your eBay But It Now purchases might take longer than normal to show up in your cashback account.

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Posted By: Mark

I can't find the 35% off on anything. "Cheap ipod" is now showing only 10%. Guess I am too late, or are there other key words that are yielding the 35%?

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Posted By: David

I'm getting 10% on everything now, except for "Playstation 3" which is showing me 15%.

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Posted By: Matt

It looks like it's only 10% off at the moment - still worthwhile if there's something close to your buy price anyway, but not the incredible deal it was before. It seems the 35% off was not a mistake and Microsoft/Ebay are playing with us to get attention - I suppose it possible for them to bring the 35% back, but who knows.

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Posted By: Rob D.

When I spoke to the customer-service rep, he made mention that "if you were able to get the 35 percent, it was a great deal," which makes me wonder if the 35 percent offer is over.

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Posted By: Brian Weisner

Hi Rob,
I got the 35% earlier today... It's not in my Microsoft account yet, but Ebay has it counted. Be well Brian

PS I understand that the discounts roll from10 to 35 depending on how long you look. I know several people that have completed 3 different transactions at the 35% deal..

Good luck Brian

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Posted By: Mark

Bummer....

The BIN stuff I was looking at was artificially inflated about 35%, so that promo would have gotten the price back to "normal". The 10% - 15% is not enough incentive to bother with. You can usually talk these dealers down more than that on your own!

If the 35% comes back, someone please post... thanks!

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Posted By: Bob

I echo Mark's sentiments 100%

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Posted By: Matt

Guys - it's up to 15% now.

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Posted By: John E

Plus there's a 10% coupon out there, CJUNE0810P. It appeared as an ad for me on the main ebay page, so I can't guarantee it'll work for anyone else. But it worked for me combined with this one for a total of 25%.

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Posted By: Matt

Cashback up to 20% at this moment. John if that 10% coupon can be used in concurrence with this, we're back up to 30% total.

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Posted By: Mark Anderson

I'm getting the 20% consistently at this point on eBay, although I searched other things off ebay and on things like a Wii Fit, for example, I only had 2 options appear, and at something like 2 or 3%. Also, 1 store was at double retail, and 1 at retail, however when I went to that website in another browser tab, they don't even HAVE the Wii Fit? It seems very odd.

I did not pull the trigger on anything yet, because I don't understand their terms of use:

http://help.live.com/help.aspx?project=tou&mkt=en-us

Any lawyers on here understand section 7? It sounds like there may or may not be a monthly fee or a per use service charge for using live.com? However, if there is, I cannot find the pricing anywhere on the site and certainly they can't legally force you to complete a transaction on Buy-It-Now BEFORE telling you? Chances are I'm misreading it and looking too deeply for a catch, but I'm still hesitant...

-------------------------------

7. If You Pay Microsoft.

7.1 Charges. This section 7 applies in all situations in which you directly pay us. If you pay a company other than us for the service, then the charges and billing terms are as stated by the other company. Even if you do not pay for the service, you may still incur charges incidental to using the service; for example, charges for Internet access, mobile text messaging, or other data transmission.

7.2 Payment. When you create a billing account, you enter your payment method. You must be authorized to use the payment method. You authorize us to charge you for the service using your payment method and for any paid feature of the service for which you choose to sign-up or use while this contract is in force. You will pay service charges in advance. We may charge you a different amount than what you approved. If it is a greater amount, we will tell you the amount and the date of the charge at least 10 days before we make the charge. Also, we may charge you up to the amount you have approved, and notify you in advance of the difference. We may bill you for more than one of your prior billing periods together. If we informed you that the service will be provided indefinitely or automatically renewed, we may automatically renew your service and charge you for any renewal term.

7.3 Updates to Your Billing Account. You must keep all information in your billing account current, including your billing address and the expiration date of your credit card. You can access your billing account at https://billing.microsoft.com, where you can make changes to your billing account. You may change your payment method at any time. If you tell us to stop using your payment method, we may cancel your service. Your notice to us will not affect charges we submit to your billing account before we reasonably could act on your request.

7.4 Trial Period Offers. You may have received a limited time of free service or some other trial period offer. Unless we notify you otherwise, if you are participating in any trial period offer, you must cancel the service by the end of the trial period to avoid incurring charges. If you do not cancel your service, and we have informed you that the service will automatically be converted into a paid subscription at the end of the trial period, then you authorize us to charge your payment method for the service.

7.5 Prices and Price Increases. The price for the service excludes all taxes and phone charges, unless stated otherwise. You are responsible for any taxes that you are obligated to pay or that we may collect from you. You are responsible for all other charges (for example, phone charges). Currency exchange settlements are based on your agreement with your payment method provider. We may change the price of the service from time to time, but we will tell you before we do.

* If there is a specific time length and price for your service offer, then that price will remain in force for that time. After the offer period ends, your use of the service will be charged at the new price.
* If your service is on a period basis (for example, monthly), with no specific time length, then we will tell you the date of any price change. That date will be not less than 30 days after we tell you of the price change.

If you do not agree to these changes, then you must cancel and stop using the service before the changes take place. If you cancel your service, then your service ends at the end of your current service time length or, if we bill your account on a period basis, at the end of the period in which you cancelled.

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Posted By: Matt

I am not a lawyer, nor am I "bulldog," but the document you quoted from seems to be Microsoft's general TOS for ANY product - see the first paragraph of what you quoted from:

"1. What the Contract Covers.
This is a contract between you and the Microsoft company referenced in section 29. Sometimes the Microsoft company referenced in section 29 is referred to as "Microsoft," "we," "us" or "our". This contract applies to any Windows Live, Live Search, MSN, Microsoft Office Online, Microsoft Office Live or other Microsoft software or services, including updates, that display or link to this contract and that you use while this contract is in force. All of the software or services are referred to in this contract as the "service.""

My understanding of the section you quoted above was that it was governing any time you purchase something directly from Microsoft, which is not the case here. Right at the beginning of what you quoted it says:
"7. If You Pay Microsoft.
7.1 Charges. This section 7 applies in all situations in which you directly pay us. If you pay a company other than us for the service, then the charges and billing terms are as stated by the other company."

There is a FAQ for the Live Search promotion found here:
<a href="http://search.live.com/cashback/faq</a" target="_new" rel="nofollow">http://search.live.com/cashback/faq</a&gt;
notice question #3:
"Is a Live Search cashback account really free?
Yes! There are no costs, hidden fees or extra charges to you."

This is my layman's reading. Hope it helps.

Edited to add: One follow up comment - once you click on the 20% link and get to the ebay website, you can use it to buy anything on ebay that has a BIN (again make sure it shows up when you confirm the payment). LiveSearch also links to other sites besides ebay but as you noticed those are just retail stores and have nothing to do with the 20% promotion although they may offer some other cashback amount.

Edited again for poor spelling.

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Posted By: Mark Anderson

Thanks Matt - that does make sense. I'll probably pull the trigger on something tonight.

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Posted By: Rob D.

I read that clause and came to the same conclusion as Matt: It's a clause that's included in all of Microsoft's services.

For what it's worth, there's an FAQ list after you establish your Live account, and within that text is the clear statement that the Live service is absolutely free.

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Posted By: Richard S. Simon

I still cannot get through to the Microsoft page to register with them.
I am on Roadrunner/Time Warner and tried the earlier suggestion but I get a Roadrunner error page when I do that.
Can anyone help?
==

I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.
Unknown author
--
We made a promise. We swore we'd always remember.
No retreat baby, no surrender.
The Boss

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Posted By: Brian Weisner

Hi Richard,
I had the same problem a few days ago... When the error page comes up, click on the link and follow the directions and you're good to go.
Be well Brian

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Posted By: Richard Simon

This is the error message I get:

Sorry this service is not available at this time.
Due to technical difficulties we are unable to identify your account.

Please try again later.

Back to www.rr.com

I clicked the link to www.rr.com and went back to the home page of Roadrunner. I did not see any instructions there.
=

I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.
Unknown author
--
We made a promise. We swore we'd always remember.
No retreat baby, no surrender.
The Boss