ebay 15% discount (MS 15% cashback) (usa)

[Ioargra]

(currently its down to 15%, and the 10% coupon is expired)
Here's a good deal if you plan on buying arcade parts/cabinet/control panel or anything else from ebay.


Cliff notes (short version):
(1) Sign into ebay and get coupon (edit: coupon has expired, so skip this step)
(2) Sign into live.com and search for Dual Core Computer
(3) Click to ebay using 30% cashback link
(4) Purchase ebay Buy It Now item with Paypal (remember to use coupon!)
Enjoy savings!

Long and detailed info:

First, sign into ebay and it should tell you about a onetime use per account 10% coupon (it was in My Messages, and also on a logo at top of screen for me) that you can use towards paypal payments on ebay purchases (I belive they have to be buy it now), it doesn't include shipping in the discount, and it expires today (Nov 30th).

Optionally, do a search for the ebay items you want, and click WATCH on them so you can get back to them easily, this will save time later and help ensure you get the discount.

Second, Microsoft is offering cash back on its live.com search engine, and it includes all ebay.com buy it now purchases (USA), that use paypal and no 3rd party purchase processor. Currently the rate is 30% cashback.
Here's how to get it, you need to have a MS passport/live account. Goto live.com and click SIGN IN link at top. Then use live.com to search for one of the key terms (I can list others if people want) like:
Dual Core Computer
At the top it will show ebay and mention 30% cashback.

Third, Click the cashback link that takes you to ebay. Note that you MUST search for certain keywords for live.com to show the 30% off offer. After the offer is shown, you can use it for whatever you like that is buy it now and paypal, you are NOT restricted to items with that keyword. Thats only to get the offer to show up in the first place.
Ebay will now have a logo at the top that will say MS 30% cashback.

Fourth, Go find the item you want to buy (if you put a WATCH on it earlier, you can go to "my ebay" and find it there), and click buy it now. During the checkout it will tell you the amount that MS will give you back, so you can confirm that you didn't miss any steps, and you can verify it applies to the item you are buying.

Remember to type in the ebay coupon code and click APPLY DISCOUNT in the checkout screen just before you are about to do the payment, it will inform you as to the discount from this that it is applying towards your purchase.

Voila! You should have just seen 30% cashback +10% discount on your ebay purchase!

You'll need to use the link in your MY MESSAGES in ebay (you'll receive it a couple mins after your payment), it tells you about your cashback and has a link to send it over to MS, and they will take care of it from there. They will process the payment after 60 days (but MS will show it pending in a day or two after payment). It will be sent to your paypal account, and you can spend it or send it to your bank account from there.

I used this previously (when it was 25% + 10% a couple months ago) on a Arcades R Fun  2 player custom control panel  that was on ebay for about $500 + $50 shipping and it will end up costing me under $400 (well once I add in the options I want its going to raise the price lol, but still, cheaper than the cost of just the CONTROLS on what I figured to build myself).
(note that arcades r fun gets the entire $550 amount they are listing it for on ebay, so this is NOT taking money away from them, its MS and ebay who are funding these discounts).

Basically MS is throwing money at people to try and get them to use thier live.com search and take marketshare away from google. Heck, they lost $4 billion on thier first console over its lifetime (including all software and liscensing profits), so if they feel like throwing more money at people, I have no problem with that. Plus they make billions more ever single quarter in cold hard cash profit. This has been going on for a few months now (since May I belive) and the discount has ranged from 35% to 5% (but they haven't done 35% for a while, though they are doing 30% right now probably for the big holiday shopping stuff going on now. It was 25% for quite a while before this.). It just so happens that the combination of the ebay coupon, and the MS discount makes this a great time to buy.
And the ebay coupon, well they are probably having traffic drop from the various fees and feedback changes, so they likely want to pump up the holiday purchases.

Here's the quote from MS on why they are doing it (in thier cashback FAQ)

Why are you paying me cashback?
We want to earn your loyalty and reward it with cashback savings for your everyday online shopping using the search that pays you back!

There are limitations and fine print for the ebay and MS discounts, so you may want to check them out. I think most significantly, is that MS has a 12 items per year limit using this, and only maximum of $2,500 cashback from MS per year (that would be $10,000 worth of purchases applying a 25% discount). The ebay coupon one is up to a maximum $100 off, and ebay specifies that you only have 60 minutes from clicking the link from MS to complete your purchase (which is why I suggest using the WATCH ebay feature ahead of time, because it might take a while to find stuff).

The live search cashback thing also applies to hundreds of other stores, although they aren't nearly the 30% cashback. For instance, newegg has a 2.75% cashback, tigerdirect has a 15% cashback.

Anyway, I figured that people on here might want to take advantage of this offer to get some very nice discounts on arcade setups/parts from ebay. So enjoy! If you have any questions I'll try and answer.

MS terms and conditions link:
http://help.live.com/help.aspx?mkt=en-us&project=tou&querytype=topic&query=TOU_CONC_WLSearchCashback.htm
MS's FAQ on it:
http://search.live.com/cashback/faq
Ebay terms/conditions:
http://pages.ebay.com/cashbackoffer/terms.html
Apparently they can also give you immediate cashback, although it doesn't seem clear on how they decide that.

Edit:
Some other things people have done this on (I don't nessasarily reccomend any of these, but some ppl have done):
Computers (might be useful to get a barebones PC for an arcade cabinet, but you'd have to see if you were actually getting a good deal compared to say some of those nice Dell deals that pop up now and then)
Consoles (its rare to see sales below the normal set price on consoles, except maybe in a bundle)
Gift certificates (its a roundabout method, but its possible to get 40% off on say a best buy gift certificate)
gold coins (I would be very hesitant to do this, it seems so risky to me, I mean what if you got fakes?)
apple products like ipods, iphones, mac computers/laptops  (its pretty rare to see sales below set price for apple stuff too, and apple tends to price them at a premium)

[extendedplayarcade]

Thanks for posting.  Great Idea to work around and get some great discount.

That is a great idea on the arcadesrfun.com buy as well.  It has me thinking.

[protokatie]

That's nice and all... But what is wrong with paying for the thing outright? I hate coupons and such. Much of the time it is a ---smurfette--- to get the money back (They hope you stop trying).

BTW: I make less money than ANYONE who posts here. I am not kidding. I will eat my hat if anyone who posts here makes less money a year on average than I do.

[DaveMMR]

BTW: I make less money than ANYONE who posts here. I am not kidding. I will eat my hat if anyone who posts here makes less money a year on average than I do.

I win!  Eat your hat.  :-P 

And it sounds like a good deal, but the fact that there was six paragraphs of explanation to it makes me sense that it's too complicated to be worth it.

[protokatie]

BTW: I make less money than ANYONE who posts here. I am not kidding. I will eat my hat if anyone who posts here makes less money a year on average than I do.

I win!  Eat your hat.  :-P 

And it sounds like a good deal, but the fact that there was six paragraphs of explanation to it makes me sense that it's too complicated to be worth it.

Yeah, that was my point. If you have to do that much work just to get a little money back, then it isnt worth it. IE just pay the full price.

And you make less than 16k a year? Hell this year I MAY clear 10k. (Im laid off ATM. Which is the most boring thing on Earth...)

[thatitalian]

Not if you are planning on buying a laptop that is £1000!!!! That is $1860 for you yanks out there. Shame it is only US!

[javeryh]

Wow - PS3 here I come.

[saint]

How long does it take you to make $100 when you're working? With not too much effort he saved $100 on what he bought.

BTW: I make less money than ANYONE who posts here. I am not kidding. I will eat my hat if anyone who posts here makes less money a year on average than I do.

I win!  Eat your hat.  :-P 

And it sounds like a good deal, but the fact that there was six paragraphs of explanation to it makes me sense that it's too complicated to be worth it.

Yeah, that was my point. If you have to do that much work just to get a little money back, then it isnt worth it. IE just pay the full price.

And you make less than 16k a year? Hell this year I MAY clear 10k. (Im laid off ATM. Which is the most boring thing on Earth...)

[CheffoJeffo]

How long does it take you to make $100 when you're working? With not too much effort he saved $100 on what he bought.

True enough ... if she's earning less that $10K a year, then that $100 is a sizable chunk of dough.

If she's a professional billing at $400/hour, then maybe the $100 savings is less important -- but that doesn't seem to be the case.

[DaveMMR]

BTW: I make less money than ANYONE who posts here. I am not kidding. I will eat my hat if anyone who posts here makes less money a year on average than I do.

I win!  Eat your hat.  :-P 

And it sounds like a good deal, but the fact that there was six paragraphs of explanation to it makes me sense that it's too complicated to be worth it.

(Im laid off ATM. Which is the most boring thing on Earth...)

I am too actually, so I'm just calling it $0 (though I have unemployment coming in for a little while).  But it was not a serious challenge anyway.  You can save the hat-eating.

[javeryh]

How long does it take you to make $100 when you're working? With not too much effort he saved $100 on what he bought.

True enough ... if she's earning less that $10K a year, then that $100 is a sizable chunk of dough.

If she's a professional billing at $400/hour, then maybe the $100 savings is less important -- but that doesn't seem to be the case.

I still think the effort is worth the savings though - even if you bill out at $400/hour.  It's not like someone would forgo the hour of work for $400 because they spent the hour saving $100.  At the end of the day it would just be $100 saved, I think.  I mean, it's probably a waste of time to bend over and pick up a penny too but I still do it - it's free money!!!  

 

[Ioargra]

And it sounds like a good deal, but the fact that there was six paragraphs of explanation to it makes me sense that it's too complicated to be worth it.

I wrote up a cliff notes version thats only a few words, and bolded it.

I thought that people might want to know full and complete detail so they could make sure and get the discount. Thats how I prefer it anyway. I was trying to make it detailed enough that people should not have much question on how it works. To compile that info: I scanned though a number of pages out of hundreds in a thread on slickdeals, read over some info on a fatwallet thread, read some info from googling on it, read MS's terms and conditions on the deal, read ebay's terms and conditions. Why? Because thats the kinda person I am, I like complete information. So I figured I'd save people the time and effort I personally invested and put all that info into 1 place.

Its not that complicated, It didn't take me that long to actually DO the offer. The most time I think was finding the arcades r fun control panel, and researching what I'd get, and how much I'd have to spend on my own controls to get it, and comparing that to savings. The actual logging in and applying savings didn't take long.
To me, taking 5 mins (if you have ebay account, MS live/passport account, paypal account, and know the ebay item you want), is well worth the $175 I saved on a $550 control panel purchase in this deal.

Here, I'll quote from what I inserted into the OP for ya :

Cliff notes (short version):
Sign into ebay and get coupon
Sign into live.com search for Dual Core Computer, click to ebay using 25% cashback, purchase ebay buy it now item with paypal (remember to use coupon!)
Enjoy savings!

That's nice and all... But what is wrong with paying for the thing outright? I hate coupons and such. Much of the time it is a ---smurf--- to get the money back (They hope you stop trying).

Don't you mean you hate rebates?
Coupons are easy.

Anyway, its totally up to you if you want to do this, Many many people have done this since May to get some great deals on ebay stuff. Its actually pretty easy.



Actually you could just use the 10% ebay coupon, instant 10% off and then forget the rest, so then you'll pay for it "outright" as you say.

[DaveMMR]

And it sounds like a good deal, but the fact that there was six paragraphs of explanation to it makes me sense that it's too complicated to be worth it.

I wrote up a cliff notes version thats only a few words, and bolded it.

Disregard my comment there.  I wrote that while I was still waking up (before coffee) so I judged it without actually reading into it.  It is actually simpler than it appeared at first, so I'll just chalk it up to poor assumption on my part.   Though the shortened version you just posted is much clearer for those reading it for the first time, what you had was quite informative.     

[Ioargra]

Just a reminder that the ebay coupon expires tomorrow, the 30th.

Disregard my comment there.  I wrote that while I was still waking up (before coffee) so I judged it without actually reading into it.  It is actually simpler than it appeared at first, so I'll just chalk it up to poor assumption on my part.   Though the shortened version you just posted is much clearer for those reading it for the first time, what you had was quite informative.     

Thanks

[whatzcrackn]

I got the live part but when I goto ebay, I am not seeing the 10%?  Any help.......

[Ioargra]

I got the live part but when I goto ebay, I am not seeing the 10%?  Any help.......

Goto ebay and check in "My Messages" under "My Ebay", and it should have a coupon in your ebay messages.

[extendedplayarcade]

or here is the redemtion code

3. Enter the redemption code: CFALLSAVINGS10P

or click here

http://pages.ebay.com/coupon/CFALLSAVINGS10P/

for the 10% ebay off

[2600]

FYI, The ebay coupon's are not for everyone so you may get denied when trying to use the ebay coupon.

[Ioargra]

MS cashback is up to 30%! and ebay has another 10% coupon that expires today 11-30 (check in ebay MY MESSAGES for the code)

Getting 40% off on an item like a $500 control panel is pretty sweet.

Or a barebones computer for a cabinet, dell warranties are usually transferable so if you buy a dell on ebay you might be able to get the warranty too.

[ToplessZ]

worked for me, bought a pcb and got 66.00 off and then another 10%.

[bboysnj]

Worked for me too -- just picked up a Speedlite flash for my wife's Canon and got back $60 --- unreal!

 

Thanks

[Mauzy]

I don't see why people are complaining about it taking time and not being worth it. Took me all of 5 minutes to set up a cash back account and have something bought on eBay...

[grbgemen]

i cannot find ebay on live.com.  no where do i see it offering 30%.

[Ioargra]

I don't see why people are complaining about it taking time and not being worth it. Took me all of 5 minutes to set up a cash back account and have something bought on eBay...

I think it was partly my fault since I didn't write a summary at first at the top of the post and so people were confused by the volume of information that I presented. Me, I like lots of detailed info so I can verify at every step I'm doing things right. But it can be intimidating, so I added a summary in addition for those who just want to get it done. And yeah, it can definately be done in 5 mins or much less depending on if someone already has a MS passport account to use for the live cashback, an ebay account, and a paypal account.

i cannot find ebay on live.com.  no where do i see it offering 30%.

Read and follow the cliff notes at the top.
A search for certain keywords in live.com MUST be done to get the 30% offer to appear (MS doesn't list it for ebay as a store in the store list, perhaps because it only applies to buy it now/paypal items and not the whole ebay site). After its offered, one can then go on to purchase essentially anything on ebay with buy it now and paypal.
I gave one of those keywords:
dual core computer
in the bolded part of the OP. People are free to use any keyword that works, and it doesn't matter since once its enabled one can use the 30% on whatever with buy it now paypal.
I didn't spell that out in the cliff notes at top because its spelled out in the details following the cliff notes. Because of earlier comments about it being too complicated I pared the procedure down to the bare minimum for the cliff notes. All that has to be done is follow them

Other keywords someone can try if they don't like that one for some reason (I just tried these and they all showed the 30% off offer in live.com):
cheap game console
dell computer
cheap computer
video games
console games
laptop
digital cameras
HDTV
There are some additional fine print details in OP if you are interested, and of course all the fine print on the ebay and MS cashback sites could be checked out as well to verify any/all of this.

note: I went and emphasized that part about searching in live.com because looks like some ppl are missing that crucial step I also added step numbers and explained more about the keywords in the info following the cliff notes, and matched the detailed info to the step numbers. I also added links to MS's FAQ on this, thier terms/conditions of it, and ebay's terms/conditions. There may be other fine print too, I don't make any garuntees about any of this. This is MS's offer not mine.

[Xiaou2]

Thanks for the heads up.

 Appears to have worked for me

[WareWolF]

Thanks!  I just took a chance and got a refurb'd 26" samsung LCD monitor for $200 after the rebate.   I normally would not buy a refurb off of e bay but for this price I'll give it a try since the same monitor is $507.74 at newegg.   Seller has good feedback so hopefully it will work.

Note : 30% rebate maximum is $200.00.   (which is 30% of $666.66)

[Ioargra]

Thanks!  I just took a chance and got a refurb'd 26" samsung LCD monitor for $200 after the rebate.   I normally would not buy a refurb off of e bay but for this price I'll give it a try since the same monitor is $507.74 at newegg.   Seller has good feedback so hopefully it will work.

Note : 30% rebate maximum is $200.00.   (which is 30% of $666.66)

Correct and the 10% max is $100 (which would be out of $1000) so the max savings would be on an item somewhere between $667 and $1000.

As a side note, if a refurb has a decent warranty I personally would probably give it a try if it was that much differance in price.

[Texasmame]

There's nothing I want/need right now!!!   

[divemaster127]

I have used the 30% a bunch, but i never did get the 10% coupon from what I understand its random who they sent it to

[Todd H]

Had both coupons in my eBay messages today. Used my 40% off to buy a Ryobi router I've been needing to finish my cabinet. Saved a nice chunk of change.

[divemaster127]

so is the 10% coupon just random

[edge]

Has anyone tried this successfully today?  For the life of me, I cannot get the live search to display a link for 25/30% off ebay.

[HaRuMaN]

Has anyone tried this successfully today?  For the life of me, I cannot get the live search to display a link for 25/30% off ebay.

because it was only good yesterday

[divemaster127]

Its still working im getting ready to buy a laptop
dm

[FrizzleFried]

That's nice and all... But what is wrong with paying for the thing outright? I hate coupons and such. Much of the time it is a ---smurfette--- to get the money back (They hope you stop trying).

BTW: I make less money than ANYONE who posts here. I am not kidding. I will eat my hat if anyone who posts here makes less money a year on average than I do.

Proto...this is a COUPON,  not a REBATE.  You get your dough off instantly.

[divemaster127]

Its now 25% again

[somunny]

That's nice and all... But what is wrong with paying for the thing outright? I hate coupons and such. Much of the time it is a ---smurf--- to get the money back (They hope you stop trying).

BTW: I make less money than ANYONE who posts here. I am not kidding. I will eat my hat if anyone who posts here makes less money a year on average than I do.

Proto...this is a COUPON,  not a REBATE.  You get your dough off instantly.

The 10% is a coupon.  The 30% is a rebate.  Or was, anyway...

[Ioargra]

Has anyone tried this successfully today?  For the life of me, I cannot get the live search to display a link for 25/30% off ebay.

because it was only good yesterday

No, its still working at the moment (though MS did set it to 0% for a day for some reason), just not for all the search terms.
Weirdly enough if you use the term:
cheap wii
you get BOTH a 20% and a 25% cashback link lol!
Make sure to click the 25% and make sure it shows 25% at the top logo in ebay.

Anyway, the 10% coupon expired at midnight on nov 30th, but MS is currently still doing cashback.

The 25% is nothing to sneeze at, but its not as exciting as what it was before

MS constantly adjusts this, sometimes multiple times a day. Also, some people have kept a live.com search session open for days and been able to get the higher rate from the open session when the current rate is lower. Anyway, even if it goes down, wait a while and it might go back up.
The highest its ever been from MS is 35% but that was only right at first. Since then I belive the highest has been 30% and it was that just a few days ago. It might very well hit that again closer to christmas.

[divemaster127]

Looks like its going to 20% so better hurry, i just used it & got 25%, use the 2nd link for 25%
dm

[Necro]

Got 25% back on a new HD camcorder since I'm going to be having a kid in about 6 months.   saved me over $100 and got the price down below what it's ever been at - AND I got the instant money back which was good.

[Neverending Project]

It is apparently down to 20% now. It was a little tricky for me, so here is what I did in case it helps someone else.

I didn't have a Microsoft Passport account, so when I clicked the sign in link I had to create a new one. Once the registration was complete it took me back to the live.com search page with the same search results I entered before I signed up for the account. But it wasn't until I closed the browser tab and opened a new one with live.com that I began to see the ebay links at the top under the sponsored links.

Also, as mentioned above, only certain key words will show the ebay 20% under the sponsored links. But in case it wasn't clear, once you click through on the ebay link, you can do a new search in ebay and retain the 20% promotion. For example, if you enter "arcade" at live.com you will not see the ebay 20% link under the sponsored links at the top of the page. But if you enter "dual core computer" you will see it. Click through to ebay, and then enter "arcade" in the ebay search box. The Microsoft Cashback 20% logo will remain at the top of the screen.