topic Re: How do coupons work? in Buying

How do coupons work?

vainodyssey — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 04:36:07 GMT

I recently bought an item using money and an ebay coupon, the item arrived damaged and I was refunded what I paid but I didn't get the coupon back. I just rang customer support to see if I could get it back and the lady I dealt with told me no. She also tells me that the seller doesn't get money for the coupon I used and that's why it can't be refunded. This doesn't make sense to me, does that mean if I sell an item and the buyer uses a coupon I don't get the amount I listed it for? e.g. if I listed a 10 dollar item and the buyer used a 10 dollar coupon I have to give it to them for free? That's not right is it?

Re: How do coupons work?

lyndal1838 — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 05:21:50 GMT

Depends on who issues the coupon......if it was seller issued then they do not get the money from anyone as it is effectively a discount on the item.

If it was paypal issued then paypal pay the seller that amount of money and the same with an ebay issued coupon. Most coupons have a lower limit on the amount you need to spend to use them.....most often it is $50.00

If the sale falls through the buyer does not get the coupon returned as it usually has a limited time for use.

Re: How do coupons work?

vainodyssey — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 05:48:20 GMT

It was issued by eBay and the limit was only $20. So the customer support rep was wrong then, I thought so.

@lyndal1838 wrote:

If the sale falls through the buyer does not get the coupon returned as it usually has a limited time for use.

Does that mean that the seller gets to keep the money? Or was the coupon amount refunded to ebay? Either way I'm screwed out of the coupon, it's not a big deal but in my opinion this is a poor way of handling things, I see no reason they can't just reissue the coupon.

A different customer service rep said that the proper department may give me a new coupon out of good will but when I called them the rep I spoke to was a 'by the book' kind of person, telling me I should have read the coupons terms of service, basically she didn't do anything about it because she didn't have to, so much for 'good will' eh. 😛

Re: How do coupons work?

lyndal1838 — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 07:51:43 GMT

If you get a refund of the money that you paid then the coupon value goes back to ebay. Refunds always go back to the original funding source.

The seller probably has no idea that the payment was not all from you.....they have no idea how the payment was funded.

If you read the T & C of the coupon you will find it is not redeemable for cash. I have never heard of a coupon being reissued if the transaction goes pearshaped.

Re: How do coupons work?

cherry*135 — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 11:12:01 GMT

telling me I should have read the coupons terms of service, basically she didn't do anything about it because she didn't have to, so much for 'good will' eh

That is unfair. The terms & conditions are part of the offer/discount/coupon and the staff have to abide by them... no exceptions.

Re: How do coupons work?

vainodyssey — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 12:42:05 GMT

@am*3 wrote:

That is unfair. The terms & conditions are part of the offer/discount/coupon and the staff have to abide by them... no exceptions.

Well I think it's unfair that I miss out on properly using the coupon just because a seller ripped me off but I guess life's not meant to be fair.

Also i'm not really complaining about what she did but how she went about it was pretty unprofessional, it was kind of like talking to a robot, not friendly or sympathetic, placing the blame on me etc.

Re: How do coupons work?

i-love-my-sheep — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 13:04:44 GMT

@vainodyssey wrote:
@am*3 wrote:

That is unfair. The terms & conditions are part of the offer/discount/coupon and the staff have to abide by them... no exceptions.
Well I think it's unfair that I miss out on properly using the coupon just because a seller ripped me off but I guess life's not meant to be fair.

Also i'm not really complaining about what she did but how she went about it was pretty unprofessional, it was kind of like talking to a robot, not friendly or sympathetic, placing the blame on me etc.

Yep, you were talking to eBay......that's about the best you can hope for. Reading off a cheat sheet, which stuffs them up if you ask something they don't have a cheat sheet for.

Re: How do coupons work?

cheetah_boi92 — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 09:13:35 GMT

I literally just got a copy of Disney's Tarzan for free using a $10 off coupon code. Not sure who issued it, but it means that I paid nothing on a $9.50 item!

Re: How do coupons work?

lyndal1838 — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 09:16:46 GMT

Lucky you.....most of the ebay promotions have a certain spend amount before a discount can be applied.

You do realise you have lost 50 cents of your voucher. It is best to spend enough to take full advantage of the discount.

Re: How do coupons work?

davewil1964 — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 10:18:46 GMT

And this relates to 2015 how?

Re: How do coupons work?

papermoon.lady — Sat, 25 Aug 2018 02:13:03 GMT

It is annoying, but if it is an eBay coupon usually you won't get your money back.

These are the conditions for PENNY5 for example, and at 10 it says:

If you return or seek a refund on any item purchased using this discount, the value of the discount will not be refunded to you.

Re: How do coupons work?

lyndal1838 — Sat, 25 Aug 2018 05:44:05 GMT

The discount amount is not refunded to the buyer because the buyer did not pay it.....it goes back to ebay who did pay it.

Re: How do coupons work?

papermoon.lady — Sat, 25 Aug 2018 07:55:50 GMT

Some companies also refund vouchers. Not too long ago I got a birthday voucher from another company, which I used to buy an item. I then had to return the item and they refunded the voucher too. Strangely the rules were that it could not redeemed for cash, so I don't know if it was a mistake that they refunded it, but they did.

Re: How do coupons work?

padi*0409 — Sat, 25 Aug 2018 08:09:54 GMT

@papermoon.lady wrote:
Not too long ago I got a birthday voucher from another company,

Was that voucher bought from the company as a birthday present for you from a friend?

Re: How do coupons work?

papermoon.lady — Sat, 25 Aug 2018 08:19:12 GMT

@padi*0409 wrote:
@papermoon.lady wrote:
Not too long ago I got a birthday voucher from another company,
Was that voucher bought from the company as a birthday present for you from a friend?

No, it was directly from the company.

Re: How do coupons work?

lyndal1838 — Sat, 25 Aug 2018 09:43:08 GMT

If you read the terms of the ebay vouchers they specifically say that the value ofthe voucher will not be given to the buyer in the event of a return.

Ebay vouchers are only usable for a short period of time so have usually expired befor a return has been done.

Other companies may refund the voucher so it can be used again.

Re: How do coupons work?

papermoon.lady — Sat, 25 Aug 2018 20:44:46 GMT

I know. I quoted the terms and conditions myself yesterday.