eBay lists no birthday reward on any page read for this post, and its cashback headline of “up to 1.5%” doesn’t reach electronics: phones, computers, cameras and game consoles sit in a 0.5% tier at both TopCashback and Price.com. If a phone or laptop from an eBay seller is on your birthday list, the Money Back Guarantee’s clocks and exclusions are worth reading before you buy.
What eBay Is
Wikipedia says “eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in September 1995,” and describes a marketplace where sales happen through auctions or fixed-price instant sales, and notes that “the company charges commissions to sellers upon sale.” TopCashback’s page calls it “your go-to destination for huge savings on new and secondhand merchandise.” The point that matters for a birthday purchase is that eBay is a marketplace. The person or business selling you the device isn’t eBay, so the return terms, the condition and the price come from a listing, and the guarantee sits on top of that.
Refurbished and Used Devices on eBay
TopCashback’s page has a paragraph on eBay Refurbished: “You’ll find discounts on preowned tech (including cellphones and laptops), appliances, tools, video game consoles and outdoor power equipment from top brands.” It adds “Everything is in good, great, excellent or pristine condition, and backed by a one- or two-year warranty,” and later says “up to 70% off smartwatches, tablets, headphones and small kitchen appliances” and “up to 65% off smartphones in top condition.” Those are TopCashback’s descriptions. eBay’s home page and Brand Outlet page returned an error page when fetched, so nothing about the refurbished program comes from eBay itself, and the “up to” figures don’t say what they’re measured against.
The same page warns “on some occasions, you may have to compete in auctions with other eBay shoppers to buy certain items.” If you’d rather not bid, look for a Buy It Now price, and note that TopCashback pays cash back only on those or on an auction win.
The Money Back Guarantee: What It Covers
eBay’s policy page opens with “eBay Money Back Guarantee covers most transactions on eBay. It means buyers can get their money back if an item didn’t arrive, is faulty or damaged, or doesn’t match the listing.” To be covered, you must “complete and pay for your purchase on eBay.com using an eligible payment method at checkout” and take action within the required time frames. Cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Venmo and Klarna are on the eligible list. A purchase where “any part of the payment was completed outside of eBay,” for example a bank transfer, cash, a money order or an escrow service, is listed as not covered.
The policy also says “eBay Money Back Guarantee is not a product warranty.” A fault that shows up after the return window closes is a question for whatever warranty the seller or a program provides, if there is one, and not for this policy. The page also excludes some goods entirely, including real estate, digital content, services, industrial equipment and motor vehicles.
A Faulty or Misdescribed Device: the Clocks
If the buyer gets the wrong item, or it “arrives broken, damaged, or faulty (and was not clearly described as such),” the policy says they’re entitled to return it for a refund “even if the seller doesn’t offer returns.” The steps run on a schedule. The buyer asks for the return within 30 calendar days of the estimated or actual delivery date, or within the seller’s stated returns window, “whichever is longer.” The seller must respond within 3 business days. After the returned item arrives, the seller must refund within 2 business days, though the policy adds that “In some cases, sellers have additional time to issue the refund.” If the seller doesn’t answer or doesn’t refund, either side can ask eBay to step in, and the policy says eBay may hold a return request open for up to 35 business days after the return was accepted.
Return shipping for these cases is the seller’s job. If eBay finds the seller didn’t meet their return requirements, the buyer gets a refund of the item and the original shipping, and “may not be required to return the item.”
Two rules are easy to trip over. First, an item sold as not working or for parts only is still covered if it doesn’t match the listing, but if the seller offers no returns, the buyer “must request a return no later than 3 calendar days after the estimated or actual delivery date.” A phone listed for parts gives you three days, not thirty. Second, the buyer has to send the item back in the condition it arrived in. The policy says “some sellers may deduct the loss in value from the amount refunded to the buyer” if it comes back used, damaged or missing parts, with an exception when the use was needed to find out whether the item works.
Changing Your Mind
A change-of-mind return depends on the listing. “If the listing states that the seller offers returns, the buyer may return the item for any reason, including if they change their mind about the item.” In that case the seller must allow the return for a full refund, and “The seller may exclude original shipping costs from the refund.” When the seller doesn’t offer returns, or the request falls outside their window, the seller decides. If they accept, the policy says the return is then treated “as if they had offered returns in the listing.” Who pays to ship it back follows the listing’s own wording, “free returns” or “buyer pays,” and the buyer’s return shipping cost isn’t included in a refund when the buyer is the one responsible for it.
When the Box Never Arrives
A buyer can report a missing item once the estimated or actual delivery date has passed, and up to 30 calendar days after it. The seller has 3 business days to respond with tracking, a delivery update or a refund. Either side can ask eBay to step in from 3 business days after the report until 21 business days after it. To prove delivery, the seller needs tracking from an integrated carrier and a matching address, and for an order totaling $750 or more, a signature. If a package shows up empty or damaged, the policy says to accept the delivery and report that the item doesn’t match the listing, because refusing delivery is listed as not covered, apart from a package that arrives with postage still owing.
One more clock is worth knowing. An item that arrives after the latest estimated delivery date is covered, and “The return is treated as if the item didn’t match the listing.”
Selling Your Own Device There
TopCashback’s FAQ says selling starts with creating an eBay account and listing the item, and that fees are an insertion fee and a final value fee: “Once your item sells, you’ll pay 13.6% of the total sale amount (up to $7,500 per item), and 2.35% on any amount over $7,500.” Those are TopCashback’s numbers, and eBay’s own fee pages weren’t read, so confirm them before you list. The guarantee cuts both ways for a seller. If a buyer is entitled to a refund, the policy says eBay “may seek reimbursement from the seller,” a seller’s funds “may be held by eBay” while a case is open, and a fault that wasn’t disclosed is a fault the buyer can return the item over, so describe the phone as it is.
The Real Route: Genuine Cashback Rates (0.5% on Electronics at TopCashback and Price.com)
TopCashback’s eBay page reads “Get up to 1.5% of the price back with our eBay Cash Back offers,” and its rate table splits that number. “Clothing, Shoes, Accessories, Jewelry & Watches, eBay Motors, Health & Beauty 1.5%,” a middle tier at 1%, and “Electronics, Travel, Business & Industrial 0.5%.” Its Electronics block names Computers, Tablets & Networking, Cell Phones & Accessories, Consumer Electronics, Video Games & Consoles and Cameras & Photo, all at 0.5%. The page says “We offer eBay Cash Back on certified refurbished products,” but it gives refurbished items no separate rate, so 0.5% is the only figure it lists for a refurbished phone or laptop. On a $400 phone, that’s $2 back.
The terms are specific. “A maximum of $50 Cash Back may be earned per item,” each item in your basket is tracked on its own, and the amount “may initially track at a lower amount” until the purchase is approved. Cash back is paid on Buy It Now purchases or an auction win within 10 days of the click, and it isn’t available on “bids placed with a sniping service/tool.” The page also says “To be eligible for Cash Back on all products, you must begin your purchase with an empty shopping cart.” Excluded are coins and paper money, gift cards and coupons, stamps and real estate, local pickup, and “Use of a coupon code not displayed on TopCashback.” Cash back is “calculated only on the item(s) price and does not include taxes, shipping or other fees.”
Price.com’s eBay page reads “Earn up to 1.5% cash back at eBay,” with the same split: 1.5% for Clothing, Shoes & Accessories, Health & Beauty, Jewelry & Watches and eBay Motors, and 0.5% for Cameras & Photo, Cell Phones & Accessories, Consumer Electronics, Video Games & Consoles and Computers, Tablets & Networking. Its exclusions are longer than TopCashback’s: gift cards, purchases made with gift cards, coupon orders, Best Offers, unpaid items, Daily Deals and seller-subsidized deal items. Cash back applies to a Buy It Now purchase or winning bid “made within 24 hours of activation.” Purchases “will typically show in your wallet as pending in 22 hours,” and cash back arrives “in approximately 52 days.”
Two of those exclusions matter for a used or refurbished device. Price.com excludes Best Offers, while TopCashback’s page doesn’t name them and only says cash back is paid on Buy It Now purchases or winning bids, so whether an accepted offer counts on TopCashback isn’t stated. And TopCashback points shoppers to eBay’s Daily Deals section for “trending deals, spotlight deals and refurbished deals,” while Price.com excludes Daily Deals, so a refurbished item found there may not qualify on Price.com. Rates move, so check the current number before you order.
What Was Actually Checked
eBay’s Money Back Guarantee policy page was read in full, along with TopCashback’s eBay page (its own line says “Last Updated: March 2026”), Price.com’s eBay page, Wikipedia’s eBay article and Fluz’s eBay page. The word “birthday” doesn’t appear on any of them except once on Fluz’s page, where a description of eBay gift cards says they’re “perfect for any occasion, from birthdays to special milestones.” That’s a line about gift cards, not a reward eBay gives you. Fluz shows a card rate of its own for eBay, and this post doesn’t repeat it, because it isn’t an eBay rate. eBay’s home page, Brand Outlet page and two other addresses returned eBay error pages, so the refurbished program, the fee pages and the auction and Best Offer rules weren’t read. No purchase or listing was made, and item prices aren’t repeated.
Eligibility and Cost
Buying takes payment through eBay’s checkout with an eligible method for the Money Back Guarantee to apply, and a request has to be made inside the policy’s window, which is usually 30 calendar days from delivery. Cash back takes a click-through from TopCashback or Price.com, an empty cart, and a Buy It Now purchase or a winning bid inside the site’s window, which is 10 days on TopCashback and 24 hours on Price.com. Electronics earn 0.5%, and TopCashback caps cash back at $50 an item. Selling costs the fees TopCashback lists, plus the return and reimbursement exposure described above.
Q&A
Q: Does eBay have a birthday reward?
A: None turned up. eBay’s Money Back Guarantee policy, TopCashback’s eBay page, Price.com’s eBay page, Wikipedia’s eBay article and Fluz’s eBay page were searched for the word “birthday.” The only match is a gift card line on the Fluz page, covered in the checked section.
Q: How much cashback does a phone or laptop earn?
A: TopCashback and Price.com both list 0.5% for Cell Phones, Computers, Tablets, Cameras, Consumer Electronics and Video Games & Consoles. The “up to 1.5%” headline applies to fashion, jewelry and watches, eBay Motors, and health and beauty.
Q: Is there a limit on how much I can earn?
A: TopCashback says “A maximum of $50 Cash Back may be earned per item.” At 0.5%, an item would need to cost $10,000 before that cap mattered, so for electronics the rate is what limits you.
Q: Does the Money Back Guarantee work like a warranty?
A: No. The policy says “eBay Money Back Guarantee is not a product warranty.” It covers an item that doesn’t arrive, arrives faulty or damaged, or doesn’t match the listing, and it runs on the clocks in the policy.
Q: Can I return something just because I changed my mind?
A: Only if the listing says the seller offers returns. If it doesn’t, the policy says the seller “may exercise their discretion to accept or deny the return.”
Q: Who pays return shipping?
A: The policy says “If an item is being returned, the seller is responsible for return shipping” when the item doesn’t match the listing. For a change-of-mind return, the listing decides: “free returns” or “buyer pays.”
Q: What if I pay a seller in person or outside eBay?
A: The guarantee doesn’t apply. The policy lists as not covered any purchase where “any part of the payment was completed outside of eBay,” and TopCashback doesn’t pay cash back on local pickup.
Compare This To
Swappa is a marketplace where the seller, not the site, backs the device. Back Market puts buyers in touch with professional sellers. Gazelle sells certified pre-owned phones and tablets itself and buys yours by mail. ecoATM pays for phones at in-store kiosks, and Gizmogo buys devices online with a 15-day quote. MPB sells used camera gear with a 14-day return window.
More Information:
Verified against eBay’s Money Back Guarantee policy page, TopCashback’s eBay page (last updated March 2026), Price.com’s eBay page, Fluz’s eBay page and Wikipedia’s eBay article.
