eBay has now added back limits as to how many eBay gift cards can be used on their site. The max now is $2,000 per 60-days.
Here’s a link to the terms on eBay gift cards which were updated on July 15 (changes in bold, bolding is mine):
9. The Gift Card may not be used to pay eBay or PayPal service fees. The Gift Card also may not be used to buy other eBay Gift Cards or items generally considered to be “bullion” (for example, gold, silver, and other precious metals in the form of coins, bars, or ingots).
10. During the first 90 days after registering an eBay account, no more than a total of $1,000 in Gift Cards may be redeemed. For eBay accounts greater than 90 days old, no more than a total of $2,000 in Gift Cards may be redeemed over any 60-day period. Further, you may only redeem a maximum of eight Gift Cards in any single transaction (and fewer if you are redeeming Gift Cards in combination with other redemption codes, such as coupons or vouchers). Restrictions also apply to the purchase of eBay Gift Cards on ebay.com. See our Gift Card Policy for details.
And here are the old terms:
9. The Gift Card may not be used to pay eBay or PayPal service fees. The Gift Card also may not be used to buy other eBay Gift Cards.
10. No more than a total of $1000 in Gift Cards may be redeemed per eBay purchase. Further, you may only redeem a maximum of eight Gift Cards in any single transaction (and fewer if you are redeeming Gift Cards in combination with other redemption codes, such as coupons or vouchers). Restrictions also apply to the purchase of eBay Gift Cards on ebay.com-see our Gift Card Policy for details.
Two changes were added in the terms:
- Max $2,000 per 60-days in eBay gift cards can be used. For the first 90-days after creating an eBay account, you can only use $1,000 in gift cards total. (I suspect this is to discourage people from creating multiple eBay accounts.)
- Items considered as “bullion” can not be bought with eBay gift cards.
The new 2/60 limit will be enforced based on the eBay account, not the Paypal account, since eBay gift cards are now tied to the eBay account, not the Paypal account as it used to be.
It might not be a good idea to create multiple eBay accounts to skirt the limit. While eBay allows multiple accounts, they don’t allow it for purposes of skirting limits.
It’s not clear if 2/60Â is being enforced yet or if the bullion exclusion will be enforced. I’m also not sure if we get to start over fresh now (since July 15) and spend $2k.
We’ll update the 31 Things to Know about eBay and Paypal to reflect the change in terms.
Update: eBay has changed the terms again and they now allow up to $2,000 per day and $5,000 per calendar month.
Hat tip to reader noturbizniss
