eBay Tweaks Buyer Return Options To Allow Refunds To A Gift Card Instead Of Original Payment Method
A savvy buyer shared some new details they've noticed in a recent eBay return situation - here's what sellers need to know!
The post on Reddit revealed that when request a return for a "buyer's remorse" reason, the user was presented with an option to have the refund amount processed as an eBay gift card rather than going back to their original payment method - and that eBay is nudging buyers to choose that option by advising credit card refunds may be slower than the gift card option, taking 3-5 days to process.
...eBay is now allowing buyers to get refunds processed into an eBay gift card. It seems to encourage this by mentioning credit card refunds can take 3-5 days to process.
I have no idea if using the gift card style refund changes the return flow, such as instant refund when accepted by the shipping company like in some types of returns.
I know eBay is offering this to certain buyers and/or sellers though, since I was offered an instant refund on carrier acceptance for a different unrelated order some months back.
As recently as June 24, 2025 eBay's policy pages still stated that refunds can only go back to the original payment method - so the only way it could be processed to an eBay gift card is if the original purchase was paid for with an eBay gift card.
But sometime in the last few days, that page has been changed to say "Refunds go back to your original or selected payment method", opening up the possibility for the buyer to select to have the refund go to a different payment method than was used for the original order - potentially even an eBay gift card.
There are several reasons why it would be beneficial to eBay to incentivize buyers to opt to have refunds put on an eBay gift card or kept on balance in their eBay Balance (UK) or Spendable Funds (US) account.
First, it saves eBay money on various fees which credit card companies and financial institutions might charge for processing funds back to those payment methods.
Second, since October 2023, eBay has openly admitted in their Payments Terms of Use that they earn interest on funds on account - and while that interest may not end up being a significant amount of money, it's fair to say eBay would still prefer to be earning that interest if possible rather than having the funds go back to the original form of payment.
Third, and probably most importantly - getting buyers to convert refunds into eBay gift cards or spendable funds balance ensures those funds will then be spent again on eBay, helping to boost Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) and repeat "enthusiast" buyers - both of which are important metrics eBay reports to investors in quarterly and yearly statements.
GMV is defined as "the total value of all paid transactions between users on eBay's platforms during the applicable period inclusive of shipping fees and taxes" and importantly, if orders are canceled or returned after being paid for, they don't get deducted from GMV and are still counted in that metric for financial reports.
That means if a buyer makes a $100 purchase using their credit card, returns it and opts for the refund to go to an eBay gift card or spendable funds balance, then uses that gift card to make another $100 purchase, eBay gets to count $200 in GMV.
That would of course work the same way if the buyer had the $100 refund go back to their credit card and then made another $100 eBay purchase using that same credit card - but having the refund go to an eBay gift card ensures that $100 can only then be used for another eBay purchase, whereas if it goes back to a credit card, the buyer may choose to spend that money somewhere else more easily.
Total Active Buyers were reported at 134 Million for Q1 2025, which represented minor year over year growth of 1% and flat when compared to the previous quarter.
Liz Morton
Despite that minor year over year growth, it was the 12th consecutive quarter where eBay had less Active Buyers than in Q1 2018 - showing eBay still has a long away to go to win back buyers they've lost over the last 7 years.
Note: eBay changed the definition of GMV and Active Buyers at the end of 2021 and restated both figures going back to 2018 (chart reflects restated figures per eBay's amended reports.)
But within that larger Active Buyer stat, CEO Jamie Iannone has focused a lot of attention, and marketing dollars, around what he calls "high value enthusiast buyers" - generally defined as buyers who shop on eBay at least 6 times per year, spend at least $800 per year or those who also sell on the site.
Despite these enthusiast buyers being the target of Iannone's "focus vertical strategy" in categories like sneakers; trading cards; luxury handbags, jewelry and watches; auto parts and refurbished electronics, the number of "enthusiast buyers" has also been stalled for many quarters, stuck at ~16 Million since Q4 2022.
Since refunds being converted to an eBay gift card or spendable funds balance forces buyers to use those funds for additional purchases on eBay, that will naturally increase the dollar amount and/or times per year those buyers purchase, putting them closer to the arbitrary threshold to be counted as an "enthusiast buyer."
We've already seen eBay working to goose those enthusiast buyer stats in recent quarters through targeted discount offers looking to turn buyers into sellers and they've recently been running discounts on purchases of gift cards too.
Liz Morton
The Reddit post when on to describe another change the buyer had noticed - eBay is apparently no longer allowing buyers to give details about why they want to return an item for remorse return reasons.
...if you select a remorse return reason, you are no longer able to put in any additional details as the buyer for why you are returning it.
It probably explains why my last 3 remorse returns that I received back as a seller also had no additional explanation or reasoning added by the buyer - I thought they were just lazy. But no, not the buyer's fault. eBay just limiting the amount of input a buyer can put in.
While they did not provide details about the item they purchased, eBay has been making moves to narrow return options on the seller side - like forcing free returns for Motors Parts and Accessories - so it's interesting to see that eBay is also potentially limiting or restricting certain return options or processes on the buyer side as well.
The Redditor said they decided to share this info there because they "feel like sellers are often in the dark on how the buyer side of things works, especially since little things keep changing here and there", highlighting a perennial complaint of both buyers and sellers that eBay often makes changes with little to no notice or explanation - like last year's stealth policy update which allows some buyers to receive advance refunds on returns before they've been delivered back to the seller.
Liz Morton
What do you think of eBay allowing buyers to choose to have refunds processed to an eBay gift card instead of the original payment method and should buyer still be given the option to provide additional information about their reason for return? Let us know in the comments below!
