Gift Card - This Code Can't be applied to your order, then gift card balance deleted (becomes $0)

[m0r109]

I have several gift card codes that I purchased in a store, physically, with cash.

I was able to make a purchase the other day with gift cards, and had 2 gift cards left over. (that hadnt been touched, they werent partially applied etc).

I checked the gift card balance at https://www.ebay.com/gft/balance and confirmed the balances on the cards before making the purchase. when I went to apply the gift card codes to my order, It gave the error 'This code can't be applied to your order.' The gift card balance now shows as $0,

Can anyone provide advice on what I should do next? I thought maybe they were applied to an account balance, but I cant find where that is a thing, but the cards to indeed seem to have  lost their balance.

Any assistance/Advice on what I should do next would be greatly appreciated.

[mtgraves7984]

I don't click on links... especially when they look kind of wonky. Maybe someone braver will happen by...

[simba6]

Another reason in a very long list of reasons to never buy gift cards.  Is there a number on the back of the cards you can call?  If not, click the help and contact link at lower right of this page and see if you can get to a person that can help.

[donsdetour]

https://pages.ebay.com/ebaygiftcard/ 

https://pages.ebay.com/giftcard/faqs.html 

https://pages.ebay.com/giftcardscams/ 

[acme_tradingco]

Exactly the same thing has happened to me, almost four years later. 

-I go to eBay's balance checker and it says all of the money is on the eBay gift card. 

-10 seconds later, I enter the gift card code into the Gift cards, coupons, eBay Bucks box to pay for an item.  The error code "This code can't be applied to your order." pops up in red.  

-10 seconds after that the gift card balance checker says the balance is $0.

I find it REALLY hard to believe that somehow a scammer drained my card in less than a minute. It seems a lot more likely that an eBay system is malfunctioning somehow and eating the balances. 

I'm waiting to hear back from customer service. I'm expecting to get pretty much the same response all of you guys got. 

[tobaccocardyahoo]

There has been reporting on Store Purchased Gift Card draining since well before Christmas.

Ebay gift cards were particular targets. So were Target.

Spend some time on search engines determining how you should proceed.

Ebay's initial reaction was not our problem, and it wasn't. This is a store problem but not all stores that sell gift cards are owning up to it.