Refunds
Every way your money comes back, when each one applies, and why we'd much rather refund you than have you go to your bank.
Most bids never need a refund, because a bid that doesn't win is never charged. For the ones that are charged, there are a few ways the money comes back, and none of them involves arguing with anyone.
Before you're charged
Nothing to refund. Until 12 hours before the deadline you can cancel your bid; after that it's final, but it's only charged if it wins. See Raising or cancelling a bid.
Every way your money comes back
- The creator turns you down. A creator can turn down any bid, including the top one, for any reason. If you weren't charged yet, you aren't. If you were, you're refunded in full, and ShoutOrbit pays the processing cost.
- The content never goes up. If there's no link by the publish date plus 7 days, every sponsor who was charged is refunded in full, and the creator is paid nothing. You don't have to ask.
- Between the charge and the video: "Ask for a refund". Once you're charged, your bid is final and there's no refund button until the content is published. Your receipt has "Ask for a refund" instead. Press it, add a note if you like, and a person picks it up. It's one request per bid. Your receipt tells you whether it reached us. If it didn't, pressing again sends it again without making a second request.
- After the content goes up: the refund button. For 7 days after the link appears, your receipt has a refund button. Press it and you're refunded in full, no questions. It goes away when the creator's payout comes due.
- After that: write to us. Reply to your receipt email and we'll sort it by hand. Once a creator has been paid we don't take the money back from them, so we cover it ourselves.
Payments still clearing
A bank payment takes a few business days to go through. While it's still clearing:
- there's no "Ask for a refund" link, because nothing has landed to refund yet. It appears once the payment has gone through
- after the content goes up, the refund button stops the payment instead. If it lands anyway, it's refunded automatically
Older bids that put a pending hold on the card, and contract budgets, keep their own refund button for 30 days after the bid.
Please ask us, not your bank
If something went wrong, use the buttons above or reply to your receipt. A refund costs us cents. A dispute through your bank costs many times that, and while it's open neither of us can do anything but wait for the bank. We'd much rather just give the money back. See Disputes for what happens if you do go to your bank.
Why it works this way
Why the creator can always turn you down. A creator who couldn't decline an association would never open an Orbit. It costs you nothing: you're not charged, or you get it all back.
Why no refund button between the charge and the video. Your bid is final by then, and the creator is planning around it. If something is genuinely wrong, a person will look at it, which is fairer to both of you than a button.
Why the refund button lasts 7 days. That's how long the creator waits to be paid after publishing. While the money is still with us, giving it back is easy. Once it's reached the creator, it isn't taken back.
What can go wrong
- You said "no, I wasn't in it". The refund button leaves your receipt, because a person is now looking at the delivery and your refund is theirs to decide. Reply to your receipt to add anything.
- The 7-day window has closed, or the creator has been paid. The button is gone. Reply to your receipt and we'll sort it by hand.
- Your bank is already looking at the charge. We can't refund you separately while a dispute is open, and your receipt says so. The bank decides, and there's nothing more you need to do.
- "Ask for a refund" says it didn't reach us. Press it again. It's still one request.