retrieverCash back is an estimate until the store confirms it
A pending cash back amount is a forecast, not money you can spend. Only the store can turn an estimate into a confirmed amount, because the store is the party that knows what was actually bought, kept and paid for.
When you activate an offer, the tracking system records a possible purchase. That record appears as estimated or pending. It stays there while the store processes the order. Once the store sends its confirmation, the amount moves to confirmed. Some estimates never reach that stage. The reason is usually a return, a cancelled order, or a purchase that could not be linked to the tracked visit.
The difference matters when you plan. Treat estimated amounts as if they were not there yet. You can follow both states on the cash back page, where every purchase shows whether the store has confirmed it.
How a cash back purchase is tracked
Tracking depends on a link between your click and your order, and any break in that link can lose the purchase. The system needs to recognise that the visit and the order are the same one.
Step one: activate the offer
You start on the offer page and activate it with a click. Activation opens the store with a tracking reference attached to the visit. Without that reference, the store has no way to connect your order to the offer.
Step two: complete the order in the same visit
The order has to be finished in the session that the activation opened, on the same device and in the same browser. Changing device, clearing cookies, or opening the store later through a search engine usually breaks the connection.
Step three: let the confirmation page load
After payment, the store returns you to a page that reports the order. That return is one of the signals the tracking system uses. If the page does not load, the purchase may still register through the store's own report, but it takes longer.
Step four: watch for the estimate
The purchase appears as an estimate shortly after, sometimes within hours and sometimes after a few days. That delay belongs to the store, not to the tracking system.
Why a cash back amount can change or disappear
An estimate changes when the store changes its report: the order was returned, partly cancelled, paid with a method the store does not cover, or never linked to the tracked visit.
Stores report orders in batches, so a change is normal and not always a sign of a problem. A returned item removes the amount tied to it. A part cancellation reduces the total. Some product categories are excluded from offers, and the store is the one that decides what counts under its own rules.
If an estimate has not moved for a long time, there is usually a reason to look into. The order may have been linked to a different visit, or the store may still be inside its own reporting period. You can raise the question from your account, and it helps to keep the order confirmation sent by the store, because that document is the reference that settles the case.
When cash back is paid
Payment comes after confirmation, never before. Once the store confirms the purchase and its return period has passed, the amount becomes available in your wallet.
From the wallet, you choose how you want the money sent. The methods on offer, the minimum amount you can withdraw, and the time a transfer takes vary by country and by provider, so the rules that apply to you are the ones shown in your own account. A confirmed amount stays in the wallet until you request a payout. Nothing moves on its own without your action.
Payout requests are handled by payment providers, which run their own identity checks. Account protection is covered on the security page, and it is worth reading before you add a payout method.
What to check before and after you buy
A few habits keep your purchases trackable: activate right before you buy, keep the same browser and the same device, and avoid opening the store from another tab in between.
Before you buy, check that the store and the category you want are part of the offer. Offers change, and a store listed last week may not be listed today. Some stores run their own discount codes that can interfere with tracking, so it is safer to take the offer terms as they are shown at the moment you activate. You can compare how those terms are laid out on the Etsy and Sephora pages.
After you buy, keep the order confirmation email. Compare it with the estimate in your account. If the two do not match, report it while the order is recent, because the store's records are easier to correct close to the purchase. Codes published on the site are a separate matter from a cash back offer, and you can read how they work on the codes page.