A few weeks ago, a buddy of mine dropped over $100 on Twitch to buy a bucket of bits.
Unfortunately for him, however, he only meant to spend $10. Yeah, we’ve all been there, haven’t we?
Anyway, me being the local gaming guru, he asked me if Twitch refunds bits. I wasn’t sure because I’ve never bought Twitch Bits myself.
But since I wanted to help my friend get his money back, I jumped on the internet to start an investigation. This is what I found.
Does Twitch refund bits? Under normal circumstances, Twitch doesn’t refund Bits. Only extreme cases such as fraud or technical errors can result in a refund of Bits.
Okay, we have got a pretty clear answer. Under normal circumstances, Twitch won’t give you your money back for Bits. But what’re the extreme cases I was talking about?
In this article, I answer that question and more, including:
- Does Twitch give refunds for Twitch bits?
- Can a streamer refund Twitch bits?
- Why are there no refunds for twitch bits on Twitch?
- How to avoid having to refund your Twitch bits.
Okay, that’s a lot of questions to answer.
First, here’s a quick explanation of what twitch bits are.
What’re Twitch Bits?
In this section, I’ll briefly explain what twitch bits are. Just so we’re all on the same page for the rest of the article.
Bits are a virtual currency that gamers can use to support their favorite channels on Twitch. Viewers can use Twitch Bits to make a small donation to their favorite players. For every Bit a fan spends on their channel, the Twitch partner receives one cent. Viewers can pay for the Bits using Amazon Payments or PayPal.
This system allows gamers to directly support the streamers they love and provides an additional revenue stream for hard-working streamers.
Bits can also be used to purchase items on Twitch. For example, Bits can be used to unlock special chat emotes or cheer emotes that they can then use in Twitch chat to support the streamer.
Okay, that was short and sweet, right? So, to summarize, Twitch Bits are simply a way for viewers to support Twitch streamers.
In the next section, I’ll go into more detail about whether Twitch reimburses Bits.
Does Twitch offer refunds for Twitch Bits?
In the last section, I explained what Twitch Bits are.
In this section, I want to answer the article’s main question: whether or not Twitch gives refunds for bits.
As mentioned in the introduction, under normal circumstances, Twitch doesn’t give refunds for Twitch Bits that you’ve purchased.
No matter your reasons for wanting the refund, Twitch won’t give it to you.
These reasons can be:
– You spent more money than you wanted to
– A child used their parent’s credit card
– You spent bits on the wrong thing
– You didn’t spend the bits
– You decided to close your Twitch account and want a refund.
– Any other reasonable reason.
Twitch’s official statement is, and I quote:
“If Bits are purchased and Cheered, this action cannot be reversed/refunded except for technical issues, suspected fraudulent activity with a particular purchase, or where otherwise mandated by law.”
So what’re these mitigating reasons I mentioned earlier? Well, they’re the technical problems and suspicion of fraudulent activity mentioned in the official text.
Basically, Twitch will only refund your money for two reasons.
The first reason is that it’s Twitch’s fault that you need a refund. Let’s say you paid for Bits, but the moment you made your payment, the Twitch server crashed and went offline. When the server returns online, your money is gone, but there are no Bits in sight. Twitter then steps in and refunds your money or gives you the bits you’re entitled to.
The second reason Twitch might refund your money is that they’re legally forced to do so. Suppose someone hacked into your account and bought $10,000 worth of bits. I’m sure you’d be a little upset (okay, really angry and upset) if Twitch said, “Sorry, no refunds for Bits!”
Fortunately, if you spent money on Bits through fraudulent or illegal activity, Twitch is legally obligated to refund your money.
Okay, so 99.9% of the time, you can’t get a refund for Twitch bits you bought. But that brings me to another question. Can you get a refund for bits you spent, for example, if you gave bits to the wrong streamer?
We’ll find out in the next section.
Can I get a refund for bits I paid to a streamer?
In the last section, you learned that Twitch doesn’t issue refunds for Twitch bits unless a technical issue is their fault or they’re legally forced to do so.
But can you get refunds for bits that were misspent? Can you get your bits back to spend elsewhere?
Unfortunately, you can’t. If you spend a Bit by mistake, you can’t get that Bit back.
Below you’ll find Twitch’s official statement on refunding misspent bits and refunding in bits.
“Except as required by applicable law in your jurisdiction, Digital Content is non-refundable. Users may not obtain a refund for Bits that are used or redeemed for Cheering, or in Extensions for digital items or experiences. Tokens that have been used or redeemed will not be returned.”
This means that any digital content you purchase with Bits – meaning anything on Twitch – is non-refundable.
So if you spend your Bits on the wrong streamer or badge, you’re out of luck: Twitch keeps your money. Thanks, Twitch!
So spend your bits wisely.
In this section, you learned that you won’t get a refund for misspent Twitch bits. If you spend Bits on the wrong streamer, you’ll have to buy more Bits.
In the next section, we’ll examine whether a streamer can refund bits. Although I have a hunch about where this is going…
Can a streamer refund twitch bits?
In the last few sections, we’ve established that under no circumstances will Twitch refund money or Twitch Bits that have been misspent.
But can a streamer refund Twitch bits manually?
Again, no, a Twitch streamer cannot refund bits or the money for bits manually.
One of the main reasons why this is so is to protect the streamers.
This is because a bit isn’t money. Bits only result in a streamer getting money. Each Bit donated to a streamer is worth 1 cent. So 100 bits is equal to 100 dollars.
So at the end of a streaming month, a streamer could have 20,000 bits. . Twitch exchanges the streamer’s Bits for $200.
The viewer and the streamer have no direct money transaction.
When a viewer buys bits, they pay Twitch. They then give the bits to the streamers, who get paid by Twitch for those bits. So Twitch acts as a middleman and collects a hefty cut.
But that’s where the problem with reimbursement lies. The money a streamer receives for Bits has nothing to do with the person donating Bits. The money is paid to the streamer by Twitch, not the viewer. So there is no direct financial transaction the streamer can refund.
Yes, you could argue that the streamer could refund the bits. But because Twitch says the bits have no value, they are not obligated to offer refunds.
So in this section, you learned that a streamer, unsurprisingly, can’t refund Twitch bits.
In the next section, you’ll learn why Twitch doesn’t provide refunds for Twitch Bits.
Why does Twitch not refund Twitch Bits?
In the last section, you learned that a streamer cannot manually refund Twitch bits.
This new section is about why Twitch doesn’t refund Bits.
There’s a straightforward reason Twitch doesn’t refund your money for Bits.
They don’t have to.
There are many laws for non-digital products that require companies to give consumers their money back if they made a mistake, if they change their mind, or if the product is defective.
Digital products aren’t bound by these rules.
This means that Twitch has no legal reason to refund Bits. If you made a mistake and bought too many bits, that’s your problem, not Twitch’s. If you think the Bits are worthless and you’ll never use them, tough luck, you bought them, and you’re stuck with them.
Also, it would probably be an administrative nightmare for Twitch to offer refunds for Bits. Bits are worth a penny each. That means billions of these bits could be floating around on Twitch at any given time, bought by viewers and given to streamers. It would be challenging, to say the least, to track down all the Bits given to streamers and then return them to viewers for refunds.
Twitch abdicates any responsibility for your financial well-being.
Unfortunately, Twitch abdicates any responsibility for your financial well-being. Ultimately, it’s your responsibility to ensure you know what you’re doing when buying Bits.
As mentioned earlier, Twitch will only refund your money if they’ve made a technical mistake or if the law forces them to. But even then, I’d say that Twitch would fight to not have to refund people their money.
In this section, you learned that Twitch isn’t obligated to pay back your money. Therefore, as a company, they won’t. Twitch is a company that exists to make money. And if they can get away with not refunding, they’ll.
In the next section, I’ll discuss how you can avoid asking for a refund.
This is how you avoid having to get a refund for your Twitch bits in the first place.
In the last section, you learned that Twitch isn’t obligated to refund Twitch Bits.
In this section, I’ll show you some easy ways to avoid getting a refund on Twitch. Let’s take a look.
Don’t buy too many bits.
The first tip I can give you when buying Twitch bits is that you should only buy what you need. If you’re just watching one streamer and want to give 100 Bits every few days, you shouldn’t go on Twitch and spend $500 on Bits. It’s just not necessary. Yes, buying a lot of Bits at once may look tempting because you get a discount when you purchase Bits in bulk. But you should resist that temptation. Buy only the bits you need. I promise you’ll save money in the long run.
Triple-check all the numbers you enter.
Here’s a simple but very effective tip. Always triple-check the number you enter on Twitch before clicking a button or hitting enter on your keyboard. If you are going to spend $100 on bits, triple-check that it’s only two zeros you’ve entered instead of three. It’s easy to make this mistake, but it’s easy to avoid if you triple-check the numbers you enter on Twitch.
Subscribe to a streamer instead of using Bits.
Instead of buying lots of bits on Twitch, subscribe to a streamer. You can sign up for a monthly subscription for as little as $4.99. This can be much cheaper in the long run than buying bits. And if you’re no longer interested in streaming, you can cancel your subscription. But if you’re no longer interested in Twitch and bought $200 worth of bits, you’ve no way to get the money back.
Don’t leave your credit card information on Twitch.
Another effective way to avoid losing money to Twitch Bits is to never leave your credit card details on Twitch. Of course, it makes sense to never leave credit card details on any online store. But the main reason you shouldn’t leave your credit card details on Twitch is to ensure that no one in your family buys Bits without your knowledge. It’s very easy for kids to think that buying Bits doesn’t cost anything. Before you know it, they can purchase millions of Bits, and you can be thousands of dollars in debt. And don’t forget that Twitch isn’t obligated to compensate you for your mistake.
Make sure you spend the Bits where you really want them.
When you spend bits on Twitch, make sure you spend them on precisely what you want to buy and to who you want to give them. You wouldn’t believe how many stories I’ve heard where people have spent thousands of Bits on the wrong streamer. How does something like that even happen? But no matter how it happens, ensure it doesn’t happen to you. Triple-check that what you’re spending your bits on is what you want to spend them on. Make sure they’re going to the streamer you love. Make sure you’re paying for the digital product you want to buy. Don’t waste money and bits on things you don’t want.
Stop using Bits and donate using another method instead.
Another way to avoid wasting bits is to use a third-party service to donate money to a streamer.
Using a third-party provider gives viewers more power, unlike Twitch, which wants to put the power in the hands of the streamers. For example, many streamers use services like PayPal, Patreon, and Buy Me A Coffee to allow their viewers to donate money to them. This is a good alternative to Bits because these services provide additional financial safety nets that Bits don’t offer. For example, if you sign up for a Patreon subscription, you can cancel it. If you pay someone through PayPal, you can reverse the charge and get your money back.
Okay, in this section, you’ve learned about many different ways to not misspend your Twitch bits.
In the last section, I’ll summarize the entire article for you.
Summary
That’s a lot of information about refunding Twitch bits. We talked about many interesting points in the article, such as whether Twitch refunds bits and why they don’t.
To help you remember the gist of the article, I’ll summarize it in bullet points. Enjoy!
- Twitch Bits are simply a way for viewers to support Twitch streamers.
- 99.9% of the time, you can’t get a refund for purchased Twitch bits.
- Bits can be refunded for technical errors caused by Twitch or if Twitch is legally required to do so.
- You cannot get a refund for the misspent Twitch Bits you gave to a streamer.
- Streamers cannot make manual refunds for Twitch Bits.
- Twitch isn’t required to issue refunds for digital goods.
- There are several ways to avoid misspending Twitch bits. These include:
- Don’t buy too many bits. Buy in smaller amounts.
- Triple-check all the numbers you enter into Twitch.
- Subscribe to a streamer instead of using bits.
- Double-check what you spend your bits on. Are they going to the right streamer?
- Use a third-party method of supporting a streamer like Patreon or Paypal.