How refunds work

DETHRONE only pays out one way: hold the throne, get dethroned, get 90% of your stake back. Here's exactly what happens when that triggers, and how long it actually takes to see the money.

When you get refunded

• Only losing the #1 spot triggers a refund. Bids that never reach the throne are final — there's nothing to refund.
• Raising your own bid while you already hold the throne doesn't trigger anything; you're just extending your lead.
• The moment someone else's bid takes #1 from you, we automatically refund 90% of what you had staked. We keep the other 10%. No form to fill out, no request to make.

How fast the money actually shows up

• Paid with your PayPal balance or a linked bank account: this is usually fast — often the same day.
• Paid with a credit or debit card: PayPal always refunds back to the original card, but card issuers can take 1–2 billing cycles to post it — that can mean several weeks, even though PayPal shows the refund as complete right away on their end.
• A refund always goes back to whatever payment method you originally bid with. We can't send it to a different card, account, or handle.

If the automatic refund doesn't go through

Occasionally PayPal rejects an automatic refund attempt (a lapsed card, a closed account, and similar). When that happens:

• We automatically retry with increasing delays for up to about a day and a half.
• If it still hasn't gone through after that, it's flagged for a human on our end to complete manually — allow a few business days in that case.

Where to check

Check your PayPal activity, not your card statement — PayPal marks the refund complete on their side immediately, well before it may be visible on a card bill.

This page covers how refunds behave. For the full bidding and cash-back rules, see Terms. Anything refund-specific: dethronedSupport@gmail.com.