# How does the Buyback/Rebate Guarantee Mechanic Work?

The "moneyback guarantee" is a cornerstone of Archera's risk-free value proposition. There are three mechanisms through which Archera can honor the guarantee:

## The Three Guarantee Mechanisms

### 1. EC2 RI Marketplace

Archera acts as a market maker using the AWS EC2 RI marketplace. This enables the buyback of unused Standard Reserved Instances by selling them on the marketplace. **This mechanism is only available on AWS.**

### 2. Billing Transfer

For an insured commitment isolated to a single account or project with no running infrastructure, you can transfer the remaining payment obligation to Archera directly.

### 3. Rebate

This can be opted into for any insured commitment. Archera will purchase commitments on behalf of the customer, and if those commitments do not net the customer savings, Archera will rebate them the cost of the commitment less any negative savings (effectively the unused portion of the commitment cost). **Rebates are done automatically.**

## Automation

Buybacks can be automated by the customer based on:

* A lookback period (days/weeks/quarters)
* A dollar threshold of unused commitment

Automation applies to mechanisms 1 and 2. Rebates (mechanism 3) are done automatically regardless.

**Important:** If a customer using mechanism 1 or 2 does not have automation enabled, they run the risk of having commitments that do not save them any money — and cost them money — in the event they completely move away from the underlying resources or services.

## Review Process

There is often a review process for buybacks and commitment plan purchases, with up to a **5 business day SLA** for execution.

## Related Resources

* [How do Rebate Insured Commitments work?](https://docs.archera.ai/help-center/guaranteed-commitments/rebate-insured-commitments)
* [How to Enable EC2 RI Marketplace](https://docs.archera.ai/help-center/guaranteed-commitments/enable-ri-marketplace)
* [How Does Guaranteed Commitment Pricing Work?](https://docs.archera.ai/help-center/guaranteed-commitments/pricing)