Switch Policy

When Cobiro CSS initiates an account switch, "admins of the Merchant Center account are notified of the request and can approve or decline the request in their Merchant Center account. After the switch has been approved by a Merchant Center account admin, the old CSS of that account is notified, and it will take a grace period of up to 14 days for the switch to take place. During the grace period, the merchant can still revert their decision and decide to stay with the old CSS instead. Note that the old CSS can decide to waive the grace period" (Google).

This is standard procedure, and it is the CSS that decides how long the grace period is. The grace period applies to all accounts under the CSS MCA.

New grace period for Cobiro CSS

If you want to keep the GMC account and make sure the campaign stays active after subscription cancellation, you have two choices: Ask the new CSS to request a switch or ask Cobiro to request a switch back to Google CSS.

In both cases, the processing time for these requests has so far been very fast or instant because Cobiro CSS had a 0-day grace period prior to the switch taking place. 

After the Easter holidays, 2025, and by the end of April, Cobiro will be changing the grace period back to the previously held 14-day standard

In the last two years, we have gained a significant amount of merchants, and it is becoming a task in itself to keep track of who is leaving. Many times, merchants leave with their MC, and the agency keeps paying for Cobiro CSS without realizing it or maybe forgetting to cancel and then asking support team for refunds and so on. This is not the best solution for anyone. We do not want to enforce strict refund policies, though we all know Netflix and many others do not refund our money when we forget to cancel in time 😅.

Best practice

Agencies and merchants should talk about an exit strategy. What will happen to the MC account?

• Will a new CSS take over?
  Cancel the subscription at the end of the term.
  
  
• Will the merchant stay on Cobiro CSS and pay themselves?
  We have a migration process in place, which you can find in our FAQ section on Cobiro Connect.
  
  
• Will the merchant move back to Google CSS?
  Request a reverse switch from our support.

If the client does not own the MC or does not plan to use it, let us know so we can delete it.

Merchants are also welcome to contact us to discuss their MC account destiny.

Switching to another CSS

Once the switch has been accepted, the 14-day grace period begins prior to the switch taking place.

Switching back to Google CSS

MC accounts without a subscription are in risk of being unlinked from associated campaigns and, eventually, deleted. When collaboration between agency and merchant ends and the merchant does not wish to stay on Cobiro CSS but wants to keep the MC account, the MC needs to be switched back to Google CSS.

1. Send your request and MC ID to our support. Your email must be an admin in the MC (domain owner or agency).
2. We will send a request to Google support, who will process the request within 2-4 days before sending the admins an email to accept the switch.
3. Once the switch has been accepted, the 14-day grace period begins prior to the switch taking place.

In both cases, we recommend that you initiate the switch in good time and while the Cobiro CSS subscription is active keeping in mind both Google's processing time and the 14-day grace period. Ideally, you want the MC switch completed on the cancellation date.