nonametofame

I've been looking at winning bids for various gift/shopping cards auctioned on ebay and the final amount is usually quite close to the actual card value. I have a Wal mart gift card on ebay right now and the highest bid is only a few dollars less than the actual value. I noticed the bidder has bought other cards in the past. What is the incentive of doing this? Is it worth the trouble for a few bucks? The only benefit I can think of is perhaps using them to purchase gas at Wal Mart because of an extra discount. I know none of the Wal Marts in my area have gas stations, but noticed this in a few auction descriptions. Is there an advantage to buying gift cards on ebay other than to save a measly 3-4 bucks?

agitprop

Maybe the buyer pays using PayPal (the scammer's best friend - don't shop online without it) and pulls a SNAD dispute or does a chargeback. Buyer gets to keep the gift card and get a full refund, especially if it's an online code only so no physical proof of delivery. Could be any number of scenarios - none good.

Remember PayPal is good for buyers but bad for sellers.

TheBigDave

Some people shop at Walmart all the time. My mom spends about $200 a week there on groceries and other stuff. Probably alot more during Birthdays and Holidays. Just a quick glance at eBay shows most Walmart GC end up around a 10% savings ($25 GC for $22, $500 GC for $460, etc.) So my Mom could be saving $20 a week buying GC at eBay. That would total up to about $1000 a year. But I'm not sure if it's worth the risk.

paulringodaman

I remember a website that highlights funny ebay items had a guy whose name was Dale3EarnhardtNascar or something rednecky bidding $106.00 for a $100.00 gift card to walmart!!!!! hahahhahahah

Honestly I have no idea why they do it. I guess you get the small savings or want to give it as a gift and wanna save a dollar or two???

yeldarb367

I sold a $50 Walmart gift card for $53 once. I still can't explain it.

mather

Ebay can't be explained, many times it just doesn't make any sense, just go with it.

unbeeleebable

I agree, The whole e-bay thing is mystifying at times. Not only gift cards but almost anything you can find selling on e-bay for more than can be had at most other places online or in store.

BKenn01

If you buy only from reputable sellers and pay with Paypal, there shouldnt be many problems.

Mordred

Plus, it's a good way to get "cheap" feedback (since you'd be spending the money anyway).

renaldow

There's $75 in iTunes cards selling for $77 right now.
http://cgi.ebay.com/50-25-75-iTunes-...QQcmdZViewItem

I bet it's money laundering!

wewantflair

When I was planning on buying my HD-A1 from Amazon, I hopped on ebay and bought a $500 gift card for $485. Saved 15 bucks and it cost me less than a few minutes.

nonametofame

An update for the curious. Surprisingly enough, my $78.74 wal mart gift card sold for that exact amount. The buyer paid instantly and thanked me for making it available. Still can't figure out why she'd want it, but I'm not complaining.

wewentflair - I think that's a great way to save a few bucks with minimal effort. I took your idea one step further and recommended my friend pick up a bunch of Borders gift cards on ebay to buy an HD-A1 on amazon. He then combined them into a single gift card at a Borders store since you can only use one online at at time. You can use the Borders card on amazon by going to borders.com and putting at least one Borders item in your cart alone with the player. He was able to save over a hundred bucks.