Why do people buy gift cards for more money on ebay?

bigcasey123 · #1 01-20-2016

I see 100 dollar gift cards sell for 140 - 150, etc...why? I understand some people try to scam, but all you have to do is send the card with tracking, and they can't cashback. Do you think some of these people are legit and just too lazy to go to walmart? And about the "unauthorized payment" can't they do that on anything they buy? they can go on a scamming spree and get thousands of dollars worth of stuff. So why do it only on cards? And why would you lose money if it were a "unauthorized payment"? shouldn't the credit card companies be held responsible?

realdeals · #2 01-20-2016

Just because you have tracking it doesn't prove there was any money on the actual card.

Case gets opened....virtually undefendable.

JamesNorth101 · #3 01-20-2016

Its a good way to cash out stealth accounts

There are a lot of stealthers out there!

vettefever17 · #4 01-20-2016

Another aspect that I figured out long ago is the inflation from eBay bucks. A lot of people blow their "free" money to cash it out.

solefoodbk · #5 01-20-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by realdeals

Just because you have tracking it doesn't prove there was any money on the actual card.

Case gets opened....virtually undefendable.

Are sellers even eligble for protection with gift cards?

I'm pretty sure they aren't with selling tickets. Could be wrong...

cmbhuy · #6 01-20-2016

you're allowed to sell physical gift cards, and has to be sent with delivery confirmation.
virtual giftcards or vouchers or codes technically isn't covered.

right now as i'm typing this you can get a $500 ebay gift card for 242 via bitcoin on local bitcoin.com so alot of people are cashing out ebay giftcards

BiN4RY · #7 01-20-2016

People sell gift cards at higher prices because people will still buy them (cough stealthers cough).
It's really that simple. I'm not too sure about the protections specifics for gift cards, but they do offer protections on them to an extent.

JamesNorth101 · #8 01-21-2016

The thing I always found really odd when when people bought stamps in the UK for 15% more than they could buy them from the post office for. Really wierd!

cmbhuy · #9 01-23-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesNorth101

The thing I always found really odd when when people bought stamps in the UK for 15% more than they could buy them from the post office for. Really wierd!

maybe they were gonna use it to send illegal goods and didnt want it traced back to them going into the post office.

solefoodbk · #10 01-23-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmbhuy

maybe they were gonna use it to send illegal goods and didnt want it traced back to them going into the post office.

So you say....

oompaloompa · #11 01-23-2016

well for e-gift cards - when a stealth account gets a $10 or $20 off ebay coupon, why not use it....so alot of people do not care if it goes over value as they are paying zero or a couple of $ more anyway only....

also any account holder can see a money off coupon, not want to buy anything right now, so they buy a voucher for later use - it makes perfect sense....

oompaloompa · #12 01-23-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesNorth101

The thing I always found really odd when when people bought stamps in the UK for 15% more than they could buy them from the post office for. Really wierd!

agree, but it might be some kind of cock-eyed cash out....either that or some people just have a main post office that has long queue and hard to get to, so convenience. You can buy stamps at local shops and supermarkets too though...

Ebayorbust · #13 01-23-2016

I used to cashout a PP by purchasing stamps on Ebay. Never paid more than face value though.

oompaloompa · #14 01-23-2016

so how are people selling the stamps for face value?
they are either old stamps where the price went up and so there is a margin...or they cashed out and got those stamps and now they are selling stamps to cash out again on different account....cash-out merry go round!!!!!

Ebayorbust · #15 01-23-2016

I have a feeling some folk nick them out the petty cash tin at their work and sell them on Ebay.

Most employers monitor petty cash spend. Very few monitor the amount of stamps being used.

JamesNorth101 · #16 01-23-2016

Some of the stamps on their being sold are old already circulated stamps that have not been franked. They have then been peeled off envelopes and sold to be reused.

I found that one out first hand when I bought a load of stamps a while back!

EWHendo · #17 01-24-2016

If it is mostly stealthers willing to pay overage to cash out paypal, why wouldn't eBay catch on and flag that activity as a risky account?

xxrange · #18 01-24-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by EWHendo

If it is mostly stealthers willing to pay overage to cash out paypal, why wouldn't eBay catch on and flag that activity as a risky account?

IF key word

plus people other than stealther have money laying around paypal and want rid of it.