I saw a deal the other day to purchase Office Max gift cards for 20% off on eBay from Gift Card Mall.
This was a great deal, but they were only selling 2,000 cards. My original intention was to buy those cards and “upgrade” for a prepaid Visa/MasterCard. Why not? After all that’s 20% free and would easily cover the activation costs and there is a 2% back from eBay on all gift card purchases.
Let’s make believe I was able to buy $100 in Office Max gift cards, for $80. I buy $200 in a Visa prepaid card and there is an activation fee of $5. My out of pocket expense would be $185 for $200, creating a “free” 15%, not to mention all the other points that could be amassed using something as lucrative as a Chase Ink with 5% back at an office supply store.
I would definitely try a gift card “upgrade” again, Staples just isn’t one of them. I will definitely need to try the gift card upgrading in a suburban environment because I think city stores are more vigilant because of possible fraud.
