The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: minority_finance_mo on January 21, 2015, 08:41:06 AM
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I've received some un-mustachian early presents from family and friends for my upcoming birthday, including an Amazon gift card. I almost never buy stuff from Amazon (I may purchase books there 1-2 times a year if the library doesn't have them.)
Does anyone know of a way to convert this to cash, or a cash equivalent? (Google Wallet, Paypal, even as a credit on a Credit Card??)
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I don't - but can you buy a general use product like toilet paper or soap? Something that doesn't go bad (if you don't need it right now) but you'll definitely use.
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I don't know a direct way, but considering they have all kinds of house hold goods and non-perishable food stuffs, you could just buy something you were going to buy from somewhere else eventually any way. Then you have "converted" it to cash by avoiding the cash purchase later.
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Besides buying stuff you actually need, put it on craigslist maybe?
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You can sell it on Raise.com, they take a cut and you have to sell at a discount, though Amazon is usually only a 1% discount. With the amount of stuff you can buy on Amazon, it's worth using it just for general stuff you need like toilet paper.
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Sell it to someone else. There are sites that facilitate things like this. You'll probably take a 10% haircut on the value.
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There are websites you can sell them to and they pay you either by check or paypal. But you only get part of the value back. I was quoted $18.50 for $25 in Amazon gift cards.
I wish there was a way to convert my free Amazon Gift cards I've earned through Bing Rewards into $$ without losing any of their value. But eh, what can you do.
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I'll buy it from you for 90% of it's value. But seriously, there has to be *something* on Amazon that you need. It's the Walmart of the internet.
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Amazon gift cards are practically cash, IMO - there's so much you can buy there that you would otherwise be buying locally.
Depending how much you have, I'll probably give you 90 cents on the dollar for 'em. :)
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You can sell it on Raise.com, they take a cut and you have to sell at a discount, though Amazon is usually only a 1% discount. With the amount of stuff you can buy on Amazon, it's worth using it just for general stuff you need like toilet paper.
I don't think Raise.com is accepting Amazon right now, but thanks for the idea of reselling it! The challenge is the best deals I can see are 10%-15% reductions in value + fees, and that's a little excessive...
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I don't know a direct way, but considering they have all kinds of house hold goods and non-perishable food stuffs, you could just buy something you were going to buy from somewhere else eventually any way any way. Then you have "converted" it to cash by avoiding the cash purchase later.
Yeah, I suppose you're right. Thanks vhalros. Amazon isn't the cheapest - but free is free, right?
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I'll buy it from you for 90% of it's value. But seriously, there has to be *something* on Amazon that you need. It's the Walmart of the internet.
Depending how much you have, I'll probably give you 90 cents on the dollar for 'em. :)
Thanks guys. I may be PMing you at some point if I can't figure out a way to use them efficiently. Thanks again!
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I don't know a direct way, but considering they have all kinds of house hold goods and non-perishable food stuffs, you could just buy something you were going to buy from somewhere else eventually any way any way. Then you have "converted" it to cash by avoiding the cash purchase later.
Yeah, I suppose you're right. Thanks vhalros. Amazon isn't the cheapest - but free is free, right?
They often are. You can also use camelcamelcamel to check price trending on Amazon and make sure you're getting a solid price.
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I don't know a direct way, but considering they have all kinds of house hold goods and non-perishable food stuffs, you could just buy something you were going to buy from somewhere else eventually any way any way. Then you have "converted" it to cash by avoiding the cash purchase later.
Yeah, I suppose you're right. Thanks vhalros. Amazon isn't the cheapest - but free is free, right?
They often are. You can also use camelcamelcamel to check price trending on Amazon and make sure you're getting a solid price.
Woah, this is awesome. I just bookmarked the site. Thanks!
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buy a visa or amex gift card on amazon. then use the visa gift card at store. return item get paid in cash
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buy a visa or amex gift card on amazon. then use the visa gift card at store. return item get paid in cash
I don't think you can buy an amex gift card with the Amazon gift card credit, unfortunately. :(
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The first thing that came to mind for me is "But Amazon gift card *IS* cash equivalent..." LOL
For us we purchase enough on Amazon over time that we would just add it to our account and use it for something we would purchase anyway. We can also use our Discover cash back that way, it can be used right from Amazon so we aren't tempted to spend it on anything we wouldn't purchase anyway.
Yes, I realize that's not everyone and selling it isn't hard, as noted you will just lose about 10%. Just thought it was funny that my first reaction was to think of it as cash equivalent in and of itself.
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The first thing that came to mind for me is "But Amazon gift card *IS* cash equivalent..." LOL
Haha, I don't think you were the first to have this point of view. I didn't realize so many people used Amazon for regular household items! As I mentioned above, I've really only been using it for random book purchases (and the odd gift from time to time.)
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Reselling the gift card was the first idea that came to mind, but others have already pointed you in that direction.
Another approach might be to look into drop shipping. I've been meaning to look into this because I end up with an excess of Amazon gift cards from time to time. Basically you list something on eBay that is actually sold by Amazon. Then when somebody actually buys your item from eBay, you buy it on Amazon and send it to them as a gift. It can work well if you have Amazon prime. But you have to stay on top of things - Amazon prices can fluctuate quite a bit.
I still think it's sad that people don't realize they could just buy it directly from Amazon.
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(I may purchase books there 1-2 times a year if the library doesn't have them.)
Next time you buy books, buy them on amazon. If it takes 2-3 years, no big deal.
You could also ask some local friends if they're interested. I would probably buy an amazon gift card from a friend for 90% if I was looking to get some books. You won't get 100% because whoever you sell to is missing out on credit card rewards and has to deal with the hassle of giftcards.
I'm doubtful of drop shipping. In my experience, prices are lower on eBay than Amazon, plus you have to pay the eBay fees.
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I'm doubtful of drop shipping. In my experience, prices are lower on eBay than Amazon, plus you have to pay the eBay fees.
Oh yea from what I've read so far, you have to really search for the items that will actually net you a positive profit margin. But in this scenario, if we're comparing the reselling gift card option to the drop shipping option, the haircut you take from reselling the gift card may be less than that of drop shipping.
Of course, drop shipping will take quite a bit more work. But I'm the type of person that likes to look into new things, even if i don't actually end up doing it.
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Another approach might be to look into drop shipping. I've been meaning to look into this because I end up with an excess of Amazon gift cards from time to time. Basically you list something on eBay that is actually sold by Amazon. Then when somebody actually buys your item from eBay, you buy it on Amazon and send it to them as a gift. It can work well if you have Amazon prime. But you have to stay on top of things - Amazon prices can fluctuate quite a bit.
I still think it's sad that people don't realize they could just buy it directly from Amazon.
Woah! That's really cool - thanks for the tip, Johnny! I think this may be something that, as Ms. Savings mentioned above (sorry, no spanish tilda on my keyboard), takes a bit of research, but I'll definitely look into this.
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Have you asked around work and within your social circle? I'd pay a friend/coworker face value for a gift card just because I would be using the money there anyway (this goes for any place I regularly spend money) so for me it would be no different than if I was buying the gift card elsewhere for myself (or as a gift).