Author Topic: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money  (Read 16404 times)

CollegeTrep123

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Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« on: September 02, 2014, 04:49:03 PM »
Anyone ever do it? I'm a college Freshmen and I recently discovered a strategy consisting of buying old, used textbooks off eBay and reselling them for more to the textbook buy back websites. I've found 80-90% margins. Here's my question- I just got my first credit card (Discover IT Card). The 31 books COST $1,485, but I can resell them for a $1,254 TOTAL PROFIT, the buyback companies pay for shipping. I want to use my new credit card, and then pay it off immediately- leaving me with the total profit free and clear. The turnaround should be about 2 weeks from me buying the books to me reselling them and getting a check. Thoughts/Suggestions?

Hugh H

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #1 on: September 02, 2014, 05:18:24 PM »
It's best done right after the end of a CC charge period, so you have more time to do the entire process before a payment is due. If you have a reliable buyer, and you don't foresee any delays in shipping from/to, then it makes financial sense.

Elderwood17

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #2 on: September 02, 2014, 05:41:55 PM »
When I have had books shipped via the book rate at the USPS, I have had some significant delays relative to regular packages.  Your plans sounds good but be sure you have a contingency plan just in case......

Dicey

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #3 on: September 02, 2014, 05:49:53 PM »
Hell yes, I'd do it, but only after taking Hugh and Elderwood's advice. Good luck to you and make sure to insure the packages for their selling price. Might be worth it to pay for first class postage.

decembeir

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #4 on: September 02, 2014, 05:58:30 PM »
I would definitely do it- but make sure the prices at the place you are planning on selling to are not going to start falling now that college is starting to get underway. I've been selling some of my old textbooks on Amazon and I have already seen some of my payouts start to drop down.

thedayisbrave

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #5 on: September 02, 2014, 06:42:44 PM »
Agree with everyone else.  It'd make me a little wary to do this on a CC, but if you have a contingency plan in case things go wrong (including worst case of you not being able to sell them for what you thought you could) then I'd go for it.  I did a similar thing in college... I'd go to the campus lost/found sales, pick out the largest/heaviest/most technical looking textbooks I could find and buy them for a $1 each.  Then turn around and put them on Amazon for $80-$90.  Easy money :)

CollegeTrep123

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #6 on: September 02, 2014, 06:51:10 PM »
What should I do about my Credit Limit/Credit Utilization? I am still waiting on the card in the mail, It should be here in the next two days hopefully!

chucklesmcgee

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #7 on: September 02, 2014, 07:28:58 PM »
What should I do about my Credit Limit/Credit Utilization? I am still waiting on the card in the mail, It should be here in the next two days hopefully!

Nothing, it doesn't matter. Your credit score will drop slightly for a month, then return shortly thereafter, no big deal.

You could actually look into manufactured spend if you're curious. Basically involves purchasing near cash equivalents (like Visa gift cards) on a rewards card, then liquidating the purchases such that they can be deposited and used to pay off the CC bill, letting you get the rewards for free. Might be up your alley.

CollegeTrep123

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #8 on: September 02, 2014, 07:42:38 PM »
Here is the timeline I'm considering:

Timeline

9/5- All books are ordered

9/14- All Books are RECEIVED

9/16- All Books SHIPPED

9/18- All Books Received by Buyer

9/19- Payment Received
« Last Edit: September 02, 2014, 07:47:39 PM by CollegeTrep123 »

Dicey

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #9 on: September 02, 2014, 09:31:08 PM »
What should I do about my Credit Limit/Credit Utilization? I am still waiting on the card in the mail, It should be here in the next two days hopefully!

Nothing, it doesn't matter. Your credit score will drop slightly for a month, then return shortly thereafter, no big deal.

You could actually look into manufactured spend if you're curious. Basically involves purchasing near cash equivalents (like Visa gift cards) on a rewards card, then liquidating the purchases such that they can be deposited and used to pay off the CC bill, letting you get the rewards for free. Might be up your alley.
I agree with c.mcgee about the credit score, but not the rest of it, at this stage. Since this is your first attempt, I'd try to contain the risk just a bit. Start with a few balls and then add more as you increase your proficiency at juggling, which is what you're doing here. Save his tip for future reference.

arebelspy

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #10 on: September 02, 2014, 09:51:55 PM »
Roll your initial profits into an emergency fund so you can pay the CC bill even if there's a delay in everything.

We're not against CC use around here, just be smart about it.  Don't carry a balance or pay interest.  ;)

I thought the thread was going to be about making money on the CCs themselves from travel hacking, not using them to fund a business.  (I've made about 3,000 cash + about 700k miles over the last few months from signing up for CCs.)
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
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CollegeTrep123

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #11 on: September 03, 2014, 08:18:59 AM »
Thanks everyone!

shotgunwilly

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #12 on: September 03, 2014, 10:18:06 AM »
I don't know how you're possibly finding margins so high on textbooks.  You need to make absolutely sure that you are buying the HARD copy books and not a PDF digital version or a file on CD.  Also, make sure that you're comparing the exact same editions.  Goodluck!

unpolloloco

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #13 on: September 03, 2014, 10:38:32 AM »
Here is the timeline I'm considering:

Timeline

9/5- All books are ordered

9/14- All Books are RECEIVED

9/16- All Books SHIPPED

9/18- All Books Received by Buyer

9/19- Payment Received


This timeline is a bit aggressive (things will get held up throughout the process), but if what you're saying is correct (verify conditions/editions, etc.), seems to be a good opportunity, but not one without risk (others have pointed out the risks already).  You'll probably have to stagger your shipments based on when books come in.

CollegeTrep123

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #14 on: September 03, 2014, 11:25:02 AM »
Is there any way to quicken the process/lessen the risk? I plan on paying the card off as the payments come in for the books via PayPal

lakemom

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #15 on: September 03, 2014, 11:28:55 AM »
I would definitely do it- but make sure the prices at the place you are planning on selling to are not going to start falling now that college is starting to get underway. I've been selling some of my old textbooks on Amazon and I have already seen some of my payouts start to drop down.

+1!!  Having assisted 4 kids through college so far, prices fall dramatically once the add/drop period for the universities/colleges has passed (no later than mid sept in general).  However, they will pick back up again right before the start of the next semester.  IF you have a cash cushion, keeping alert and buying at the bottom of the market and listing right before the start of the next semester (mid dec through mid jan again in general) could generate you a nice little stache.

CollegeTrep123

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #16 on: September 03, 2014, 05:40:34 PM »
Any other advice, tips, tricks?

alwayslearning

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #17 on: September 03, 2014, 05:53:04 PM »
Roll your initial profits into an emergency fund so you can pay the CC bill even if there's a delay in everything.

We're not against CC use around here, just be smart about it.  Don't carry a balance or pay interest.  ;)

I thought the thread was going to be about making money on the CCs themselves from travel hacking, not using them to fund a business.  (I've made about 3,000 cash + about 700k miles over the last few months from signing up for CCs.)

Arebelspy - Do tell! We have basic BofA reward points, but are wanting to put our rent/mortgage on our cc for a better payout. Have you been able to find a way to do this?


Argyle

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #18 on: September 03, 2014, 05:56:18 PM »
I'd be very wary of getting out-of-date editions of textbooks.  You need to be up on the current edition of every textbook you buy.  Even one edition out of date means the textbook is nearly worthless -- those are the ones you see selling for 50 cents on Amazon.  I suspect the game is riskier than you think in this regard.  I hope you're able to pay off the credit card even if you don't break even on the textbooks, but from the fact that you're financing this with credit, I suspect not.

arebelspy

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #19 on: September 03, 2014, 06:08:32 PM »
Roll your initial profits into an emergency fund so you can pay the CC bill even if there's a delay in everything.

We're not against CC use around here, just be smart about it.  Don't carry a balance or pay interest.  ;)

I thought the thread was going to be about making money on the CCs themselves from travel hacking, not using them to fund a business.  (I've made about 3,000 cash + about 700k miles over the last few months from signing up for CCs.)

Arebelspy - Do tell! We have basic BofA reward points, but are wanting to put our rent/mortgage on our cc for a better payout. Have you been able to find a way to do this?

If you use your CC to buy gift cards, then use the gift cards to pay the mortgage, it's doable for a small fee.

It's more about the signup bonuses than daily usage.  For example, Chase just paid me $700 to sign up for their Ink Plus Business CC.  The Chase Sapphire Platinum or Premier or whatever it is pays you $400.  Do that a few times and you get a decent chunk of change.  You can do a search for travel hacking, credit card sign up bonuses, etc. and read some of the previous threads to learn more.  :)
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
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CollegeTrep123

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #20 on: September 03, 2014, 06:45:02 PM »
I'd be very wary of getting out-of-date editions of textbooks.  You need to be up on the current edition of every textbook you buy.  Even one edition out of date means the textbook is nearly worthless -- those are the ones you see selling for 50 cents on Amazon.  I suspect the game is riskier than you think in this regard.  I hope you're able to pay off the credit card even if you don't break even on the textbooks, but from the fact that you're financing this with credit, I suspect not.

Argyle,
Your comment is very confusing to me

I'm using BookScouter.com to see what each company would pay me, I copy and paste the ISBN of the book and see what happens, If I can make a profit of at least $10 on what the buyback company is offering me- I take it. If the book comes back worthless, I move on. I'm essentially flipping textbooks. I may go through 25 books in an eBay search before I find one I can make a profit on.
« Last Edit: September 03, 2014, 06:52:23 PM by CollegeTrep123 »

arebelspy

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #21 on: September 03, 2014, 09:14:45 PM »
Your comment is very confusing to me

I'm using BookScouter.com to see what each company would pay me, I copy and paste the ISBN of the book and see what happens, If I can make a profit of at least $10 on what the buyback company is offering me- I take it. If the book comes back worthless, I move on. I'm essentially flipping textbooks. I may go through 25 books in an eBay search before I find one I can make a profit on.

Does every edition of a textbook get its own, separate ISBN?

If not, uh oh.

Cause like Argyle said, old editions are practically worthless.

That may be why you're finding such a big gap - you can buy Edition 9 for $1, and Edition 10 sells for $50, but they're different books...
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

acemanhattan

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #22 on: September 03, 2014, 09:57:12 PM »
Your comment is very confusing to me

I'm using BookScouter.com to see what each company would pay me, I copy and paste the ISBN of the book and see what happens, If I can make a profit of at least $10 on what the buyback company is offering me- I take it. If the book comes back worthless, I move on. I'm essentially flipping textbooks. I may go through 25 books in an eBay search before I find one I can make a profit on.

Does every edition of a textbook get its own, separate ISBN?
If not, uh oh.

Cause like Argyle said, old editions are practically worthless.

That may be why you're finding such a big gap - you can buy Edition 9 for $1, and Edition 10 sells for $50, but they're different books...

Each edition (and also version (international/teacher's/student)) does get its own ISB#.  This was my first thought too and I checked in on it. 

CollegeTrep123

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #23 on: September 03, 2014, 10:53:38 PM »
Your comment is very confusing to me

I'm using BookScouter.com to see what each company would pay me, I copy and paste the ISBN of the book and see what happens, If I can make a profit of at least $10 on what the buyback company is offering me- I take it. If the book comes back worthless, I move on. I'm essentially flipping textbooks. I may go through 25 books in an eBay search before I find one I can make a profit on.

Does every edition of a textbook get its own, separate ISBN?

If not, uh oh.

Cause like Argyle said, old editions are practically worthless.

That may be why you're finding such a big gap - you can buy Edition 9 for $1, and Edition 10 sells for $50, but they're different books...

Yes, It does get its OWN ISBN. And no, they are NOT International editions

I have not started YET FYI

waltworks

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #24 on: September 03, 2014, 11:07:22 PM »
I'm always dubious about being a second or third middleman and expecting much/anything in the way of profits. If the money was there, wouldn't someone already have a bot just trawling through Ebay/Amazon used book listings and doing exactly the same thing you propose to do by hand? Why are the Ebay/Amazon books priced so far below what wholesalers will pay to get them?

I know someone who drives around and visits (or used to) used book stores and big garage sales doing the exact same thing (she deals with any kind of book, not just textbooks) and when I asked her about it she indicated that it was a lot of work and more of a hobby/way to stay busy (she's retired). She lists books on Amazon I believe. So it's possible to make a money if you are finding the physical books at a physical store/sale, at least.

That said, there are always fun little hacks and maybe you've found one! Keep us updated.

-W

Researcher

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #25 on: September 04, 2014, 09:13:01 AM »
Here is the timeline I'm considering:

Timeline

9/5- All books are ordered

9/14- All Books are RECEIVED

9/16- All Books SHIPPED

9/18- All Books Received by Buyer

9/19- Payment Received


This timeline is a bit aggressive (things will get held up throughout the process), but if what you're saying is correct (verify conditions/editions, etc.), seems to be a good opportunity, but not one without risk (others have pointed out the risks already).  You'll probably have to stagger your shipments based on when books come in.

+1. I've done this, but with Chegg books, not eBay. It takes almost a month to get paid from these book buyback websites, but it's worth it if you have the time.

alwayslearning

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #26 on: September 04, 2014, 12:14:05 PM »
Roll your initial profits into an emergency fund so you can pay the CC bill even if there's a delay in everything.

We're not against CC use around here, just be smart about it.  Don't carry a balance or pay interest.  ;)

I thought the thread was going to be about making money on the CCs themselves from travel hacking, not using them to fund a business.  (I've made about 3,000 cash + about 700k miles over the last few months from signing up for CCs.)

Arebelspy - Do tell! We have basic BofA reward points, but are wanting to put our rent/mortgage on our cc for a better payout. Have you been able to find a way to do this?

If you use your CC to buy gift cards, then use the gift cards to pay the mortgage, it's doable for a small fee.

It's more about the signup bonuses than daily usage.  For example, Chase just paid me $700 to sign up for their Ink Plus Business CC.  The Chase Sapphire Platinum or Premier or whatever it is pays you $400.  Do that a few times and you get a decent chunk of change.  You can do a search for travel hacking, credit card sign up bonuses, etc. and read some of the previous threads to learn more.  :)

@Arebelspy - Thank you! I will have to try that next month!

johnny847

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #27 on: September 04, 2014, 04:49:02 PM »
There's an easier way to make money on credit cards. Well specifically, one credit card - the Bank of America Better Balance Rewards. Basically, you need to charge at least something every single month, wait for the statement to cut, then pay it off in full or make a minimum payment (well really, you should just pay in full anyway...). At the end of every quarter, if you have made at least a minimum payment or paid in full for each month in the quarter, then you get a $25 bonus. If you deposit the bonus into a BoA bank account, you get an extra $5.

So you can charge a couple bucks a month to this card, pay it off in full AFTER the statement cuts, and then earn $100 or $120 a year.

Best way to do this is open a BoA savings account if you don't already have one ($300 minimum to open), put a recurring fixed monthly charge on your credit card, and then schedule automatic payments. If you go this route I highly recommend that you open a BoA account, becuase if you don't, your rewards are issued as statement credits. WIth a statement credit, it'll throw off your automatic payments, and if you have a negative balance at the end of a month, it'll disqualify you from the rewards.
One perfect charge to put on this card is Netflix.  These rewards would cover the cost of Netflix, plus some.

HawkeyeNFO

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #28 on: September 05, 2014, 08:55:56 AM »
There are even better ways than that, if you have a WalMart nearby.  Do a search on manufactured spending.

johnny847

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #29 on: September 05, 2014, 11:40:57 AM »
There are even better ways than that, if you have a WalMart nearby.  Do a search on manufactured spending.

Well I wouldn't necessarily say better. With the BoA BBR card, you don't have to leave your house to earn the $120 a year (well I guess once to get the card from the mail). But I'm sure if you spend the time to go to Walmart to do manufactured spending, you could earn more than that. It's just a tradeoff between effort and money earned.

HawkeyeNFO

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #30 on: September 05, 2014, 07:34:18 PM »
There are even better ways than that, if you have a WalMart nearby.  Do a search on manufactured spending.

Well I wouldn't necessarily say better. With the BoA BBR card, you don't have to leave your house to earn the $120 a year (well I guess once to get the card from the mail). But I'm sure if you spend the time to go to Walmart to do manufactured spending, you could earn more than that. It's just a tradeoff between effort and money earned.
I have no idea what you're talking about.  I don't bother to apply for cards that only give me back $120. 

I'm just saying that some folks are earning six figures doing manufactured spend, with maybe 2-4 hours of time put into it on a weekly basis. 

johnny847

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #31 on: September 05, 2014, 08:48:28 PM »
There are even better ways than that, if you have a WalMart nearby.  Do a search on manufactured spending.

Well I wouldn't necessarily say better. With the BoA BBR card, you don't have to leave your house to earn the $120 a year (well I guess once to get the card from the mail). But I'm sure if you spend the time to go to Walmart to do manufactured spending, you could earn more than that. It's just a tradeoff between effort and money earned.
I have no idea what you're talking about.  I don't bother to apply for cards that only give me back $120. 

I'm just saying that some folks are earning six figures doing manufactured spend, with maybe 2-4 hours of time put into it on a weekly basis.

The card that I was talking about, when used properly, gives $120 a year for spending just a couple bucks a month. This isn't from manufactured spending, this is because of the reward structure of this particular card.

But yea, I also think most manufactured spending is not worth the time.

acemanhattan

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #32 on: September 05, 2014, 08:58:27 PM »
I'm just saying that some folks are earning six figures doing manufactured spend, with maybe 2-4 hours of time put into it on a weekly basis.

6 figures?  Link please.

johnny847

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #33 on: September 05, 2014, 09:00:40 PM »
I'm just saying that some folks are earning six figures doing manufactured spend, with maybe 2-4 hours of time put into it on a weekly basis.

6 figures?  Link please.

I believe he meant some people who earn six figures at their regular job also do manufactured spend? I assumed he missed a couple words there...but if he truly meant somebody makes six figures with manufactured spending, then I'm also very interested.

boarder42

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #34 on: September 05, 2014, 09:14:20 PM »
This is essentially text book arbitrage.

arebelspy

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #35 on: September 05, 2014, 10:47:47 PM »
I'm just saying that some folks are earning six figures doing manufactured spend, with maybe 2-4 hours of time put into it on a weekly basis.

6 figures?  Link please.

I believe he meant some people who earn six figures at their regular job also do manufactured spend? I assumed he missed a couple words there...but if he truly meant somebody makes six figures with manufactured spending, then I'm also very interested.

No, he meant six figures manufactured spending.

It's mostly a myth though, it's hard to actually push that much through and have the CCs be okay with it.

I'm much more inclined to believe the people who do it for tens of thousands.  Much beyond that I'm skeptical of, but it is possible, and there may be the rare few doing it (who also can show hundreds of thousands of income though to support those spending levels if the CCs do a financial review).
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

Rural

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #36 on: September 06, 2014, 05:08:31 AM »
Your comment is very confusing to me

I'm using BookScouter.com to see what each company would pay me, I copy and paste the ISBN of the book and see what happens, If I can make a profit of at least $10 on what the buyback company is offering me- I take it. If the book comes back worthless, I move on. I'm essentially flipping textbooks. I may go through 25 books in an eBay search before I find one I can make a profit on.

Does every edition of a textbook get its own, separate ISBN?

If not, uh oh.

Cause like Argyle said, old editions are practically worthless.

That may be why you're finding such a big gap - you can buy Edition 9 for $1, and Edition 10 sells for $50, but they're different books...


Yes, every edition gets a new ISBN. Insult to injury, that: once I'm forced to screw my students, I also have to remember to "update" the ISBN on my syllabus. I've gone to a free open access online textbook this semester because of crap like this.

waltworks

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #37 on: September 06, 2014, 09:07:17 AM »

FWIW, I have six figures of *legit* spending (mostly for a business that deals with vendors who accept credit cards) and my experience is that the cc companies will cut you off/figure it out relatively quickly. I've done maybe $4k in cash and a few hundred thousand miles in a year, which is great - but Chase has pretty much stopped giving me cards. Likewise most of the smaller issuers are now no longer giving me automatic approvals which probably means I'll get cut off by them as well soon.

So I'm dubious about 6-figure spending and managing to get signing bonuses for all of it, but I'm new at this.

-W

No, he meant six figures manufactured spending.

It's mostly a myth though, it's hard to actually push that much through and have the CCs be okay with it.

I'm much more inclined to believe the people who do it for tens of thousands.  Much beyond that I'm skeptical of, but it is possible, and there may be the rare few doing it (who also can show hundreds of thousands of income though to support those spending levels if the CCs do a financial review).

arebelspy

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #38 on: September 06, 2014, 09:35:53 AM »

FWIW, I have six figures of *legit* spending (mostly for a business that deals with vendors who accept credit cards) and my experience is that the cc companies will cut you off/figure it out relatively quickly. I've done maybe $4k in cash and a few hundred thousand miles in a year, which is great - but Chase has pretty much stopped giving me cards. Likewise most of the smaller issuers are now no longer giving me automatic approvals which probably means I'll get cut off by them as well soon.

So I'm dubious about 6-figure spending and managing to get signing bonuses for all of it, but I'm new at this.

-W

I've signed up my wife and I for.. 26ish? cards in the past few months, and will rake in about 1MM miles (though it will be used as 3000 cash in the bank and 700k miles).  But that's just signup bonuses.  Eventually, like you said, you hit a limit on those, and run out of ones to sign up for.

We're talking about manufactured spending on just a few cards to rake in "cash back" rewards.  Not signup bonuses.
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AssetGrinder

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #39 on: September 06, 2014, 09:45:10 AM »
I dont like this idea at all. There is too many transactions here. What if you get stuck with a bad batch of books. It will happen sooner than later. Also relying on shipping dates is a fools game. Bound to be delays either incoming or outgoing.

I like the idea of it all but the amount of time , patience and brain power u r putting in wouldn't be worth it IMO.

Reminds me of that other book hustle. The group of people who have apps on their phones that scan books at garage sales nd thrift stores to see how much they are worth on amazon. If the margins are large enough they buy and list the books. Even those guys are sitting on mass inventories because many times books dont move.

A hustle is a hustle, No doubt you can make it work but it is never as easy as you think it is.

But I would really try and stay away from using a credit card to do this. Very slippery slope. Better to work part time to collect $1000 to try this out because if it doesnt work no biggie. If it doesnt work while holding sky high interest rate debt then the problem is magnified every month till you make it right.

Pretty much the for certain risk outweighs the unproven reward right now. Dont stop hustling tho.

MrsPete

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #40 on: September 06, 2014, 10:26:04 AM »
It doesn't sound like a terrible idea, but it does have some inherent risk:  I suspect you'll end up with a few unsellable books -- that's just the nature of the beast; books change and become obsolete. 

I suggest you start small.  Instead of jumping into 1K+ in book costs, consider $300 worth the first time.  I can't tell you how many times I've launched into a project, only to realize problems or pitfalls mid-way into the project.  I'd rather have the problems with $300 worth of books (which isn't a devastating amount to lose) rather than a larger amount.  THEN, if you do well with a small quantity, increase it next semester. 

And be sure that you have the money to pay back the credit card IF you should fall on your face.  It does happen to all of us occasionally, even when we think we've planned well. 

waltworks

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #41 on: September 06, 2014, 11:05:09 AM »
Ah, got it. I thought you were saying that people were, like, making a living on CC signup bonuses.

We have yet to really go all-in on miles since we don't travel much but I'm definitely running out of cash bonus cards to use. :(  Just got rejected for a third Chase Ink, doh!

-W


FWIW, I have six figures of *legit* spending (mostly for a business that deals with vendors who accept credit cards) and my experience is that the cc companies will cut you off/figure it out relatively quickly. I've done maybe $4k in cash and a few hundred thousand miles in a year, which is great - but Chase has pretty much stopped giving me cards. Likewise most of the smaller issuers are now no longer giving me automatic approvals which probably means I'll get cut off by them as well soon.

So I'm dubious about 6-figure spending and managing to get signing bonuses for all of it, but I'm new at this.

-W

I've signed up my wife and I for.. 26ish? cards in the past few months, and will rake in about 1MM miles (though it will be used as 3000 cash in the bank and 700k miles).  But that's just signup bonuses.  Eventually, like you said, you hit a limit on those, and run out of ones to sign up for.

We're talking about manufactured spending on just a few cards to rake in "cash back" rewards.  Not signup bonuses.

CollegeTrep123

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #42 on: September 06, 2014, 01:36:16 PM »
I dont like this idea at all. There is too many transactions here. What if you get stuck with a bad batch of books. It will happen sooner than later. Also relying on shipping dates is a fools game. Bound to be delays either incoming or outgoing.

I like the idea of it all but the amount of time , patience and brain power u r putting in wouldn't be worth it IMO.

Reminds me of that other book hustle. The group of people who have apps on their phones that scan books at garage sales nd thrift stores to see how much they are worth on amazon. If the margins are large enough they buy and list the books. Even those guys are sitting on mass inventories because many times books dont move.

A hustle is a hustle, No doubt you can make it work but it is never as easy as you think it is.

But I would really try and stay away from using a credit card to do this. Very slippery slope. Better to work part time to collect $1000 to try this out because if it doesnt work no biggie. If it doesnt work while holding sky high interest rate debt then the problem is magnified every month till you make it right.

Pretty much the for certain risk outweighs the unproven reward right now. Dont stop hustling tho.

Maybe I'm not understanding- but If I'm getting a Quote for the book, then locking in that quote- where is the risk? How can I have a unsellable book if I've already agreed to sell the book for a specified price within a 12 day period. Yes, I know prices change- but If I'm locking them in what difference does it make?

MrsPete

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #43 on: September 06, 2014, 04:12:11 PM »
I dont like this idea at all. There is too many transactions here. What if you get stuck with a bad batch of books. It will happen sooner than later. Also relying on shipping dates is a fools game. Bound to be delays either incoming or outgoing.

I like the idea of it all but the amount of time , patience and brain power u r putting in wouldn't be worth it IMO.

Reminds me of that other book hustle. The group of people who have apps on their phones that scan books at garage sales nd thrift stores to see how much they are worth on amazon. If the margins are large enough they buy and list the books. Even those guys are sitting on mass inventories because many times books dont move.

A hustle is a hustle, No doubt you can make it work but it is never as easy as you think it is.

But I would really try and stay away from using a credit card to do this. Very slippery slope. Better to work part time to collect $1000 to try this out because if it doesnt work no biggie. If it doesnt work while holding sky high interest rate debt then the problem is magnified every month till you make it right.

Pretty much the for certain risk outweighs the unproven reward right now. Dont stop hustling tho.

Maybe I'm not understanding- but If I'm getting a Quote for the book, then locking in that quote- where is the risk? How can I have a unsellable book if I've already agreed to sell the book for a specified price within a 12 day period. Yes, I know prices change- but If I'm locking them in what difference does it make?
Then jump in and find out, but I can see several possibilities for trouble.  That's why I'm suggesting that you start small. 

AssetGrinder

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Re: Using A Credit Card To MAKE Money
« Reply #44 on: September 06, 2014, 05:47:27 PM »
I dont like this idea at all. There is too many transactions here. What if you get stuck with a bad batch of books. It will happen sooner than later. Also relying on shipping dates is a fools game. Bound to be delays either incoming or outgoing.

I like the idea of it all but the amount of time , patience and brain power u r putting in wouldn't be worth it IMO.

Reminds me of that other book hustle. The group of people who have apps on their phones that scan books at garage sales nd thrift stores to see how much they are worth on amazon. If the margins are large enough they buy and list the books. Even those guys are sitting on mass inventories because many times books dont move.

A hustle is a hustle, No doubt you can make it work but it is never as easy as you think it is.

But I would really try and stay away from using a credit card to do this. Very slippery slope. Better to work part time to collect $1000 to try this out because if it doesnt work no biggie. If it doesnt work while holding sky high interest rate debt then the problem is magnified every month till you make it right.

Pretty much the for certain risk outweighs the unproven reward right now. Dont stop hustling tho.

Maybe I'm not understanding- but If I'm getting a Quote for the book, then locking in that quote- where is the risk? How can I have a unsellable book if I've already agreed to sell the book for a specified price within a 12 day period. Yes, I know prices change- but If I'm locking them in what difference does it make?

Read the small print of the book buyer. No doubt it favors them. What if the condition of the book they deem unacceptable? what if books get lost in the mail? what if they get damaged during shipping? what if the company starts to impose limits on the books they take from you! What if they hold payment for awhile? There is always surprises so be prepared.

Do you really expect to send 31 books to a a supplier and everything go well? You have to factor in losses, one way or another.
But hey try it out! Be sure to log in the amount of time it takes you, expenses, shipping, fuel to get to the post office and the turn around of the transactions as well as interest costs.

Might be less headaches and more money with a regular part time job as a bartender or an Uber driver for all you know.

Just I have never met anyone in my life that made it rich from using their credit card. Go ahead and try the idea but use your own money and not the legalized loansharks instead.

 

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