Mar

28

Buying Gift Cards, Coupons And Certificates On Ebay - Can It Be A Scam?

March 28, 2008 |

I must say, I am a huge eBay fan. You can buy just about anything on the site. However, scam artists know this too and use eBay as a tool to take people for a ride. There are many gift card, coupon and certificate auctions available on eBay that scam artists cling to.

Below are some scams and schemes to look out for when purchasing these items:

*Expired gift cards, coupons and certificates - Sellers may be selling them as “collectible’ rather than useable! This is so stupid. Who does this?

*Restricted or limited use cards - This scam is conducted when a person buys, lets say, a $100 gift card, and when it arrived, it was actually 20 $5 certificates that were $5 off a $25 purchase, and could not be combined. This is another really dumb and frustrating scam that people get lured in.

*Gift card and coupons that are no longer honored - Many companies stop honoring coupons/gift cards after a certain number have been redeemed. To avoid this happening to you, make sure the coupons you are purchasing are manufactures coupons, and not laser printed copies.

*Partially used gift cards - These can be easily drained after you have left feedback on eBay. Also, NEVER recharge partially used cards as the card number and access code may be in the hands of
someone you don’t know!

*Entertainment Book coupons - In many cases, store owners are asking to see the Entertainment Card that came with the book. It would be pretty embarrassing if you only have the coupon, as they will not accept it without the book (not in all cases though).

*Emailed coupons - This is usually a scam, as you can easily do a Yahoo search for the link.

At any rate, I would STRONGLY suggest that you purchase gift cards or certificates at the direct merchant to avoid all these schemes. Not all people get scammed this way, but I know I was in the past, and would not want anyone to go through what I went through.

Hillary Patz is an internet marketing guru with a desire to help people find success through BTTW. To learn more about Hillary Patz and her team of Marketing Mentors Click Here

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