Did you know you can buy coupons on ebay?
I love ebay! When my kids were a little bit smaller, I often sold excess stuff on ebay to make a little cash. I don’t sell much on ebay anymore, but I still like to use eBay to save money on things I buy.
These are just a few of the unconventional items I’ve bought to help me save some dough.
Phone Cards
I used to use a TracFone prepaid cell phone for emergencies. When it was time to buy minutes for my phone, I didn’t buy them from Tracphone, Target, Wal-mart, or any other big name stores. I bought them on ebay!
You can often find Tracfone minutes for less than retail on ebay. And since all you need is the code, sellers often email the code, meaning you don’t have to pay shipping!
Coupons
Have a cat and use Purina Cat Treats? Do a search on ebay for some coupons. Last night I found an auction for 7 Purina Cat Treat coupons for $1.50 off two packages of cat treats PLUS a bonus coupon for a free package of Healthful Cat Cat Chow. When I saw the auction, the bid was $1.25 with free shipping. Now that’s a deal!
If there are products, especially name brand products, that you regularly buy, it can’t hurt to do an ebay search for coupons. You might find a great deal. And if you combine the coupons with deals you find on The Grocery Game or My Grocery Deals, you could score a GREAT deal on your preferred item!
When you’re shopping for coupons on ebay, make sure you know the expiration dates of the coupons before you bid. You’d hate to win an auction for coupons that expire before you receive them in the mail.
Gift Cards
You can use eBay to buy gift cards for personal use or for gifts. There are many gift cards listed on eBay for many different stores. You can find gift cards for clothing stores, restaurants, home improvement stores, and much, much more.
I have found that the competition for gift cards on ebay can be pretty stiff, with cards for $200 selling for $197. That’s not a huge savings. But if you’re the kind of person who likes to hunt for deals, consider using a tool like BargainChecker.com to find misspelled gift cards on ebay. Misspelled items often sell for much, much less than items that are spelled correctly.
As with coupons, be sure you check into the terms of the gift card before placing a bid. Some stores will start deducting money from the gift card if it’s been unused past a certain time period.
Also make sure you’re not spending money on something you can get free. Some sellers will sell free Gymboree coupons they get in the mail. Make sure you didn’t get a free coupon before you go pay for one.
All in all, I love ebay for finding a good bargain! How about you? Do you ever ebay for coupons and gift cards?
Photo by liewcf.
{ 12 comments }
I’ve purchased gift cards from Ebay on several occasions. I’ve saved up to 10%. Instant store savings! For large purchases/home purchases this tip is very helpful. I especially appreciate Home Depot cards.
I love ebay too! I always buy coupons from there, but I never thought about the tracfone codes. I’m going to do that when mine expire! Also, another tip I learned is a place similar to Ebates, called Big Crumbs, you can get cash back on your ebay purchases. For my purchases, it’s never whole lot, but it all adds up for little snowflakes to my debt! Great post :-)
I never thought of this until I heard about it recently. What’s funny is that coupon’s aren’t supposed to be sold, but what you’re really paying for is someone’s *time* spent clipping them! :)
I’ve heard of people buying coupons on ebay (although I’ve never done it), but I’ve never considered it for gift cards or phone minutes! That’s crazy! Thanks for the tip for the next time I need something!
I’ve used ebay a lot in the past, but never thought or heard of gift cards or coupons. Thanks for the tip!
How much does the Grocery Game cost per month after the trial?
@BRJ – The Grocery Game is $10 every 8 weeks after the trial period. It’s easy to save more than $10 using the grocery game if you eat a lot of the stuff on the list (mostly prepackaged stuff). If you don’t eat a lot of prepackaged foods, it might not be worth it.
I buy my coupons on eBay all the time!
The only thing I have noticed is that the competition is getting bigger on them. I’m paying a little more nowadays than I did a year ago – still really good deals though!
Love eBay, but we have been COMPLETELY in love with Craigslist for a long time. We were eBay freaks until we found Craigslist and found we could get much better deals on some stuff from here. You just have to be careful who you buy from and how. Some stuff is made for eBay, but a lot of stuff we were buying and selling on eBay we found was much better suited for Craigslist.
@Kevin – I’m a huge fan of Craigslist too. Haven’t seen any coupons on Craigslist, but I’ve bought and sold lots of other stuff there!
Being an enthusiastic member of The Grocery Game, I can attest to it’s usefulness in saving money. In 4 weeks of grocery and household supply shopping, I’ve already saved over $180!! That’s more than enough to supplement the rising gas bill for my family.
Thank you for someone finally bringing attention to the fact that gift cards on eBay are not always a good deal! $197 for a $200 card? Heck postage alone and you’re going to gain a dollar. I don’t understand these. I try to only buy gift cards on there if I’m saving a minimum of 20 to 30% off the face value – then they are a great deal for us.
Comments on this entry are closed.