Using eBay to earn points

[noahb]

Has anyone ever bought something brand new, then sold it on eBay immediately purely to earn the credit card award points, or is this idea not worth the effort?

 

[chrizzz14]

your idea is not bad.... but there is an easier way.... simply set up two ebay accounts, and two paypal accounts to match.
Simply sell yourself something pathetically worthless, for a ridiculous amount. From one account to the other.
This works easier if you have two credit cards (with two different banks) that earn ff cards. You can do it in a repetative circle. Works quite well!

 

[Natt]

Beware the fees

1 - ebay

2 - paypal

 

[Slats7]

Just don't get caught.

 

[noahb]

I'm guessing it's against eBay and PayPal policy for a person to hold more than one account.

Suppose the other account belonged to a family member at the same address - would I still be in violation of eBay and/or PayPal policy?

 

[moa999]

The fees would kill you I would have thought.

 

[one9]

Yes, ebay and paypal fees are expensive. You are looking at around 5-7% in fees so it is completely not worth it.

 

[MrGreg]

You dont even need to use ebay. Set up 2 paypal accounts (and yes, you are allowed more than one account, they just need to be registered to different addresses), and send money between the paypal accounts using your credit card.

It does work and you will get the points, but paypal charges 2.4% on all transactions processed and more for credit cards, so 100,000 commonwealth points will end up costing you $2400+, which isn't really worth it.

 

[ChrisFlyer]

You dont even need to use ebay. Set up 2 paypal accounts (and yes, you are allowed more than one account, they just need to be registered to different addresses), and send money between the paypal accounts using your credit card.

It does work and you will get the points, but paypal charges 2.4% on all transactions processed and more for credit cards, so 100,000 commonwealth points will end up costing you $2400+, which isn't really worth it.

If you receive money to a business "premier" account (you don't need an ABN) it's actually 2.4% for any payment type - including Australian credit cards. It's ~3.5% for overseas credit cards though, but that obviously wouldn't apply to you If you register a personal account, it's free to receive money from a PayPal balance or bank account, but around 3.5% for all credit cards, with a really low maximum before making you change to a business account.