Does anyone use cardpool? Are there other sites I can buy discounted cards at with a bigger margin? I would like to use these to fund some of our materials purchases for rehabs or new construction. 7% isn't a huge discount though. Any comments about how I can get a bigger margin in bulk are appreciated.
Investor · -, IL · Member since 2010 · 409 posts · 616 votes
14y
I use plasticjungle.com to buy discounted gift cards or merchandise cards (5% to 10% off face value). Couple this with a Lowe's 10% off coupon and you can get 15% to 20% off your materials. Most competitors will accept the Lowe's coupon. Also call your local pawn shop as they will sometimes buy gift/merchandise cards.
Looks like Ed beat me to the pawn shop suggestion.
Residential Landlord · Kailua-Kona, HI · Member since 2012 · 111 posts · 15 votes
14y
I do know that pawn shops buy physical cards. It is shady how the giftcards are obtained in the first place (possibly theft and return). I have never tried it personally but there does seem to be a few other posts about this. Suppose you could get a broker to come with you the first time if you are putting that much business his way or that 24 vouch for someone else mentioned.
Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
14y
The problem with buying them from pawn shops is that it likely isn't worth my effort. I need to buy thousands of dollars' worth of them or my energy is better spent elsewhere. That is why the subject site appealed to me. A 7% discount isn't wonderful, but it isn't chicken scratch either.
Real Estate Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2011 · 139 posts · 101 votes
14y
For the big gift card buyers you should try ordering directly from Lowe's. It looks like if you buy $100k+ then you get a 4% discount. These should be much easier to use because of the higher dollar amounts...
Atlanta, GA · Member since 2011 · 1 post · 0 votes
14y
Has anyone heard of mr.bid or is this only in michigan. Someone told me that you can get more % discount like 25 or even 30. the minimum discount you get get is 10%. I do most of my shopping from used material stores and only the hardware from home depot so it not as valuable to me
SFR Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2009 · 484 posts · 181 votes
14y
Originally posted by Craig Rismiller:
For the big gift card buyers you should try ordering directly from Lowe's. It looks like if you buy $100k+ then you get a 4% discount. These should be much easier to use because of the higher dollar amounts...
http://www.lowes.com/pdf/corpForm.pdf
Real estate agents can get 5% off lowes cards all the time in any denomination (no need to spend $100k (ouch!).
I'd think if you were burning that kind of volume you could demand a better discount from the bid room and pay with an Amex for the rewards points... Which you could redeem for gift cards...
SFR Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2009 · 484 posts · 181 votes
14y
Originally posted by Sam Sagor:
I do know that pawn shops buy physical cards. It is shady how the giftcards are obtained in the first place (possibly theft and return). I have never tried it personally but there does seem to be a few other posts about this. Suppose you could get a broker to come with you the first time if you are putting that much business his way or that 24 vouch for someone else mentioned.
I think you're confusing "store credits" with gift cards - there's a huge difference, even though they look like gift cards. I bought a couple thousand in store credit cards for my last rehab from a guy off Craigslist @ 80% of face value - if that's what you're buying you need to spend the money at the store immediately after verifying them. If you're getting actual gift cards you can verify the value, then combine them onto new gift cards in larger denominations and use them later.
The depot won't allow you to combine store credits, or allow you to put them on a different card. Those are the cards that are more likely to be generated by theft-return schemes, and they're the one that make everyone at the store antsy when you redeem them. Gift cards are no big deal, and are not nearly as likely to raise anyone's hackles at the store.
There are a number of legitimate sources of gift cards, the easiest being the new account offers from Amex - my last business card came with a 50k point award, which was enough points for a $500 gift card at the depot.
Some businesses that spend a lot of money on Amex can generate $1k+ in rewards monthly, so I wouldn't be too surprised if someone offered you $10k in cards, its entirely possible to generate that many points legally & legitimately.