# What's up with all the money being sold on Ebay? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 8, 2017, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-money-being-sold-on-ebay/803869 "2017-12-08T02:36:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mrdeals](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Mrdeals](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrdeals)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-money-being-sold-on-ebay/803869/1 "2017-12-08T02:36:44Z")
I’m not talking about collector coins, rarities, or oddities. Just regular old circulated money. If you search Ebay for $20 bills, dozens of sellers come up, fetching $28.99 or more, and it looks like they sell hundreds of them! Same is true for $50s and $100s. Who is buying this money? My WAG, you could use Paypal credit, essentially getting a couple thousand dollar loan for 0% interest (but the extra $8.99 per bill of course) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-money-being-sold-on-ebay/803869/2 "2017-12-08T02:48:42Z")
If this is as profitable as it sounds, why isn’t everyone selling $20 bills? ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-money-being-sold-on-ebay/803869/3 "2017-12-08T05:35:32Z")
Damn, I’ve got to retire so I have time to tend my “Buy my change and pocket lint” Ebay store. And watch for my foodless food truck with the sign “Two Dollar Bills! A Deal At Only Three Bucks”… ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-money-being-sold-on-ebay/803869/4 "2017-12-08T06:35:22Z")
Unlike some of the other denominations, which do appear to be collectibles, the $20s appear to be a form of laundering. > [@](#): > > This is a great way to spend your eBay bucks or turn gift cards or PayPal credit into CASH! The buyer gets rid of a gift card, with a transaction fee, and gets cash in return. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-money-being-sold-on-ebay/803869/5 "2017-12-08T14:15:30Z")
Yeah, laundering would be my bet as well. Don’t people realize you should buy a car wash instead? ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-money-being-sold-on-ebay/803869/6 "2017-12-08T14:32:01Z")
Is this as profitable as it seems? Couldn’t the buyers claim their delivery was lost in the mail and then charge back to the seller? Making money on this seems unlikely without a reasonable ability to estimate losses. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-money-being-sold-on-ebay/803869/7 "2017-12-08T15:09:27Z")
Perhaps they are collectible for one reason or another. Some are old, some are circulated, some not cut from the sheet. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-money-being-sold-on-ebay/803869/8 "2017-12-08T16:18:42Z")
Not those 20s. I looked at the pages. The title line will say “lightly circulated” or “Federal Reserve Note”, as if those are important details, but they aren’t. The pages will literally have lines like the one I pasted above. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-money-being-sold-on-ebay/803869/9 "2017-12-08T16:25:53Z")
We’ve actually discussed this [before](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=782766), though the thread got closed. As I posted in that thread, I actually ended up listing five $20 bills at $24.20 + shipping, and sold all five within a day. A higher price would have been better, because after the fees and all, I really didn’t make anything off of it, but they really did sell, with no weird payment issues or any other shadiness. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-money-being-sold-on-ebay/803869/10 "2017-12-08T16:42:07Z")
> [@Kron](#): > > no weird payment issues or any other shadiness. Not for you the seller. The buyer was probably only given gift cards because they were “returning” stolen items without a receipt, or their family only gives them gift cards with the hope they might actually spend them wisely rather than on meth. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-money-being-sold-on-ebay/803869/11 "2017-12-08T17:14:55Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > Not for you the seller. > > The buyer was probably only given gift cards because they were “returning” stolen items without a receipt, or their family only gives them gift cards with the hope they might actually spend them wisely rather than on meth. True enough. 3 of 5 bills went to Florida, one to Washington state, and the fifth to Russia. If the internet is to be believed, my Florida sales probably went to flakka and meth! ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-money-being-sold-on-ebay/803869/12 "2017-12-08T17:19:56Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > Not for you the seller. > > The buyer was probably only given gift cards because they were “returning” stolen items without a receipt, or their family only gives them gift cards with the hope they might actually spend them wisely rather than on meth. How would they end up with giftcards they could use for ebay or paypal from returning stolen merchandise? Don’t most stores give you a giftcard for their own store when you don’t have a receipt (Target, Walmart, etc)? ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-money-being-sold-on-ebay/803869/13 "2017-12-08T17:34:09Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > How would they end up with giftcards they could use for ebay or paypal from returning stolen merchandise? Don’t most stores give you a giftcard for their own store when you don’t have a receipt (Target, Walmart, etc)? You’re right of course. I was more thinking back to different friends and family with addiction issues and their ability to turn everything from their kid’s Christmas presents, to food stamps, to stolen goods into cash. I’m sure they used one of the machines at the grocery store for the store specific gift cards. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-money-being-sold-on-ebay/803869/14 "2017-12-08T17:58:48Z")
> [@GoodOmens](#): > > Yeah, laundering would be my bet as well. Don’t people realize you should buy a car wash instead? Not _really_ money laundering, the amount is way too small. I woudl say a way to convery cards into cash. Yes, perhaps stolen cards or a hijacked Paypal account, but not really money laundering as it is commonly known. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-money-being-sold-on-ebay/803869/15 "2017-12-08T18:33:26Z")
How do yo turn a gift card into paypal funds? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-money-being-sold-on-ebay/803869/16 "2017-12-08T18:37:22Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > How do yo turn a gift card into paypal funds? You dont. You turn a gift card into a $20 bill, ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-money-being-sold-on-ebay/803869/17 "2017-12-08T18:41:33Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > You dont. You turn a gift card into a $20 bill, Okay, how do you turn a gift card into a $20 bill? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-money-being-sold-on-ebay/803869/18 "2017-12-08T18:45:35Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Okay, how do you turn a gift card into a $20 bill? By buying a $20 bill on eBay with it. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-money-being-sold-on-ebay/803869/19 "2017-12-11T04:17:49Z")
The question is how do you use a gift card as payment for an ebay auction? I guess you can use one of the prepaid visa or master card gift cards. I don’t think you can use say an itunes gift card. I guess this makes sense if you want to buy things from people who don’t take credit cards. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-money-being-sold-on-ebay/803869/20 "2017-12-11T06:33:27Z")
> [@gazpacho](#): > > The question is how do you use a gift card as payment for an ebay auction? I guess you can use one of the prepaid visa or master card gift cards. I don’t think you can use say an itunes gift card. I guess this makes sense if you want to buy things from people who don’t take credit cards. There are also eBay gift cards, available at drug, grocery, and discount stores, [as well as online](https://www.giftcardmall.com/store-gift-cards/ebay-gift-card?&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIr7f_k6qB2AIVUZ7ACh21bgDpEAAYASAAEgIztvD_BwE). Anyone who received an eBay gift card they didn’t want might want to cash it in. Also last year, a local grocery store chain offered a $15 grocery discount with the purchase of $100 in eBay (and other) gift cards. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-all-the-money-being-sold-on-ebay/803869.md?page=2)