EDITOR’S NOTE: I call dibs on first to say “cool story bro” for this article.
One of the myriad techniques of generating spend on credit cards is buying something, shipping it to a buyer’s group, then getting paid back by the group.
There was a time when I went really big with this game. The evolution was approximately:
- Buy a few things, sell quickly for portal and credit card profit
- Buy more things, sell quickly for portal and credit card profit
- Learn that holding things may let them sell for more, earning more profit
- Fill up my living room and garage with things to sell
- Rent a storage unit for things that are waiting to sell
- Get really sick of all the manual labor involved, and cut back on buying
- Pivot to a private label business and hire people to do the labor
- Sell the business
- Do exactly zero buying group or selling activity
I’m happy that I arrived at (9), but after a while I started back on the path of (1) and (2). This time I’m really selective about what I buy though, and I’m actively avoiding (3)+, because:
- Lesson: Scaling manual labor sucks
- Lesson: Holding carries an opportunity cost
Recently, one type of high value thing that I buy and sell quickly ships from the same address every time via UPS. Evidently, someone at UPS figured out the same thing, and whomever that is periodically opens boxes, takes the contents, reseals them, and passes them on for delivery.
The first time I had a tampered box arrive, I didn’t notice until a few minutes later, after the UPS driver was long gone and I’d already signed for the package. The lesson from that experience, which in hindsight should have been obvious:
- Lesson: Always do a quick inspection of boxes on your porch before signing for a delivery
I learned the lesson quickly. The next time I had a tampered box show up, I spotted it, refused delivery, and showed the driver what I saw. Unfortunately, there were five more times that a tampered box showed up after, but fortunately because I had shown the driver what to look for, he inspected the boxes preemptively and discovered the next tampered package before he even got to my door. When he arrived, he asked if I wanted to refuse delivery, which, duh.
- Lesson: If you show people how things can malfunction, they might help you spot problems early
I stock $10 Starbucks gift cards for cashiers, delivery people, and others who help me play my game. After the last tampering incident, I gave the UPS driver a gift card as a thanks. That $10 Starbucks card marked a changeover point, after which he smiles and chit-chats with me anytime there’s a delivery.
- Lesson: Take care of people who help you play your game; when someone is happy to see you, they’re more likely to help you when something goes wrong
Happy Friday!
/csb
MEAB’s ramble as a Nintendo game.