Jan 3, 2015, 3:13 am
Last edit by: CWAL
Welcome to Manufactured Spending. If you are new here, please spend some time reading before posting. Most likely your questions have already been answered multiple times. Consider deals that you share. These threads are searchable by Google. A volatile deal may be worth holding close to the vest.
Hints
1) On FT, topics are heavily consolidated. Sometimes the title of the thread and first few posts may not properly reflect the broad range of discussion inside the thread. Be sure to visit any thread relating to the product or service you want to learn more about because you might be surprised by how in depth the discussion really is. High "View Count" and "Replies" are good indicators of active "master threads" on a specific topic.
2) Use Google to search FT. It works a lot better than the built-in search.
Important Rules
1) MSing is very YMMV. It varies by store, manager, and right down to the cashier working at the moment. That being said, always be nice and courteous in the face of rejection. The biggest secret for success is to lay low so you can try again.
2) DO NOT spend more than you can afford. START WITH SMALL AMOUNTS TO TEST THE WATER! As an example.. don't start with a $5000 purchase of VGCs if you can't afford to float that much! Instead, buy one and try it, and scale up once you are comfortable with a new method. It's easy to lose track, or get robbed, when you are handling so much money. Getting a refund is NOT always possible.
3) DO NOT ask employees, cashiers, customer service representatives, etc... about how to MS, or about things you read on this forum. The information you read here are very specific, unknown, legal uses of products or services. Most employees, cashiers, and even managers do not know about them. At best you'll get bad information. At worst you'll create a lot of unnecessary misunderstanding.
4) It bears repeating that there are no guarantees. you could easily buy $10,000 in gift cards or some other instrument, only to discover that your method for liquidating them vanishes the very next day. MS is not "normal" financial activity ("normal" being defined by the banks), and thus is often perceived as "suspicious" even if it is legal.
5) never underestimate the risk of criminal activity. gift cards can easily be stolen, loaded onto a compromised account, loaded in a debit card skimmer, or even fraudulent (e.g., an already used card put back on the rack).
If you have a question that does not seem to fit anywhere, or you have not found an appropriate place for it, post it here.
- A helpful note from seat17D about some of the inherent risks of MS
Hints
1) On FT, topics are heavily consolidated. Sometimes the title of the thread and first few posts may not properly reflect the broad range of discussion inside the thread. Be sure to visit any thread relating to the product or service you want to learn more about because you might be surprised by how in depth the discussion really is. High "View Count" and "Replies" are good indicators of active "master threads" on a specific topic.
2) Use Google to search FT. It works a lot better than the built-in search.
Important Rules
1) MSing is very YMMV. It varies by store, manager, and right down to the cashier working at the moment. That being said, always be nice and courteous in the face of rejection. The biggest secret for success is to lay low so you can try again.
2) DO NOT spend more than you can afford. START WITH SMALL AMOUNTS TO TEST THE WATER! As an example.. don't start with a $5000 purchase of VGCs if you can't afford to float that much! Instead, buy one and try it, and scale up once you are comfortable with a new method. It's easy to lose track, or get robbed, when you are handling so much money. Getting a refund is NOT always possible.
3) DO NOT ask employees, cashiers, customer service representatives, etc... about how to MS, or about things you read on this forum. The information you read here are very specific, unknown, legal uses of products or services. Most employees, cashiers, and even managers do not know about them. At best you'll get bad information. At worst you'll create a lot of unnecessary misunderstanding.
4) It bears repeating that there are no guarantees. you could easily buy $10,000 in gift cards or some other instrument, only to discover that your method for liquidating them vanishes the very next day. MS is not "normal" financial activity ("normal" being defined by the banks), and thus is often perceived as "suspicious" even if it is legal.
5) never underestimate the risk of criminal activity. gift cards can easily be stolen, loaded onto a compromised account, loaded in a debit card skimmer, or even fraudulent (e.g., an already used card put back on the rack).
If you have a question that does not seem to fit anywhere, or you have not found an appropriate place for it, post it here.
- A helpful note from seat17D about some of the inherent risks of MS
New to Manufactured Spending? Start Here (2015)
Jan 6, 2015, 11:56 am
#16
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 58
Do I have to fill out a special form if I buy two $500 VGC's from safeway in one transaction?
Jan 6, 2015, 1:20 pm
#17
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 437
Which is a pain for the manager, and customers behind you. So do them a favor and always buy $499 less (including fees).
Jan 6, 2015, 3:43 pm
#18
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 215
Be nice and at least give him a clue as to what the other three ways are.
Jan 6, 2015, 6:12 pm
#19
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 3,688
Uh... this is the New to Manufactured Spend thread, where newbies can ask questions and hopefully get some useful answers. I can see your reply being appropriate if he asked it in the VGC, but it seems sort of mean-spirited to taunt a newbie who thought he was in the right place to ask this question.
Be nice and at least give him a clue as to what the other three ways are.
Be nice and at least give him a clue as to what the other three ways are.
let's give newbies a chance; we've all been there once
fwiw, IME, search function isn't always working so a little help from others come a long way.
Jan 6, 2015, 9:41 pm
#20
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 35
how to liquidate visa gift card,
I am new to this topic. I just spent 2 hours to read wikis this forum, and figured out use Serve is a possible way to liquidate GC without any fee. Do I miss anything?
Thanks
I am new to this topic. I just spent 2 hours to read wikis this forum, and figured out use Serve is a possible way to liquidate GC without any fee. Do I miss anything?
Thanks
Jan 6, 2015, 10:56 pm
#21
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 3
Thanks for helping newbies!
Thanks for helping an addicted newbie!! I will pass along the favor to others when I know the ropes!!
Jan 6, 2015, 11:36 pm
#22
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: LAC
Programs: Regal Crown Club
Posts: 488
Of course you can if he accepts it. But either of you would have to pay the fees which are ~3%. If he'd be ok with that he might as well accept the CC right away. The fee's about in the same ballpark. Or you could go and buy a couple giftcards, load them to a prepaid card of your choice and have them send a check to your payee...
Jan 7, 2015, 6:49 am
#23
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 3,688
In that generous spirit.... can you help this newbie? I need to quickly hit my 3k limit on a card. I have some upcoming work to be done on my house, but the contractor doesn't take credit. Can I pay him using my card through PayPal? Has anyone done this?
Thanks for helping an addicted newbie!! I will pass along the favor to others when I know the ropes!!
Thanks for helping an addicted newbie!! I will pass along the favor to others when I know the ropes!!
I've had trees trimmed and asked the contractor if he will take Visa GCs and he did after I showed him they were activated, with balance and ready to use. Worth asking, you never know if they will take them.
Jan 7, 2015, 6:52 am
#24
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 3,688
Correct, you can load it up to $5K per calendar month with VGCs. You're in the right track, just keep reading the Serve wiki and updates on thread for details.
Jan 7, 2015, 8:45 am
#25
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 1,207
Hey folks, can you tell me the best portal to buy AMEX or Visa GC's for points/miles (not cash back)? It looks like on Alaska, I can go to Sears for 2 miles per $1. And then there is a link which goes to giftcard mall and I can buy VISA GC's ($500 denominated) and they only come with a $3.95 fee. However, my concern there is whether I actually get the 2 miles per $1 since Sears is linking me to an external site.
Jan 8, 2015, 2:43 pm
#26
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 25
Hello everyone, anybody around here from the Northeast? Rhode Island in particular? I ask this because, there is no safeway and similar stores in my area lol. Would like to share tips with fellow rhode islanders lol.
Jan 8, 2015, 8:09 pm
#27
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 437
Jan 9, 2015, 1:40 pm
#28
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 35
Do I have to close BlueBird in order to get a Serve?
as title. I am new here. Thanks for the patient.
Appreciate the answer
Appreciate the answer
Jan 9, 2015, 1:42 pm
#29
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 22
First off - thanks to everyone for answering the questions in here.
I have read all of the wikis and my main question is what is the preferred way to drain your account after doing loads and having a couple thousand in your Serve? I know the available ways, but people mostly talk about the ways to add, not necessarily how they're getting 1000s OUT of the account.
Thanks in advance for any insight.
I have read all of the wikis and my main question is what is the preferred way to drain your account after doing loads and having a couple thousand in your Serve? I know the available ways, but people mostly talk about the ways to add, not necessarily how they're getting 1000s OUT of the account.
Thanks in advance for any insight.