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0 pointsgoblin895y ago0 comments

I peeked. (A) Cards I use are not there, (B) an Apple Store US$100 card is sold for $100, and (C) US payment method is required, which kind of defeats the entire point. Good try though.

In this thread, a fundamental misunderstanding of how gift card market works seems to prevail.

There’s basic arbitrage. Vendor Acme in region X locks out people from region Y (e.g., based on payment method address); Alice lives in region X and can buy an N value Acme gift card for N-1 at a local store; Bob lives in region Y and wants to transact with Acme; Alice buys a gift card for N-1 and sells it to Bob for N+1 online; Bob gains the ability to transact with Acme, Alice gains 2 as revenue.

Thus, gift cards going for higher than face value does not automatically imply anything beyond a market acting as it should and is not specific to Amazon in any way.

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thaumasiotes5y ago

> and (C) US payment method is required, which kind of defeats the entire point. Good try though.

You... are aware that the primary market for USD-denominated gift cards is US residents, right?

goblin89OP5y ago

You still don’t get it. The original poster uses gift cards going for higher than face value on eBay as evidence of money laundering. I am pointing out that on eBay there is a demand for gift cards from buyers whose payment method is accepted by eBay but not accepted by gift card vendor. Those buyers may be located elsewhere in the world but want to use that vendor’s content or services, so they buy gift cards and use them as primary way of payment. eBay sellers respond to that demand by setting higher prices for gift cards.

compsciphd5y ago

I live in Asia and I can buy amazon gift cards without a problem using a non US credit card. they warn you that they are denominated in USD and hence might not be able to use one's preferred method of payment, but that's about it.

sushid5y ago

The original poster is simply wrong. First, most of the gift cards are selling close to or below face value. Second, people have other reasons besides "money laundering" for doing so. It can be eBay cashback promos, Paypal cashback promos, etc.

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