Laugh of the day.
Summary: inhawaii shared a humorous listing for two one-dollar bills being sold for $1.99 with free shipping. Participants speculated on the seller's intentions, suggesting possibilities like feedback farming or a unique way to attract buyers. Some debated the logic behind such purchases, while others offered potential reasons for similar past transactions. The conversation was peppered with light-hearted comments and tangential discussions about unusual listings on online marketplaces.
We see posts here from time to time ... "How can they sell that so cheap?"
I just stumbled across a listing for: Two One-Dollar Bills.
Buy it now for $1.99 with free ESE shipping.
267 sold. One more left.
Have a nice weekend everyone! 馃槈
inhawaii
Posted 2 weeks ago 路 Edited 2 weeks ago路Last reply 2 weeks ago
39 comments
sakic92710
路2 weeks agoWhy did you buy the other 267 & only leave 1? So much better than paying $2.44 per coin in roll of 25 Trump dollars. lol
fern*wood
路2 weeks agoMaybe it isn't for the feedback, but for the transaction count to qualify as a top rated seller.
kibble-net
路2 weeks agoTwo words:
Money Laundering
sin-n-dex
路2 weeks agoThis is my thought, I had when I first read this thread, figured out what I think is going on, but I forget now. Just that it wasn't anything posted here and was some kind of network scam (where the buyers aren't real buyers).
What I can't figure out is why $1.99 for 2 $1 bills, it's such a small transaction. The $10,000 beanie baby money laundering makes much more sense.
I've read financial reports from auditors (to assess eligibility for disability benefits) and seen all sorts of fishy stuff with transactions going around that you know there's something going on. It's amusing to read the claimant's explanation. Today I saw one on a guy who declared one part time job, but not the other. The auditor asked for tax records and the income on that ratted him out for having another job. His claim is denied pending receipt of the income statements from the other job, and the two jobs better add up to what he declared as employment income on his tax return.
In Canada it's really hard to hide income unless your actions are under the table and done with cash. No one does cash anymore, people do eTransfers between accounts so the fishy bank account has 50 deposits a month of stuff happening.
C.
christworks
路2 weeks agoNobody is laundrying money using a $2 bill. There are far more easier ways to do that, then selling $2 bills (or worthless beanie babies) on eBay.
As it is, with each sale that seller is losing money. There is the cost of the stamp, the envelope, eBay fees, plus the $2 bill. That means which each sale they are losing a quarter or more a sale. In this case the seller had a quantity of 268. That's a mere $536. While people do buy $2 bills, it probably took considerable time to sell that many.
Plus, criminals are not walking around with a bunch of "dirty" $2 bills. To even get them there would be video recordings at the bank, possibly even bank records showing where someone dropped off dirty money to obtain the $2 bills.
This is likely a deliberate loss leader in order to deal with an account issue.
onefootflipper
路2 weeks agoIt is never money laundering. The "professionals" that handle that sort of thing generally charge a lower commission than ebay and do so in a way that doesn't create a ridiculously implausible evidence trail that attracts attention.
zakstreasuretrove
路2 weeks agoMaybe it's like the supermarket where they perform trickery with the price per unit/pound/oz etc....
1 gallon jug on sale for $10 or regular price 2 gallon jug for $15. Get the one on sale because it's on SALE SALE SALE!!!!!
go-bad-chicken
路2 weeks agoLooks like 2 one dollar bills just got a little bit more expensive. Inflation is real!
inhawaii
OP2 weeks agoThat's hilarious!
It just costs 99 cents to get those 2 crumpled up dollar bills.
christworks
路2 weeks ago 路 EditedI have said many times here if you need to get your seller rating up, that's the way to do it. Of course, people have mocked that idea. Thank you, @inhawaii , for proving me right. Not saying that is why that seller is doing it and I wouldn't do it as a multi. It works though.
gurlcat
路2 weeks agoI can't understand how though. Why would anyone BUY it? Would you spend $1.99 from your bank account to receive 2 1-dollar bills in the mail (or HOPE it actually arrives in the mail)?
christworks
路2 weeks agoWhy do people want to buy used 80s massagers that smell like baby powder?
Don't answer that.
People buy all sorts of stuff that makes no sense to me. Perhaps they want a certain serial number (range?) I dunno. I don't know about coins and money. I just know people will buy a $2 bill.
gurlcat
路2 weeks ago 路 EditedI do know about coins and money, and people who buy them want to see the exact specimen for sale, unless it's a whole stack or roll.
I know feedback farming seems like the most logical reason for the seller (espeicially with auto-feedback now), but this item listing makes zero sense for buyers. I think there's something else going on, but no I don't have a guess.
christworks
路2 weeks agoI think you are overthinking thinks.
You could always message the seller and ask them.
gurlcat
路2 weeks agoYou of all people saying this^.
christworks
路2 weeks agoThat's the irony. 馃榿馃槀
pickapaper
路2 weeks ago"People buy all sorts of stuff that makes no sense to me."
The one that makes the least sense to me is a plastic or silicone version of an unborn baby. I first saw one of these in the listings of a seller who posted on here, and she had it listed as a doll!
gurlcat
路2 weeks ago 路 Edited@pickapaper Even without seeing it, I can imagine that appealing to some. One example would be people who just collect "oddities" including medical paraphernalia. But I think midwives might be especially interested, for demonstration purposes.
Here's one of my favorite historical figures. Madam Angelique du Courdray, appointed for duty in 1759 by King Louis XV, who was concerned about the shrinking population of France after lots of war and disease, and wanted to increase the survival rate of women and babies in childbirth. For decades she traveled all over the country, training upwards of 30,000 female midwives and male surgeons, on safe birthing practices. She made hand-sewn cloth mannequins including this one. No telling how many lives she saved.
pickapaper
路2 weeks agoI don't disagree that there is a buyer for almost anything. Out of curiosity I did look to see how many of them were listed and there are quite a few. Most listed them as "weird stuff" or medical but some of the sellers had them listed as toys/dolls. I could just picture some little kid looking at the listings of dolls and coming across one of those. "Mama, what kind of doll is that?" Ohhhh.
That hand-made mannequin is pretty impressive. Madam was not only an accomplished midwife trainer but a talented seamstress too.
gurlcat
路2 weeks agoThere are hyper-realistic dolls that women who cannot have children purchase, to dress and imagine it's their baby. I wouldn't be shocked if some who miscarried might want a fetus doll. You never know what people may be going through and how they deal with it.
gurlcat
路2 weeks ago 路 EditedI don't think this is feedback farming, because what's the incentive for the BUYER? One cent profit? And even if it was the same buyer who purchased all 267 of the Sold's to get a $2.67 gain, the seller can get only 1 positive point added to their score, per purchase. And I seriously doubt that 267 buyer would do it one purchase at a time, with separate payments.
EDIT: Also wouldn't the buyer be charged more than 1 cent sales tax in most states? Then the purchase would be a LOSS for them.
tools*
路2 weeks agoThere's probably no sales tax on currency in most states, but the seller is still losing 50垄 or so per transaction.
gurlcat
路2 weeks ago 路 EditedI wasn't talking about the seller's cost/benefit, but the buyer's. Would you buy this item? -Would you have your back account debited $1.99 to receive 2 one-dollar bills in the mail sometime later? Can you think of any reason a buyer would?
tools*
路2 weeks agoIt was a better deal when it was first listed: $2 for 99垄.
tools*
路2 weeks agoThe seller is in Alabama.
gurlcat
路2 weeks agoIt's me. I wasn't going to say anything, but ya got me. 馃ぃ
12345jamesstamps
路2 weeks agoI don't think it's funny but actually smart.
Sellers want feedbacks and will lose a little to get them.
Once the seller has a good standing of feedbacks...they will sell expensive items.
Remember on eBay when sellers from China were selling mint stamps for .01 one cent with free shipping? Now it's .99 cents.
annadryl
路2 weeks agoI remember listings for "bookmarks" that were just paper clips for like ten cents. Sellers would network and buy tons of them from each other. It was either to build quick feedback to look seasoned or to make up for some bad ones.
Ebay put the squeeze on that but obviously that stuff will always happen online.
yeswayrecords
路2 weeks agoThat transaction makes some cents... 馃挵馃榿
tools*
路2 weeks ago 路 EditedActually, it's centsless to think that padded feedback you had to buy is worth much in today's eBay.
flatwatertrader
路2 weeks agoDd
gurlcat
路2 weeks agoHuh. Interesting theory. Not Ee? Or what about Xx?
luckythewinner
路2 weeks ago 路 EditedSounds like someone buying transaction volume in order to dilute transaction defects and raise their seller status.
tools*
路2 weeks agoHe's probably trying to build more recent activity and feedback on the account. They appear to be real dollar bills. In fact, he was originally selling a pair of one-dollar bills for 99垄 with free shipping.
inhawaii
OP2 weeks ago"He's probably trying to build more recent activity and feedback on the account. They appear to be real dollar bills. In fact, he was originally selling a pair of one-dollar bills for 99垄 with free shipping."
I wish I saw that.
I would have bought 10,000 of them.
tools*
路2 weeks agoI'm guessing that he probably didn't have too many listed at that price. Talk about a loss leader.
dhbookds
路2 weeks agoCounterfeit?
grann-4629
路2 weeks agoNo. The seller just robbed a dollar store and is simply laundering his take. What a great idea. I'm waiting for those $100 bills to come out ...