A couple of months ago, I wrote about Manufactured Spending without Vanilla Reload. No, I did not have a premonition of the inability to purchase Vanilla Reload cards with a credit card. 🙂 Instead, I wanted to show one of the methods that I have used to generate a little profit as well as miles.
Generating Points With Apple Products
In the post, I wrote that it is always smart to be on the lookout for changes in the electronics/computer space – especially when it comes to Apple products. Apple typically has the greatest resale value amongst computer manufacturers and they are easier to sell because there is not a ton of variance with the models. For instance, saying that you are selling a Macbook Air 11″ i5 does need a little filling in of the blanks but not nearly as much as if you were to say you are selling a 13″ Windows i5 laptop. 🙂
The reason it is smart to observe changes in the Apple product lineup is that they almost always keep the newer models at the same price and many people end up returning the ones they just purchased to get the newer models. This causes quite the rush of opened-box laptops to hit stores and they generally discount them a good bit to clear out the older model. Some stores may send them back to Apple but others, like Best Buy, just sell their open boxed items through their store or Cowboom.
Apple Refresh Brings Lower Prices
New price as of today! Start looking for great deals on returns!
Well, it happened today! Apple did a somewhat quiet refresh of their MacBook Air line. This refresh brought a slightly bumped up processor to the mix, and (more importantly) actually dropped the price $100! This is huge for a couple of reasons! 1) Most people did not know about the refresh coming and have purchased MacBook airs in the last two weeks when they were on sale and 2) when they do return them to get the slightly better machine at a lower price, Best Buy typically processes the markdown from the lowest price in the last 30 days! This is not a simple case of people coming in for a pricematch – consumers are going to want to get the newer, slightly better machine!
How To Take Advantage
First, read the post I wrote previously for step-by-step instructions of how to maximize this opportunity. Next, figure out what your approach will be. With Vanilla Reload cards technically off the table for credit card purchases, this could be a great opportunity to finish the spend on your card for the sign-up bonus or generate some additional points through buying and reselling.
Do not be discouraged if you do not see these returns right away. This refresh just happened and Best Buy does not even have the new ones for sale yet. I would not be surprised to see them wait a week or two before putting them out to prevent a rush of recent purchased-MacBook Airs being returned, but some will return them. Keep checking (where to check is all in the previous post).
Also, do not forget to check Cowboom. In spite of the odd name, it is actually owned by Best Buy and is used for their used, online marketplace. You can find some incredible deals there that you will not be able to find in the store. For instance, I just purchased the new Mac Pro desktop (that Best Buy does not even have in stock) for $700 below retail! If you check eBay, they are going for close to retail because it is still hard to get them without waiting. You never know what you will find at Cowboom! Another good thing about going through Cowboom is that you can go through a shopping portal to purchase from them (Best Buy no longer allows you to purchase open-box Apple products through their own website). Go here to find what will work best for you. Basically, you can count on getting an additional 1 mile/point per dollar with most programs or 1.8% cashback through BigCrumbs. To make it even better, if you are a new customer, you can use some promo codes for more money off – COWBOOM20 for $20 off $300 or more, COWBOOM10 for $10 off $150 or more, and COWBOOM5 for $5 off $50 or more.
This obviously is not just for those who want to resell – this could be a great chance for you to purchase one for yourself at a great discount!
I think topcashback offers 3% for cow boom, better than what is listed
Excellent! Thanks! That will definitely help towards the tax. 🙂
I’ve been reselling for nearly a year now from a variety of sources and products but I haven’t been able to make the BestBuy/Apple open-box combo work unless I go the Craigslist route. I can’t even get that close after Ebay or Amazon fees. With a 15% discount and 10% coupon I would squeak out a profit but that’s a lot of work for a small amount of profit and points.
I agree, it’s a good plan for buying a product for yourself but this is too thin of a margin for my liking.