Topic: Late to the eBay Bucks party?

[KeyDate1/2ozPandas]

Are these sweetened (>2%) eBay bucks deals available to all participants, or is it a targeted marketing to certain individuals.   

Although your US BANK flex perk card may be a wonderful exception (I'll have to look into it), I've unfortunately had bad experiences with travel perk programs (if it wasn't blackout dates, it was some other deceptive restriction that made me wonder why I signed up). 

The sweetened deals are invitation only and unique redemption code is issued for your ebay account.  To me it seems somewhat random when I get these, but every account I have does get them each quarter at different times in the quarter.  When the 10% days occur I often have no limit on how many items I can buy, but hit the $500 quarterly cap quickly that day because there are plenty of items I would buy at 10% discount.

The flex perk card you don't earn miles, but rather points, you can redeem points for 1.5% cash back or use the points for travel on any airline on any day which gives you an effective rate of 3%.  The only requirement is you must book your travel through Travelocity.com web site which has the same prices as expedia.com or airline sites.  If a ticket on delta.com cost $395, then it will cost you 20,000 points on Travelocity and you will get $25 to spend on the plane for food, drinks and internet per ticket.  The only catch is you must redeem points in 10,000 increments and each 10,000 buys you $200 worth of tickets, so if the price of the ticket is 199.99 it costs 10,000 points (thus earning 3% effective rate), but if it is $200.00 it costs you 20,000 points (thus earning 1.5%), I use it only for tickets that cost within 15% of $200 increment or use it for expensive tickets to China which may be $1,125 or 60,000 points. 

There is no better card out there if you like to travel and you spend a lot on your credit card.

Arif

[Birdman]

I'm still trying to better understand (the seemingly random nature of) eBay bucks.

Yesterday I received an offer of "Quadruple eBay bucks on every single qualifying item over $150." (no bullion)  "Rewards are capped at $100 per transaction and $500 per Earn Period."  By the time I received the email in my Inbox I only had about a 12-hour window to use it.  I did a quick search before I went out to Valentine's Day dinner and did purchase a single item, earning 8% back.  I didn't max out my $500 limit because I didn't see enough Buy-It-Nows that looked like screaming deals, and auctions I was interested in weren't ending within the tight time window.

I had never received a quadruple eBay bucks promotion before.  I wonder if I did anything recently to trigger it, or if it was random?  Did other members who are part of the eBay bucks program receive the same invitation yesterday?   If you have received the quadruple offers in the past, are they always a very narrow time frame?  Have you received any other types of eBay bucks promotions recently?

Thanks for any additional info and insights on eBay bucks.  I want to be ready to maximize eBay bucks promotions the next time I receive one out of the blue.

[dobedo]

I'm still trying to better understand (the seemingly random nature of) eBay bucks.

Yesterday I received an offer of "Quadruple eBay bucks on every single qualifying item over $150." (no bullion)  "Rewards are capped at $100 per transaction and $500 per Earn Period."  By the time I received the email in my Inbox I only had about a 12-hour window to use it.  I did a quick search before I went out to Valentine's Day dinner and did purchase a single item, earning 8% back.  I didn't max out my $500 limit because I didn't see enough Buy-It-Nows that looked like screaming deals, and auctions I was interested in weren't ending within the tight time window.

I had never received a quadruple eBay bucks promotion before.  I wonder if I did anything recently to trigger it, or if it was random?  Did other members who are part of the eBay bucks program receive the same invitation yesterday?   If you have received the quadruple offers in the past, are they always a very narrow time frame?  Have you received any other types of eBay bucks promotions recently?

Thanks for any additional info and insights on eBay bucks.  I want to be ready to maximize eBay bucks promotions the next time I receive one out of the blue.

My received first quadruple eBay bucks promotion offer also for V-Day only. Double is more frequent, and 10% off is less so. The offers tend to be very short, a day to maybe 3. I'd take the 10% anytime.

[PandaOrLunar]

Just received a 10% for today usage only. 

DANG!  I swear, I believe, that eBay only gives out the triple, quad, and 10% when you DO NOT have anything interesting in your "Watch" list.

[Birdman]

Just received a 10% for today usage only. 

DANG!  I swear, I believe, that eBay only gives out the triple, quad, and 10% when you DO NOT have anything interesting in your "Watch" list.

Me too.  I tried to talk myself into buying several coins, but everything I wanted was priced too high, even after a 10% discount.  By chance, however, I stumbled upon a deal on a different website today.

[KeyDate1/2ozPandas]

Birdman - I am surprised you didn't pick this one up, I just bought it, $1000 net is very safe for this coin.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/121279733110?

Ebay is has been doing a lot of promotions lately, they gave me $100 cap on ebay fees until end of April, with top rated discount that is reduced $80, which is actually reasonable for higher priced items, for $4000K set that is only 2%. 

[Birdman]

Birdman - I am surprised you didn't pick this one up, I just bought it, $1000 net is very safe for this coin.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/121279733110?

Ebay is has been doing a lot of promotions lately, they gave me $100 cap on ebay fees until end of April, with top rated discount that is reduced $80, which is actually reasonable for higher priced items, for $4000K set that is only 2%. 

Yes, that is probably a good buy.  I've found enough already-graded NGC MS69 material, however, to keep me busy.  My last batch at NGC graded pretty well overall, but I had three G1/2  coins that looked pretty good but that graded MS68.  That sticks with me.  Why take a risk on grading when you can get an already graded MS69?  (albeit, you might get an MS70, and your bulk grading fees are lower than mine.)

I went with two off-ebay buys today.  I bought an 2005 G1/4 NGC MS69 for $480 and a 2005 G1/2 NGC MS69 for $980.  It is nothing spectacular, but I'm content.

[KeyDate1/2ozPandas]

I suspect the couple 1/2 that came back 68 were purchased from national dealers that typically pre-screen coins prior to submission and sell the so-so coins as OMP.  It happens to me more often than I care to admit, I have learned enough discipline now to only buy OMP coins from dealers and collectors that don't submit coins for grading ever.

The 2005 are great buys, I too have been buying them simply because the key dates from the 1990s are so hard to find right now.  The only reason I thought of you for the 2007 1/2 is you are the US record holder for highest price realized for that coin, I believe it was $1800 on ebay for an MS69 in mid 2013.

[Birdman]

I suspect the couple 1/2 that came back 68 were purchased from national dealers that typically pre-screen coins prior to submission and sell the so-so coins as OMP.  It happens to me more often than I care to admit, I have learned enough discipline now to only buy OMP coins from dealers and collectors that don't submit coins for grading ever.

In the case of these three MS68: one I knowingly purchased raw, one was a PCGS MS69 that I sent through NCS and that did not cross over (unfortunately it was the only one of 20 older graded PCGS that didn't cross over), and one was OMP from a small time coin shop.  I too, however, have gotten very cautious about where I buy OMP.  I have been burned more than once in receiving a leftover OMP with forehead rubs, or an "OMP" reseal that has likely already had one pass through the grading companies.

The 2005 are great buys, I too have been buying them simply because the key dates from the 1990s are so hard to find right now.  The only reason I thought of you for the 2007 1/2 is you are the US record holder for highest price realized for that coin, I believe it was $1800 on ebay for an MS69 in mid 2013.

$1800 does sounds good until you subtract $200+ in ebay and paypal fees.  I need to get smart one of these days and set up my own website like you.  When I sold that coin, there was a curious supply squeeze on 2007 G1/2 MS69 on the market.  Mine was the second one to sell at $1800+, and I was actually reluctant to sell it.  I thought there was a chance that it was going to be on a price spike like the 1997 G1/2, which was so-so one day, and then rose out of reach not long after.  It is hard to judge which ones will pop so much higher.  On that 2007, however, I chose not to be greedy and let it go.  We'll have to wait and see where the price on the 2007 G1/2 settles out in a couple years.