Question
This is odd to me -- maybe someone can explain?
Last Thursday I bought a spindle of Sony DVD-RW (25) on eBay for 22.22 and no shipping charges.
Today a guy from Staples arrives at my door and I didn't order anything from Staples. Signed for it but had him wait while I opened it but already wondered if this might be the eBay purchase. It was.
At first I thought bully for the seller -- that's a pretty innovative way to make a buck but then I got curious just how much I would have saved if I'd gone directly to Staples myself and my local Staples sells this same item for $34.98! That's almost $13 MORE!
I know I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer but I can't figure this one out.
Answer
Maybe he had some sort of Staples gift card or discount card?
Answer
Here's a good deal for taiyo yudens(a better brand of dvdr):
$25.05 shipped:
http://www.rima.com/Merchant2/mercha...ode=TAIYOYUDEN
$30 shipped:
http://www.supermediastore.com/taiyo...s-r-media.html
Answer
Thanks for the thoughts earthfragments. I'm a big fan of Taiyo Yuden and probably have about 150 blank cd's on hand (I went overboard! ). I just didn't feel like nor did I have the time to investigate DVD media and went for a quick price.
I'm happy with the transaction but I just can't figure out how he does it and makes any money. I just checked and at this moment he's got 34 blank media items up for sale all with free shipping. He's got to have a bunch of gift certificates!
Answer
Sometimes they have really good rebates.
Maybe he purchased them with a rebate and they were free?
Or got them free with a purchase?
Answer
Charged them to his employers account I bet.
Answer
perhaps they ordered from Staples for you?
announcement from another forum:
May 5, 2006:
Staples
Sony DVD-RW 25 pack $12.98
Answer
I get the Imation(great brand actually) dvd-r from Office Depot for 14.99 for a 50 pk-they have them on sale frequently.
Hopefully the seller didn't open an account for you at OD like sellers used to do at UPS for the labels.
Answer
Depending upon brand, DVDs are usually around 25 cents each with coupons and rebate. So the seller found a deal and sold it to you.
With Staples, one can get free shipping by being a rewards customer. Does not matter on size of order. On top of that, seller gets another 2% rebate from Staples plus probably another couple of percentage points from his credit card. So he bought them on Staples and put your shipping address in.
Pretty slick. No risk and not much work.
Answer
Thanks for the input! I think you guys figured it out. Somehow or another he's buying them when they're on sale, with coupons, rebates -- who knows exactly but he's figured out a way to act as a middleman and never have to ship himself and make a buck. Good for him.
Quality or anything else just wasn't on my mind when I wanted them. We had a spindle of DVD-R's but what's happening is DH is recording all these odd and strange shows and finales, etc. and once he's done with him, he's storing them. We've got VHS tapes that go back at minimum 10 years (including the entire broadcast of the 1996 Olympics) and I suddenly realized that we could wind up with 100's of DVD-R's. At least with RW's, I stand a chance that he'll record over the Diamondbacks game or some sitcom .
Thanks again!