How to get a 9% discount on your gas!

Here is a sweet opportunity I came across recently:

As you know I sell a lot of stuff on eBay. They sent a message to my account about some kind of promotion they are running where you can get 10% off a purchase of at least $75. I am also enrolled in "eBay Bucks" which is free to sign up for and gives you 2% back on most (but not all) purchases you make on eBay. I don't buy a lot on eBay, but I do get a lot of my supplies like labels and tape there, so there is no reason not to be signed up for it.

So I found a Shell gas gift card for the value of $250. Strangely enough it was listed for $259, which is $9 MORE than face value! I had always wondered how people can sell some of these gift cards for more than face value, I guess now I know. There were no others in the appropriate amount listed for any less, so I went ahead and bought it.

The 10% promo code brought the price down to $233.10.

The eBay bucks promotion also gave me $5.20 cash back, effectively bringing the total down to $227.90.

So I got $250 worth of gas for $227.90. About a 9% discount!

Paying with a rewards credit card could give you another 1-3% cash back too!

If you are going to use techniques like this, make sure it is for something that you really need, and aren't going to use more of just because you have it. Gas fits the bill perfectly for me. I will definitely use it eventually, and having 'free' gas sitting around in gift cards isn't going to change my driving habits any.

This example also highlights how having the capital available to buy things in quantity when you can get a discount can save you big money! I basically gave myself $22 free dollars! That's almost 3 hours or human labor at minimum wage!

Let me know if you have ever done anything similar.



-The Money Monk