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Aside from the risk you're taking in being able to sell the item(s) at or near purchase price, there is absolutely nothing illegal about selling the items, gifting them, burning them in your fire pit or whatever else you choose to do with them. People purchase gifts all the time on credit, or items for others. It's all the same. The only exception would be if it's a rental or lease contract (think "rent to own") or if you sign a document pledging an assessed as collateral. It's a bad idea, but if you're set on going forward with it, you don't have to worry about any legal consequences. Just contemplate the financial consequences both short and long term before you move forward.
Okay, so right now Best Buy has 0% APR for 18 months on expensive items (over $500 or something), and 3 years I think for things over $2000 or something like that. They profit because it's an incentive to buy their stuff, and because they catch you with severe penalties if you're late with payments or don't pay off your items in the time alloted. Now a no brainer question that pops up is, could you simply buy a $2000 item, sell the item on craigslist or ebay for cash, and have a free 0% interest credit card (??). Would this be legal? E.g., my questions here are:
1. Can I sell an item I bought on credit before it's paid off?
2. Can I intentionally purchase an item on store credit with the intention of selling it?
3. If neither, what are the maximum possible legal consequences of this?
4. Under what circumstances could you possibly get caught?
I know the third and fourth are horrible things to ask, and I'm very ethical and honest, but intrinsically there doesn't appear to be anything morally wrong about this action to me. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to be that it's all plusses here, that:
A) I benefit because I get free credit.
B) the store I buy something from on store credit benefits because I made a purchase.
C) The person I sell the item to benefits because I have to knock of a little of the price to sell it.
D) If I recruit a reputable friend or seller (like on ebay), they benefit if I give them a small seller's fee.
(Of course, any costs or losses in this endeavor would take the place of paying interest rates, but it'd be a helllluva lot cheaper than paying 30% interest for three years!)
I.e. I don't have a huge moral problem doing something technically illegal that is in all respects moral, so I'm not just asking if this is legal, but the moral principles behind that law if it is. Hell, if Bank of America can legallycommit 8th-sin bank fraud against anyone who ever paid $400 in a single day for buying 10 overdraft packs of gum (literally) (raises hand), I think I have the right to explore the the ethics of giving away money to three parties to help pay for my grandmother's hip operation (or whatever). Thanks for your advice.
If the item doesn't have a title, then there isn't a lien, meaning that you can legally sell it without paying off the debt. However I doubt this is a successful strategy - think about it for a moment - if the STORE, which has HUGE marketing resources, has trouble selling the item without offering credit, what makes you think YOU could sell it for that price without offering credit?
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