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What items are listed for on Craigslist is different than what items sell for, and you would have no way of knowing what actually sells. Your plan may not be risky legally, but it makes no sense. What's going to happen at the end of the 'free' credit period? You'll have a ton of debt you won't be ale to pay. Why not just get a credit card and pay it off each month, that would be interest-free. If you can't afford to do that, then you can't afford the items you want to buy.
The point is there isn't any "free credit period". For large items it's 3 years of no interest. That's what's so rare about the deal. The twist is you get deadly penalties if you don't pay the item off in that time or are late with a single month's payment, but it is 3 years of zero interest. And I just can't see what's so impossible about seeing what things go for? Any used item has an average market value. There are a thousand ways to find out what something sells for, it's not pentagon-locked information.
That's just plain idiotic. Of course he owns it. He would have paid for it via credit card and walked out of the store. What he chooses to do with the item once he walks out the door is his business. Are you seriously suggesting that no one owns anything they buy at WalMart, Best Buy, etc. until their credit card statement comes in and they pay it in full??!!
Does that mean wal mart will come to repo the bread i consumed before I paid for it in full, after I've ate it.
First of all, thank you for all your responses so far, they've been helpful, really... But what I'm beyond baffled at is how stupid / unprofitable / dangerous you think this "scheme" is. It seems a pretty easy no brainer to me. You just following the following procedure:
1. Purchase new Bose sounds system> $2,000 [30 min]
2. Compose Ad: "Bose sound system. New. Goes for $2,000 at Best Buy. Yours for only $1900. Cash only." [15 sec with a keyboard]
3. Post on Craigslist [2 min], ask around [20 1-min phone calls], or find some other way of locating 1 person out 14.24 million New Englanders who:
A) own a television, stereo, or gaming system and are looking to buy a nice set of speakers.
B) wouldn't mind saving 100 bucks for the chance that a working product right out of the box from a reputable manufacturer is damaged in some way they can't detect and will break down sooner than it otherwise would have once the 2 year manufacturer's warranty has expired (that they will of course inherit because they'll get the receipt the item was purchased with that you forgot to toss in the trash.)
C) wasn't planning on spending an extra $300 for the extended store and damage warranties that assure product replacement if their reputable-brand carefully-mounted rubix-cube sized speakers fall from the ceiling and break in a manner not covered in the manufacturer's warranty, or during the period between the end date of the manufacturer's warranty and that of the $300 store warranty.
4. Buy a computer at CompUSA because Best Buy didn't have the one you wanted. [30 min]
5. Pretend the $2,000 bill says "CompUSA" instead of "Best Buy" and pay back the $2,000 any time over the next 3 years, chalking the misfortune of having to dish out $100 to own your PC 3 years early to the philosophy, "life goes on". [3 years maximum] <omit mastercard "priceless" jokes>
Last edited by squish303; 06-01-2010 at 02:12 AM..
I can see that you don't understand credit. The lender holds title to the property until paid for by the borrower. . Credit Cards are not a form of money. They are an open end loan.
This is a good point I don't know why you all think is a stupid comment. The store agreement could easily state "We have the right to attempt to reposess product if payments are not made". If someone isn't making payments, they might not have any money (that's often why you buy items on credit, assuming you'll have the money later to pay for it), so how would the store otherwise get their money back? Even if it's not in the contract maybe that's law anyway. That's what I've been asking about, the legal hazards/details. (Not whether finding someone to pay less for the exact same item they were going to buy is a horrible chance to take to entirely avoid 3 years of 20% APR interest!)
I can see that you don't understand credit. The lender holds title to the property until paid for by the borrower.
That can be true in a secured transaction (actually, it's not even strictly true then - the buyer has title to the property upon purchase but the lender retains a security interest, or a "lien" on the title.) In this case, the lender doesn't appear to retain any security interest in the collateral. As a general rule, the credit card company retains no security interest in anything purchased with a credit card. It's a cash loan, and the only thing the credit card company has a right to is the cash, not the goods.
Quote:
Credit Cards are not a form of money. They are an open end loan.
Yes, but they are a loan of cash that isn't secured by any collateral.
If you're eligible for the Best Buy loan special, you're eligible for a lot of other credit card specials that will give you much less risk and headache than the scheme you are proposing.
Most people buy large ticket items on their own credit card because it may provide some additional benefits like extended coverage, a backup plan if it's a lemon and the vendor doesn't want to exchange or refund, or a whole host of other reasons.
They also use a credit card because they get miles, points, cash back, etc., and let's not forget that not many people have $2k in cash to blow in one shot on speakers to use the example above.
I doubt many would hand cash to an anonymous seller on craigslist in the name of saving a measly $100. There could be a brick in the box, they may be refurbished or broken, stolen or any number of possibilities. They will also expect to receive the seller's receipt in case they have a problem and need to contact Best Buy's warranty department in the event of failure. Will you produce your receipt with your name and signature to the buyer? If not, I doubt you will be able to sell.
I would be very suspicious of "brand new in box" items being sold for cash only.
or find some other way of locating 1 person out 14.24 million New Englanders who:
B) wouldn't mind saving 100 bucks for the chance that a working product right out of the box from a reputable manufacturer is damaged in some way they can't detect and will break down sooner than it otherwise would have once the 2 year manufacturer's warranty has expired (that they will of course inherit because they'll get the receipt the item was purchased with that you forgot to toss in the trash.)
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