Comments on: Did You Walk By The Passive Income Idea Today At The Store?

By: Passive Income Opportunities - Think Creatively — Passive Family Income

Passive Income Opportunities - Think Creatively — Passive Family Income — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 13:46:18 +0000

[...] recently read an article about a potential new passive income opportunity that took some creativity and out of the box thinking. While the initial concept may not have been [...]

By: Scott

Scott — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 01:23:48 +0000

@ Maria and PFincome

Okay, maybe it was a little stretch to make this passive income idea. But, many retailers are offering electronic rebates and help automate the refund process. As for ebay, yes this would take some time to list, but could be a great source of extra income. I also wouldn’t suggest going to a store that would take half a tank of gas just to get a rebate.

By: pfincome

pfincome — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:08:48 +0000

I agree with Maria that this is probably a stretch at passive income – but still something that I may be interested in looking into. I already scan the weekly ads as a Sunday ritual so there is no extra time for me there. Plus my wife and I shop several different stores (Rite-Aid, Walgreens, Target) – so again, not a lot of extra time for me. The time spent on eBay would be where I would spend time. What about paying someone to sell your items on eBay for a cut of the profits?

Question – Rebates that require a UPC symbol – How would you handle selling those on eBay?

By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 17:01:16 +0000

Good idea! I do tend to pick up a bunch of free or low cost electronic stuff when I see ads in stores / newspapers but never considered selling them on EBay for a profit. I think that next time I am out and find a bargain maybe I’ll give it a shot!

By: Maria @ Residual Income Web

Maria @ Residual Income Web — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 16:28:14 +0000

Can this really be called passive income? From looking at the ads, driving to the store, spending time in line, listing on ebay, filling out rebate form, packaging, shipping … seems like a lot of active work to me. Where does the passive part come in?

Secondly, what does the hourly rate work out to? I guess if you are already at the store there isn’t as much time involved, but there’s still the eBay selling headache.

I stopped selling on eBay precisely because of the poor returns for the time invested.

By: Jeff@StretchyDollar

Jeff@StretchyDollar — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:30:42 +0000

I like this idea – if you’re willing to do the research and follow all of the tiny rebate rules, it can be very profitable. T-Mobile paid us $100 for our cell phones (on sale for free for one day). It’s nice!

By: MacNessa

MacNessa — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 12:16:39 +0000

What a great idea, I wish that more stores around these parts had rebate cheques. The concept here is very rare, in fact electronics stores around here are only now cottoning on to the idea of tax rebates for old technology trade-ins. Something which has been commonplace in the USA for at least 2 years. It certainly makes the price of my much desired 24″ iMac far easier to reach…