I come from poverty. I’ll tell you the family secrets that have been passed down for many a generations.
Now , I acknowledge it’s getting harder to do this for some items. But it’s still viable.
Let’s say you buy an Xbox and it stops working.
You go buy a new one. Take it apart, switch out the guts, return the broken one with the new casing. This is harder to do than it used to be. But it’s still possible to do this on a multitude of electronics. Microwaves. Appliances. Stereos. Etc.
Pretty sure my brother got 2 Xboxs “fixed” this way. Pretty sure my brother said this is harder to do on the newer ones. Can’t recall why specifically.
But.
Let’s say you need a power tool for a job. Buy it. Use it . Return it.
You should only use it lightly so you can return it without issues.
Have a tv and lose the remote. Buy a new one. Take the remote. Return the tv. They rarely check for remote and if they do say it wasn’t in the box.
And like the meme says. You can buy and steal the same item so you can return the stolen one with the receipt.
Just recently I mentioned how my drill wasn’t working right and first thing fam said was “just go get the same one at the Walmart and switch out the casing.”.
Get a Costco executive membership. They will let you return anything, no matter how old it is. I should know, I work in a Costco processing returns in the back, which is where I’m typing this.
Last week I processed a return on a couch that was 4 years old. The member got a full refund of 5k, and we’re going to eat that because the vendor has a credit limit of two years.
Costco’s internal numbers say that people who return stuff spend twice as much over the course of a year compared to non-returners and they will do anything to keep that sweet membership fee coming in. So you can literally recycle your entire house on the cost of a single yearly payment.
I worked with a dude when I was in college that used to buy broken TVs on eBay and swap out the guts, return them, and then sell the TVs to people on eBay.
He was banned from a couple Walmarts around town because they caught on to what he was doing, but couldn’t actually prove he was doing fraud because we would also remove and re-solder the internal serial numbers back on the returned tv.
I’ve done the tool “borrow” quite a bit with Amazon because fuck em. If I need a specific tool for a job on my car or something that I’ll only use once. The Amazon returns also never check condition so it’s a bit easier
I have heard that some libraries actually rent out power tools. And other types of tools.
I would guess that’s more common in mid sized to larger cities. But it’s also not advertised very well so you have to ask your local library and check.
Ive heard some libraries rent out all sorts of things like Gardening tools. Even musical instruments. Sewing machines.
Dvd players. Cassette players. VHS players. Tvs ?
I should check it my local one has a power washer cause I have one job I need one for and I could just buy one and return it a week later.
Or. Pay $30 a day to rent from a hardware store.
Or if the library has one, that would make things a lot easier.
I come from poverty. I’ll tell you the family secrets that have been passed down for many a generations.
Now , I acknowledge it’s getting harder to do this for some items. But it’s still viable.
Let’s say you buy an Xbox and it stops working.
You go buy a new one. Take it apart, switch out the guts, return the broken one with the new casing. This is harder to do than it used to be. But it’s still possible to do this on a multitude of electronics. Microwaves. Appliances. Stereos. Etc.
Pretty sure my brother got 2 Xboxs “fixed” this way. Pretty sure my brother said this is harder to do on the newer ones. Can’t recall why specifically.
But.
Let’s say you need a power tool for a job. Buy it. Use it . Return it.
You should only use it lightly so you can return it without issues.
Have a tv and lose the remote. Buy a new one. Take the remote. Return the tv. They rarely check for remote and if they do say it wasn’t in the box.
And like the meme says. You can buy and steal the same item so you can return the stolen one with the receipt.
Just recently I mentioned how my drill wasn’t working right and first thing fam said was “just go get the same one at the Walmart and switch out the casing.”.
I’m like yeah I know but it’s so much work …
Better idea.
Get a Costco executive membership. They will let you return anything, no matter how old it is. I should know, I work in a Costco processing returns in the back, which is where I’m typing this.
Last week I processed a return on a couch that was 4 years old. The member got a full refund of 5k, and we’re going to eat that because the vendor has a credit limit of two years.
Costco’s internal numbers say that people who return stuff spend twice as much over the course of a year compared to non-returners and they will do anything to keep that sweet membership fee coming in. So you can literally recycle your entire house on the cost of a single yearly payment.
I’ve heard of people doing this with batteries and tires from rental cars.
I worked with a dude when I was in college that used to buy broken TVs on eBay and swap out the guts, return them, and then sell the TVs to people on eBay.
He was banned from a couple Walmarts around town because they caught on to what he was doing, but couldn’t actually prove he was doing fraud because we would also remove and re-solder the internal serial numbers back on the returned tv.
I’ve done the tool “borrow” quite a bit with Amazon because fuck em. If I need a specific tool for a job on my car or something that I’ll only use once. The Amazon returns also never check condition so it’s a bit easier
I have heard that some libraries actually rent out power tools. And other types of tools.
I would guess that’s more common in mid sized to larger cities. But it’s also not advertised very well so you have to ask your local library and check.
Ive heard some libraries rent out all sorts of things like Gardening tools. Even musical instruments. Sewing machines. Dvd players. Cassette players. VHS players. Tvs ?
I should check it my local one has a power washer cause I have one job I need one for and I could just buy one and return it a week later.
Or. Pay $30 a day to rent from a hardware store.
Or if the library has one, that would make things a lot easier.
Doesn’t all tech have serial numbers these days? Is no one checking?
Is the serial number on a sticker? If so, say hello to hair dryer and my fingernail.