( That $100 iTunes card selling for less than $50 seems tempting, but have you ever stopped and thought about how it can get so cheap?
The fact is that US iTunes music store wholesale price is $0.70 per song. Anyone selling an iTunes for less than 70% face value is automatically losing money (especially when you consider eBay and PayPal fees reduce profits by about 10%)... unless they got the card for free of course. True, that some folks get iTunes gift certificates as unwanted gifts and seek to get rid of them on eBay. But is it likely that a seller located outside of the US got 10 of them at the same time as gifts? Probably not. Most likely the cards were purchased from a stolen credit card! Please see this forum thread here.
What this means to you as a buyer
Once the owner of the stolen credit card reports the theft to his or her credit card company and requests a chargeback, the following can happen:
If you have not yet redeemed the iTunes card, the number you received can be canceled by Apple.
If you have already redeemed the iTunes card, Apple can suspend your iTunes store account. The amount you have left in your account is no longer accessible unless you work it out with Apple customer support.
In either case you will have to file a chargeback with your credit card company or file a PayPal dispute to get your money back. You can also possibly lose your iTunes account.
What to look for
The fact is that US iTunes music store wholesale price is $0.70 per song. Anyone selling an iTunes for less than 70% face value is automatically losing money (especially when you consider eBay and PayPal fees reduce profits by about 10%)... unless they got the card for free of course. True, that some folks get iTunes gift certificates as unwanted gifts and seek to get rid of them on eBay. But is it likely that a seller located outside of the US got 10 of them at the same time as gifts? Probably not. Most likely the cards were purchased from a stolen credit card! Please see this forum thread here.
What this means to you as a buyer
Once the owner of the stolen credit card reports the theft to his or her credit card company and requests a chargeback, the following can happen:
If you have not yet redeemed the iTunes card, the number you received can be canceled by Apple.
If you have already redeemed the iTunes card, Apple can suspend your iTunes store account. The amount you have left in your account is no longer accessible unless you work it out with Apple customer support.
In either case you will have to file a chargeback with your credit card company or file a PayPal dispute to get your money back. You can also possibly lose your iTunes account.
What to look for
- Sellers selling iTunes gift certificates for less than 75% of the face value and selling them in bulk (check their feedback history)
- Sellers located outside of the United States, although if the seller's location says "United States" it does not guarantee he or she is in the US:
- eBay accounts can be hacked for the purposes of fraud
- eBay does not verify the address that you registered with (only PayPal does)
- A new seller registered on eBay with a US address but has only been selling iTunes gift certificates and no physical items were bought or sold (such as books, electronics).
- When paying check for 1. in what country is their PayPal account verified and 2. how long ago was that PayPal account set up
Guide created: 04/26/08 (updated 06/28/08)
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