The Penny Exploit: August 2011

SummaryBlock

What exactly can a penny buy these days? This is a question often asked. Google the question and you will find a few answers. Not much, apparently, according to most. Well, I was pleasantly surprised when I actually set out to make purchases for one cent. This blog documents the various items I scored for a penny or less.

What qualifies a purchase as a penny loot? The cost of anything mentioned in this blog includes the purchase price, tax, shipping and handling fee, if any. If a rebate is involved, the postage to mail it is part of the cost. If a coupon is bought and used in the deal, that figures into the total as well. And the total cost must be equal to or less than US$0.01. The item must also be procured from a source available to the public - "My aunt gave me a sweater" doesn't count.

Some costs are not included in the one cent total. Chief among them is the time and effort to hunt for and complete the deals. Gas and mileage is not counted if a trip to the store is required. Computer and office equipment amortization, paper and ink expenditures are all excluded.

As expected, quite a few of the items I bought came from China. Depending on your tastes and needs, some of the stuff may be considered totally worthless. But that is not the point of this exercise.

This blog also does not dwell on where and how the items were bought. I frequent a few deal sites for information that lead to some of the purchases. The various auction sites are also a treasure trove to explore. But I would rather devote the blog to present the results - the items I obtained for a penny or less, in no particular order.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Fish Hook

One cent total for the hooks and the container.

Seller said:
70 Pieces Assorted Fishing Hooks Tackles
1. Top Quality Fishing Hooks
2. Size #3~#12
3. 7pcs/each size
4. Colour: Dark Silver

Not sure the American Size.
Size: 3#--12#
The length of the hook: 1cm-2.5cm
Width: 0.4cm-0.8cm
For Fishing: Salt water / Freshwater

Hair Clip/Barrette

3 clips. One cent each.

Necktie - "Silk"

I added these neckties for a penny each:

Women's Handbag - Multiple Shipments

There have been no new post for a while. Sure I was busy. But I was also discouraged by the large amount of mails waiting for me to sort through when I returned from vacation. It takes time to record, photograph, and give proper feedback for items bought on eBay, which many are. Here is an example. These "silk" lady's handbag costing a penny each have been described a few times before. I got many more of them since the beggining of the month, in various colors.

They came from multiple shipments. More are still on the way.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Hot Wheels by Mattel - A Few More

One cent each. They are all different from the last batch.

The Poison Arrow

The Demon

A motorcycle.

A police motorcycle.

The Zotic Police Pursuit.

Packaging Tape - 3M Tartan

Well, I am back. Once again the vacation was not long enough. But when I got home the mailman handed me 2 boxes of mail. A large envelope puzzled me because it was from Sam's Club. I did not remember ordering anything from Sam's. When I opened it I found this inside:

Apparently, after I bought it for one cent from the seller, the seller ordered it from Sam's and had it shipped to me. Seller said:
Commercial grade packaging tape
Ideal for general purpose packaging applications
2"x 55 yards
Aggressive hot melt rubber resin adhesive bonds firmly and resists slippage
Meets US Postal regulations
1.9 mil thick
3" core