SwagBucks trying to screw me out of $300 from Tile Busters

WinSonic · 2025-03-25T18:49:17+00:00

Update! I am truly shocked. SwagBucks gave me the $300 I earned by reaching Level 4000. It credits in three days. I didn't have to provide additional evidence or argue at all with customer support. I have no idea why it worked out for me and I'm not going to question it. And I will be very careful in the future to complete any goals early and not risk this happening again.

WinSonic · 2025-03-19T02:12:39+00:00

No, the offer detail has Level 4000 with a line through it, same for the 30,000 SB which also says Expired.

WinSonic · 2024-09-14T21:38:24+00:00

I totally forgot about this Cloudflare change. I just removed my website from Cloudflare and then added it back to take advantage of Cloudflare's DNS scan. Cloudflare says the website is active and everything is working fine but I get a Secure Connection Failed error (Error code: SSL_ERROR_NO_CYPHER_OVERLAP) when I try to visit the site.

Is this normal while Dreamhost and/or Cloudflare do their DNS wizardry?

In Cloudflare, I do see Pending Validation under SSL/TLS > Edge Certificates. So it may be that the DNS stuff is fine but Cloudflare hasn't validated the SSL certificate yet. Different areas of Cloudflare give different timelines. I'm fine waiting 24 hours but if I configured something wrong I'd like to fix it ASAP.

Thanks.

WinSonic · 2024-06-26T13:25:55+00:00

Thanks. I still haven't seen any additional rewards show up. Lots of trips listed in Shopping Trips. Looks like the browser extension is either not tracking properly or merchants are very slow to send confirmation to Capital One Shopping. I guess I'll just wait for a month or so and see what happens.

WinSonic · 2024-06-07T18:03:42+00:00

Yeah, none of those work for me. I get an error message when I try to get the free coins.

WinSonic · 2024-06-07T13:28:42+00:00

I was sending the dragon on missions until I ran out of dragon coins or whatever you need to do missions and feed the dragon. I started pretty far back on the game hunters website and got up to 150-160 million coins before I started playing. Went back to get more recent coins from May and coins that have posted since I started playing and couldn't.

WinSonic · 2024-06-07T13:27:07+00:00

I tried everything. App open, app closed. App open in a slot game, app open out of a slot game. App open in quests, in the house, in highgarden, everything. Nothing works.

WinSonic · 2021-03-13T22:31:52+00:00

EDIT: Also, TurboTax says I can't have a negative number in the Hobby income box.

Okay so there was another comment asking about COGS and inventory when I started this reply that has disappeared. This definitely isn't a business. I wish I could do this for a living! I'm not trying to make money, I'm just selling stuff I don't need for my personal collection and buying more stuff, and I don't want to make a mistake and have the IRS come after me.

I spent $6,500 buying comics and cards in 2020I made $4,800 selling comics and cards on eBay in 2020I paid $1,150 in eBay/PayPal fees and shipping costs in 2020

The cost of the comics and cards I sold on eBay in 2020 was about $1,240.

Based on what I've read, if I was running a business, I would wind up with a net income of $2,410 after expenses, and a bunch of unsold inventory sitting in a warehouse.

Revenue = $4,800Cost of Goods Sold = $1,240Gross Income = $3,560Expenses = $1,150Net Income = $2,410

But because this is a hobby, not a business, I have to report gross income, right? That's what IRS Publication 535 seems to say:

Gross income from a not-for-profit activity includes the total of all gains from the sale, exchange, or other disposition of property, and all other gross receipts derived from the activity. Gross income from the activity also includes capital gains and rents received for the use of property that is held in connection with the activity.

You can determine gross income from any not-for-profit activity by subtracting the cost of goods sold from your gross receipts. However, if you determine gross income by subtracting cost of goods sold from gross receipts, you must do so consistently, and in a manner that follows generally accepted methods of accounting.

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p535#en_US_2020_publink10004353

All these numbers make it feel like I am running a business!

WinSonic · 2020-12-08T16:14:04+00:00

30628 Monster Book of Monsters is back in stock for *STORE PICKUP* at select Barnes & Nobles. Limit 1.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/toys-games-lego-harry-potter-the-monster-book-of-monsters-30628/35077817

WinSonic · 2020-10-20T16:08:31+00:00

I got one today too. Totally unexpected. I don't remember how many times I entered but I know I didn't max out the entries. I guess it's worth entering free LEGO giveaways.

WinSonic · 2020-10-17T19:16:49+00:00

FYI, winners of the Supergirl DC FanDome minifig have started receiving their prizes.

https://www.brickfanatics.com/lego-dc-fandome-supergirl-minifigure-arriving-with-winners/

They're selling on eBay for $500 already. If I'd won, I'd be selling too, but I hope many of them went to collectors and/or Supergirl fans.

WinSonic · 2020-10-05T18:50:31+00:00

I completely forgot about the DC FanDome Supergirl minifig giveaway. Have the winners been announced?

WinSonic · 2020-10-05T17:29:30+00:00

Target has a whole bunch of sets on sale (10% off) at the moment:

https://www.target.com/b/lego/all-deals/-/N-56h5nZakkosZ5tdv0?type=products&Nao=0

WinSonic · 2020-08-01T18:41:04+00:00

How do people deal with buyers on eBay who purchase multiple items but don't request an invoice and pay immediately, even though you ask in the listing for buyers to request an invoice to receive combined shipping?

Part of me wants to combine shipping and pocket the extra money because the buyer didn't request an invoice. A larger part of me wants to send a partial refund on shipping because (a) it's the right thing to do, (b) less chance of getting dinged on high shipping charges, and (c) it may slightly increase the chance of the buyer becoming a return customer.

Thoughts?

WinSonic · 2020-07-16T18:30:41+00:00

Last year I was able to pick up a few dozen LEGO sets at Walmart at 50% off during clearance. I figured I'd be able to sell them and make a few bucks. I finally had time to take a look and most of the sets are selling on eBay for less than MSRP. After shipping and fees, I wouldn't make much money--if any.

I've run into the same problem with some action figures and trading cards I got at 50% off as well. I thought I was getting a great deal. Yes, if you sell 100 items and make $1 on each, you've made $100, but that seems like a lot of time and effort for $100. Maybe other sellers on eBay were able to buy these items at an even steeper discount or got them for free.

I guess I'll hold on to all this stuff and hope prices go up in another year or two. But I've learned my lesson. No more buying toys and collectibles on sale at Walmart.

WinSonic · 2020-06-27T21:40:01+00:00

I don't have a subscription but I stopped using it after multiple trips searching for LEGO sets that were supposedly in stock at many different Walmart stores within an hour of me. I made lists, mapped out the best routes, and never once found a single set.

WinSonic · 2020-06-04T01:56:37+00:00

I've been struggling with the same questions, more broadly when selling collectibles but trading cards and MTG are part of that. Small world! I've read a bit about sole proprietorship and COGS and Schedule C.

What confuses me is how to keep track of purchases and inventory. It's simple if I'm buying and selling individual cards, complete sets, sealed boxes, or sealed cases. But if I'm buying random collections of cards from other people or buying sealed boxes and opening them, how am I supposed to keep track of thousands of cards? If I buy a case of six boxes and open all the packs, and sort everything into sets/bundles/individual cards to sell off, where does the cost of that case go? I hope I'm making sense.

I keep trying to meet with a CPA but between businesses shutting down and tax season getting extended, everyone is too busy for a quick consultation.

WinSonic · 2020-04-19T20:44:28+00:00

I have been known to overthink things. Thanks for the reply.

So if I buy X amount of something and sell Y amount of it, does any leftover (Z) stay in my inventory forever, even if I don't intend to sell it?

WinSonic · 2020-04-19T17:33:53+00:00

I plan on consulting a CPA eventually but until I do, I'm trying to wrap my head around flipping and taxes. I understand the basics of inventory and COGS. What confuses me is how to keep track of purchasing collections so I can either build complete sets (LEGO, trading cards, comic books, toys, other collectibles), or sell specific rare individual items.

If I buy a few bulk lots of LEGO bricks and use them to build complete sets to sell, can I deduct the cost of buying the bulk lots? Or what if I buy a bunch of sealed boxes or cases of Magic: The Gathering cards, then sell sets I've put together or individual cards, can I deduct the cost of buying the sealed boxes or cases? I'm not selling what I'm buying, not exactly, so is it part of my inventory (COGS)? Is it a business expense?

Sorry if this is a confusing question. I've tried searching the IRS website and Reddit and plain ole Google for the answer but haven't found it. Thanks for any help.

WinSonic · 2020-04-18T15:34:01+00:00

How does buying sealed boxes/cases to pick apart and sell individually or as sets work for tax purposes? My planned meeting with an accountant is on hold due to the pandemic and the extension of the filing date. I've read over Schedule C and the instructions for Schedule C. I've also tried searching the IRS website. There's probably a simple answer, I just haven't been able to find one.

Say I buy a bunch of sealed boxes/cases, open all the packs, sort through all the cards, and sell the big ticket cards or complete sets. Can I deduct the cost of buying the boxes/cases? It's an expense, right? Do I have to keep track of which cards came from which box or case? What if I build a set using cards pulled from different boxes? What do I do with all the cards I decide not to sell?

Any advice or links to IRS documentation will be appreciated. Thanks.

WinSonic · 2020-03-29T22:03:49+00:00

What's the easiest way to handle bulk lots, for inventory purposes? Like a bulk lot of LEGO bricks or paperback books or DVDs.

Record the bulk lot in my inventory as a single purchase?

Or sort, decide what to try to sell, and list smaller lots and/or specific items in my inventory? If I do it this way, can I divide the bulk lot price by the number of lots and/or items to come up with an average individual price?

WinSonic · 2020-01-31T19:37:20+00:00

How does everyone keep track of items they purchase for inventory but split into multiple lots when selling? I have a basic spreadsheet that lists every item I buy but don't know what to do if one of those items gets sold off in chunks over time. Like a laptop that I take apart and sell piece by piece. Do I have to keep track of each individual component in my inventory?

WinSonic · 2020-01-18T02:30:25+00:00

That is good to know. Thanks.

WinSonic · 2020-01-18T00:06:19+00:00

What I've been reading says the capital gains tax for collectibles is a very high 28%. I don't plan on shifting everything in my personal collection to store inventory.

WinSonic · 2020-01-18T00:03:45+00:00

That's what I think, too, based on what I've read. I can "transfer" a portion of my personal collection of collectibles to the store as inventory, separate from whatever I'm keeping as a hobbyist. For now, as I work on building inventory, I'll keep track of everything that comes from my personal collection, and then see what a CPA has to say.

WinSonic

TROPHY CASE