Use Cryptocurrency to Save 5-20% on Amazon!

There are several stores out there that accept cryptocurrencies. One of the most interesting uses of cryptocurrency is to use Purse.io. When you use this platform you can easily save between 5-15% and if you are willing to wait a day or two up to 20-25%. Too good to be true? That’s what I thought when I first heard about Purse. In order to quell my skepticism, I had to first seek to understand where this “value” was coming from because nothing is just free and there are not just magical discounts without a reason. However, as I learned about Amazon’s Mechanical Turk and their payment method I came to understand where some of this value is being derived. Now over a year later, I use the platform routinely and have easily saved at least 15% on each Amazon order. So how does it work and how are you able to see the massive savings?

The value savings behind Purse originates from a well-known product called the gift card and other store controlled payment methods. The high majority of folks at one point in their life have received a gift card or rewards for a specific store. Stores issue gift cards for several reasons including to bring more people to the store who would not otherwise shop there, encourage more sales because of the tendency to want to use the entire balance and for the company to earn something from nothing. According to Investopedia, 6% of all gift cards go unused. This is free money for this card issuing company. While there may be no expiration dates on the cards at a certain point it can be assumed that the cards are lost by using historical redemption data.

In most developed nations when you receive an Amazon gift card it is easy to purchase something online and have it delivered to your house. With the wide range of selection, it is not unreasonable to assume that the redemption rate in these countries is much higher than a typical gift card from a more niche store. However, there is a relatively small pool of individuals in nations without an Amazon presence that can earn Amazon gift cards, credits or points online. This demographic is what ill be focusing on in the rest of the article.

There are several services that enable individuals to earn gift cards, but Amazon’s own Mechanical Turk platform demonstrates this the most easily. As I outlined in my blog post Workplace Automation, Artificial Intelligence is not a real thing as of yet and it is machine learning that will drive the workplace automation. However, for these computers to learn they need millions of data points to “learn". Therefore we still need humans to provide human-generated information. Amazon and other companies use the Mechanical Turk platform as a way to easily gather human intelligence. They even joke as their tagline is “Artificial Artificial Intelligence”.

You can earn anywhere from 2 cents to a couple dollars depending on the task. For individuals in the developing world that have access to the internet, this can be a large income for them. However, after the income is earned it sits as a balance on Amazon where you only have the option to purchase items from Amazon or possibly buy a gift card. If Amazon does not support a certain country or locale then those earnings are illiquid, meaning they cannot be exchanged for anything.

This is where Purse comes in to help. Purse allows for these individuals to purchase items from users' Amazon wish lists. The individual looking to save on Amazon (shopper) will post their Amazon wishlist link and then the individual looking to cash out their illiquid Amazon balance (earner) will purchase product on the shopper’s wish list. The cost savings for the shopper will vary based on market demand as each shopper sets their own discount which can be anywhere from 5-33%. The earners can then review the list of offers and decide which offer gives them the most value. Most orders are fulfilled quickly in the 5-15% range and have become a sweet spot in the Purse market. Best of all as the shopper your shipping information remains securely with Amazon since orders are purchased through the Amazon wishlist; you do not have to give up any more information than you did when you signed up for Amazon. When the order is delivered, the shopper marks the order complete and Bitcoins are transferred to the earner.

On the surface it may be absurd for individuals looking to give up to 20% of their value to convert their Amazon balance, but what are their alternatives? They have none; a liquid balance that is 20% less than an illiquid balance is much more valuable to an individual. When individuals have Bitcoin they are no longer restricted to any platform and can transact freely anywhere in the world. Now compare this to remittances; most fees in the world range from 5-15% according to the World Bank. Compare this to the sweet spot on Purse and you will start to appreciate the reason why individuals may choose to give up a significant amount of value.

Cryptocurrencies have opened up many possibilities to those in the developing world. Now workers do not need to travel to other countries to earn a living, but can do so from any computer connected to the internet. When you participate on the Purse platform you are connecting to this new world that I spoke of in my introductory post, What is a CryptoCoach? My next post will go into some of my tips to maximize savings on Purse.io. If you are still unsure about the service, that’s ok! Skepticism is good and please continue to do your own research. I believe individuals should fully understand something before they start using it and not take things at face value. It is your responsibility to do your own due diligence when using any service.

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