Currently, I operate several eBay shops in different categories as a full-time job.
In my spare time I like to indulge in writing mobile game guides and reporting on my reselling activities. I occasionally write guides related to Get Paid To sites like FreeCash and Swagbucks, but less than I used to.
I previously hosted wikis for: Apex Girl, Road to Rich, Dark Brides, and Passion Pit. In an effort to return this site to Family Friendly skies, I have removed such content.
While doing yard work yesterday, I got a tree branch to the face. The butt end of a sawed-off branch impacted my face, and it hit my open eye.
The doctor’s report says CORNEAL ABRASION, basically, I scratched the center of the eye, the part you see out of.
It really hurts. Lots of nerves in that section of the eye. Apparently, it should heal pretty quick, but it will hurt while it does its work.
I’m just playing phone tag now, trying to track down the antibiotic prescription that was supposed to be sent to my pharmacy. It’s a game of he said she said with one side saying they sent it and the other saying nothing got sent.
For now, I’ve got some handy eye drops the doc gave me, and I am applying them every 2 hours for the pain.
Had I been more able and aware during my visit, I would have liked to compliment the staff on the gurney I was seated upon. It was surprisingly comfortable. I even fell asleep on it in between checkups by the staff.
Last week, while sweating buckets out under an especially enthusiastic Mr Sun, I asked myself why on earth I had “fixed” the deck stairs the way I did.
What should have been a simple stair replacement morphed into a full removal and replacement of the staircase on our back deck.
Perhaps I got tired of the work years ago and decided to call it “good enough” and pat myself on the back for struggling through. Any future problems could be handled by my future self.
So, here I am, Mr Future-self, and I am shaking a fist at my past-self for being such a putz.
After some confusion logging into my Lowe’s account, I managed to put together a full list of items I would need for the new stair project.
As I was about to place the order, my mother reminded me that we could charge it to our Home Depot card and also get some rewards if we shopped through MyPoints.
So, I emptied my cart and navigated to the Home Depot site and filled it anew in the shopping cart. The lumber was available right away, but the metal brackets would need to be shipped to the store.
I bought two 5-step stringers and two 2×6 boards, 12 feet in length. The help file on the site said they would cut the boards in-store to fit in the car.
The Pickup
The next day, we left the house at 2pm and drove to the Home Depot to pick up the wood. We also had a doctor’s appointment for our cat Mei Mei at 4pm.
We arrived at 2:40, pickup was quite quick, and an employee delivered the lumber to the cutting shop.
I was told the employee who cut the wood was occupied moving lumber, but he would be available in 2 minutes.
40 minutes later and after multiple requests for assistance, I finally managed to get the wood cut. Unfortunately, my ride had left for the doctor’s appointment at 4pm.
So, I sat on the floor near the entrance to wait for her to return. That’s also when I decided to write this post.
The store was busy, and the staff appeared physically exhausted, but at least the work got done.
The next steps of my project include staining the wood and pre-assembly. I still need the steel brackets, which should be shipped to the store next week.
The Assembly
I swung by the store to pick up my order a few days later and then went home and procrastinated the project for about a week.
Once I got myself together, I went out and stained the stringers one morning, and then over the course of several days, I managed to get the steps stained as well.
I decided it would be simpler to pre-assemble the deck near the basement door and then drag it up the hill to the deck. This sort of worked, but I ended up only attaching two of the five steps cause it was damn heavy.
It was an absolute struggle trying to do this without another person handy. The stairs just wouldn’t stay in place long enough to nail them in place. I had to get something to prop them up so that my hands were free to handle the hammer and hold the joistner in place.
Once I got the joists solidly attached to the deck, things got easier. I screwed the joist in place and then drove several nails through the eyelets, into the top of the stair stringers.
The hillside was sloped, so the stairs weren’t properly level, but I was able to use some shims to balance it out. I may need to drive some stakes into the ground and attach them to the staircase as additional support later on.
After I got the staircase lined up, I noticed that there was a gap on either side. Somehow, I missed that the old staircase was four feet across, and I had asked for 3-foot boards at the store.
The Last Step
The new stairs are 3-footers. Not a crazy change, but it does seem a bit off.
The next step was to add the remaining steps and then finish it off with an extra coat of wood stain. For the fifth step, I reused some of the older two-by-fours from the previous set of stairs. I forgot to stain these, though, so they only got a top coat and not an undercoat or the sides.
After I finished the project, my mother reminded me that we needed a railing. So that will be the next “last step.”
TLDR: Disappointed with the operator. Stopped using it. Several undisclosed terms of service and billing issues.
Sometime back in July (2025), I watched a YouTube video about the Rocket AI tool. The service uses AI, and you interact with it to ask it to build either a website or a mobile app. The system utilizes tokens for all tasks, and it is free to sign up and begin building.
Planning
I got interested and started brainstorming a possible app I could make using Rocket. After I came up with a workable design, I made an account and started interacting with Rocket.
It was pretty slow, but I think there were just a lot of people using the platform. I had time to get up and grab coffee. I watched TV for a while.
During the first creation step, I was given a list of 6 possible pages to include in the app, based on the criteria I had supplied. I only had enough tokens to create 4 of the pages, so I decided to complete the last 2 during the next week.
Token Usage
You start with 2 million free tokens and are supposed to get another 1 million each week, but there is a cap on token usage of 1 million per week. You can probably see where this is going.
After my first week, the new tokens did not arrive, and I had to contact support on Discord. The support person couldn’t find my account, but the system refilled the tokens the next day.
I then managed to spend all 2 million tokens in the next session, which is odd because after rechecking the notification, it still said I had a limit of 1 million per week.
The following week, I still had a zero balance. The notification area of the screen looked different as well. The “1 million per week” text was gone. It simply said 0K/2M.
Problems
So just as I did before, I hopped onto the Discord channel to check the support thread.
I found another user asking about the missing tokens, and the support person had replied that the 1 million free tokens were only for the first 2 weeks. Just a free trial, essentially.
It never said that in the YouTube video I watched or on the signup pages. I also couldn’t find it in the Terms of Service or the Help documentation.
Community Issues
Another user had pointed out that after upgrading, their token count hadn’t properly increased from 1M to 6M. Support said that the 1 million “trial” tokens were replaced when upgrading to a paid plan. So instead of having 6M total tokens, the user was left with only 5M.
This term of service is also not mentioned in any of the documents or on the payment page itself.
Several users had issues with the service, including,
Recurring charges and billing
Incomplete tasks
AI insists it did something it didn’t
Token usage rates per task completed
Slow or no response to support emails
There are more issues, but I don’t have the patience to cover them all at this point.
Possibly part of the problem is that there only appears to be a single member of staff answering all the support requests. After reading through many of the help requests, I started to wonder whether or not the company was actually just one person.
Conclusion
Many AI-based services have become available since the technology has become easier to interact with. There is perhaps some danger in signing up for an unvetted service. Though these could simply be the growing pains of a startup.
For now, I have decided to stop using the platform. I won’t be continuing with my app project. If I find a similar service, I might try that out instead.
Offer Complete: I used the full 45 days to reach Chapter 9-2 (Island 34). I had only 3 hours left on the offer and made a final purchase on the last day, which secured a payout of $ 54.77 – $ 14.91 = $39.86 for my time spent. I think I would have needed either another week of game time or more spending to reach the $50 reward at Chapter 10-3.
Step into the Panthia merging world, where magical dreams find endless possibilities! Guided by magical fairies and cute pets, embark on a journey to discover a hidden and enchanting island of magic. Unleash magical powers.
Reward: 294.77 USD
Time Limit: 30 Days (1st Week Goal worth 15 USD)
Purchase: Optional
Ads: No Interstitial ads. Ads on for long timers, and free items.
The award will pend for 10 days
Must be installing Panthia for the first time to receive SB.
There is a 1st-week goal to reach Island 17 and earn $15.
This offer may be completed with a guest account; however, game data will not be saved. If you encounter a bug and reinstall, all progress will be lost.
30 Free Community Coins are available on Facebook weekly. You don’t need a Facebook account to get the coins.
Free items will float over the island intermittently. Keep an eye out for yellow sparkles!
Warning: Be careful on Facebook, over 20 bot accounts are masquerading as the official Panthia page. They also follow the official page and impersonate the developer in comments. The scam appears to be getting players to complete affiliate offers (like Swagbucks, ironically) in exchange for rewards.
You can exchange Community Coins from the link on Facebook to purchase Energy up to 3 times each week.
Completing tasks in active Events will reward Energy. Leveling up and moving to new islands will also reward Energy.
Energy regenerates at a rate of 1 point every 2.5 minutes (24 points per hour). So, you can be offline for 4 hours and 9.6 minutes. Beyond 4ish hours, you’ll be wasting Energy. Time your breaks (sleep) accordingly.
Purchasing Energy costs 15 gems for 100; this cost increases to 30 and 60. I never went past 2 refills per day on any map.
Gems
Gem Fragment = Merge 3 or more
Gem = 1
Several Gems = 3
A Few Gems = 9
= 27
Coins
Coins
Coin Pieces = Merge 3 or more
Copper Fairy Coin = 3
Silver Fairy Coin = 9
Gold Fairy Coin = 27
Super Fairy Coin = 81
Shiny Fairy Coin = 243
Magic Fairy Coin = 729
Fairy Coin = 2187
When you clear a map, all remaining unused items will be converted into coins. Coins left on the map will be converted at the above valuations. Gems will be added to your total at the above valuations as well.
So you don’t lose anything by not collecting before finishing a map stage. However, I would consider combining all possible items if there is an ongoing event that rewards repeated combinations.
Coin Shop
Coins can be spent on items from the shop or used to purchase upgrades to the Garden. On the panel where you use Stars, tap on COIN. Each upgrade will provide 50 EXP. This is a convenient way to earn level-up rewards as you approach a milestone.
You may watch an ad to receive a free item from the Specials and Object tabs each day.
Premium Purchases
I made a purchase to fulfil one of the offer goals. I spent 4.99 USD on a discounted pack. It included 200 Energy, 110 Gems, and a Magnet.
The next month, I bought a 2.99 (150 Energy + 100 Energy Bonus, 30 Gems, and a Timer) pack to clear a map before heading to bed.
Lastly, with 3 hours left on the clock, I bought a $6.99 pack that included several freebies in a chain. I not only used the 350 Energy the pack offered, but I also spent 150 Gems on 200 Energy in refills just to clear the last section of a map.
In hindsight, if I had only bought the 4.99 pack, I would have run out of Energy and been forced to buy another pack. The 6.99 chained pack (170 Energy and 150 Gems) with freebies is worth more than the 4.99 pack (200 Energy, 110 Gems, 1 Magnet).
Gift Codes
On July 31st, 2025, the publisher released the code MERGE4FUN.
No expiration time was mentioned in the post.
Game Progression
We play the merging game to collect Stars, which can be used to upgrade the house and adjoining property. Using Stars will generate EXP points, which will increase your player level.
Each level up includes some extra Coins, Energy, and Gems.
It took me 2 days to reach Island 3. I don’t think it will be possible to get to island 17 within a week without spending money, and even then, it would be expensive. (I reached Island 13 on my 7th day of play).
On day 12, I managed to finish Chapter 4 (Island 16). This is the stage you have to beat in 7 days to get the bonus SB.
Starting on the 15th day of play, I stopped receiving the option to watch an ad to get energy. I don’t know what caused it, but the option just isn’t appearing when I tap on energy now.
Chapter 5, Island 4, was really long. One of the items you need to merge is a red panda. Starting at stage 3, the red panda requires Sun Magic Staves to rank up, and there are 7 stages in total. I needed 37 staves altogether. It was grueling and took 3 days to finish.
Merging Blocks
If you merge 3, you will only get 1 resulting item, and merging six gives 2. But if you merge in multiples of 5, you get a bonus item. So, when combining items, it is best to do it in multiples of 5 (10, 15, 20, etc.).
Combining enough Wands will generate a fairy, which can be used to quickly build any structure on the map. The fairy and other premium items have capacity limits. Excess items will be placed directly on the field.
Fairy = 10
Magnet = 15
Axe = Never had more than 3
Magic Stone = Only available through purchases
Game Ads
You can watch an ad to reduce the timer by 15 minutes. There is a limit to how often it presents you with the skip option.
Server reset was at Noon PST. All ad watch opportunities reset, and the publisher posted a new Community Coin link on their FB page.
NSFW Ads
There were also some adult dating and hook-up apps, as well as localized ads for feminine hygiene products and dental services. These ads referenced businesses in a neighboring county.
There were also ads featuring children’s cartoon characters that had been “aged up” using AI to make them alluring. Each included a disclaimer saying the characters were all in their “adult form.”
There were also some adult dating and hook-up apps, and some localized ads, including feminine hygiene products and dental services. These ads referenced businesses in a neighboring county.
One ad in particular was especially cringe (DopaAI). It encouraged users to upload photos of two people, with the AI generating a video of the two individuals kissing. The ad showed a clip of a couple kissing.
The app is rated Teen, and there is no disclaimer about the content of the app, which is mostly user-generated.
However, the splash screen upon installation is entirely explicit. A fully naked woman engaged in sexual intercourse, including penetration. Both male and female gentilia are distinctly visible.
Several more images and videos are displayed down the page. There are functions for uploading pictures of girls and women for the AI to “undress,” with examples being provided. Another function will generate a bukkake of any image uploaded.
Timers
You can also use a fairy to skip timers. The fairy is the final stage for those pink wands.
In the shop, you can watch an ad for two freebies. An object and some currency, typically.
Sometimes, a free item will fly overhead that looks like a movie director’s slate. This is also an ad.
TIP: Timers may continue to count down while you are watching an ad. If there are countdown timers on multiple items, it is possible that after viewing an ad, you will lose the other items.
Events
In addition to weekly events, there are separate islands that last 24 hours. These can be a source of additional Coins and Gems, and they use their own set of Energy, so you don’t waste the home map (blue) Energy by playing on them.
Some events will feature a leaderboard and prizes, depending on the finishing rank.
TIP: When merging, the game will prioritize normal blocks over event-flagged blocks. If you have 4 items (3 normal and 1 with an event marker) and you merge them together, the game will only merge the normal items and omit the event item.
Card Collecting
Neon Lights, the card-collecting game, ran for 60 days and included an exchange shop with premium Special items (fairy, magnets, wands, etc.). I saved 500 points to get a card pack, but I didn’t get anything good.
I would suggest using your points on fairies or water drops. Big prizes are paid out for reaching 30, 72, and 108 unique cards collected.
After the season ends, a new 60-day event begins. Summer Sports is the next seasonal event.
July 4th
When I started playing, the 4th of July (American Independence Day) event was active. The events each have different themes, but the rewards are mostly the same. Garden decor included red, white, and blue-themed ornaments. These were purely cosmetic additions.
Bunny Rally
This is a short 8-hour event. Look for little carrot icons on the objects in your field. If you merge these blocks, you will earn points for the event.
The carrot sizes differ, and bigger carrots will provide more points. You can see your position and possible prize on the leaderboard. The higher the level of the item, the more carrots it can potentially have.
Fairy’s Cup
The Fairy’s Cup is a 36-hour event where you earn points for spending Energy and Gems. The point breakdown is 1 for each Energy and 5 for every Gem.
Master Digger
Pretty straightforward game, you get pickaxes and clear tiles of the board to find fossils. Clearing the map rewards static prizes. I tried screenshotting the piece locations, but they change between games. There are 6 stages to the event, and I only ever made it to the 5th stage prize, which was a piñata of Energy.
Pikoko’s Leisure Time
There is a puzzle piece hunting game with 3 puzzles to complete. The final reward, though, came days after the offer was completed, so I didn’t get much out of it. There was some Energy for clearing each individual puzzle.
Fruit Fusion
This is a mini version of the main map. The controls are simplified, we only merge blocks of 3 items. When you merge, the blocks morph into a single higher tier block.
This was a good map to gain Gems, Energy, and Coins. The stages are easy to clear and don’t take much thinking.
Wonderful Flower
The first flower requires 20 Wonderful Pieces (water drops) to complete the first stage. There are 3 stages before the flower blooms completely. Between stages, there is a 20-minute break for building. The second and third stages cost 30 and 40 drops, respectively.
After the first intro, flowers come, mushrooms, and other flowers, which need many more water drops to complete. The rewards do increase, but not by much.
Tip: Starting construction of the flower just before placing the final structures for a map will cause the flower to be instantly completed when you start the next map. You can skip the 20-minute construction.
You will receive rewards for completing each stage. They are not great; however, there is no way to throw away the water drops, so they will clog up your board if you don’t use the flower.
You can temporarily move the flower bubble to the side of the screen (over the water) when starting a new map.
There are multiple flower spots in the garden. After you complete a bloom, a new flower bud will be provided. Water drops can be bought in the Coin Shop (Specials) near the end of the list.
Flower
Reward
Mini (20 Water)
Small (30 Water)
Growing (40 Water)
Mushroom
Reward
Mini Mushroom
15 Energy
Small Mushroom
100 Coins
Growing Mushroom
1 Fairy
Great Mushroom
200 Coins
Enchanted Mushroom
300 Coins
Wonderful Mushroom (70 Water)
2k Coins, 5 Gems, 1 Magnet
Tulip
Reward
Tulip Sprout (30 Water)
20 Energy
Tulip Bud
150 Coins
Mini Tulip
1 Fairy
Great Tulip (50 Water)
300 Coins
Enchanted Tulip (70 Water)
400 Coins
Wonderful Tulip
3k Coins, 5 Gems, 1 Magnet
After completing the Tulip, we get a garden set starting with the Cala Lily. A new item is needed to complete the flower. Now we are collecting Sunshine and Waterdrops.
You will get lots of unused Water before you get all of the Sunshine needed to make the upgrade. You can swap for Suneshines in the card trading exchange.
Garden
Reward
Calla Lily Sprout (15 Water, 10 Sunshine)
25 Energy
Calla Lily Bud (25 Water, 15 Sunshine)
200 Coins
Mini Calla Lily (35 Water, 25 Sunshine)
1 Fairy
Great Calla Lily (45 Water, 30 Sunshine)
400 Coins
Enchanted Calla Lily (55 Water, 35 Sunshine)
Unknown
Achievements
55 possible Achievements can be completed, and each will provide a reward to players. Rewards generally include Gems and Coins, but may also include special avatars and frames.
Tapping on the 3 bars in the top-right of the screen will open a sub-menu which includes the list of achievements. There are too many to list here if you include the stages.
So once again, I am a bit late in reporting the figures. Maybe it’s the ADD speaking, but I find it really easy to forget something I only do 4 times a year.
In my last WordAds Experience post, I reported on the Q3-4 period of 2024. That year, I had upgraded my account to one that supports WordAds and revenue sharing in March of 2024. By December, I had earned $51.77. That’s how much I got for 280,588 Ads Served at a $0.18 CPM.
Now, here we are in 2025, and I have seen a marked increase in site traffic. I did recently have a setback, possibly, but I am working to make up for the loss.
YouTube
Just last week, my YouTube account was shut down, quite unfortunately. I was disappointed, to say the least, but I was kind of expecting it after all the restrictions my content was generating. Some of these mobile games are more than a little risque. It’s just the nature of the beast.
I took it as a sign and decided to focus on this website alone. It wasn’t exactly a hard decision once I started thinking about my journey overall. After 3 years, the YouTube account wasn’t anywhere near the necessary watch hours for monetization. Even if I did get those hours, the content wasn’t really suitable for advertising revenue.
I have since closed my other social media accounts. It was nice having other sources of incoming traffic, but the effort to keep the other accounts updated meant that I was spending less time here on the site writing up content.
First Quarter
Got a little sidetracked there. For the first quarter (Jan-Mar), I earned $20.05 from WordAds.
Date
Earnings
Ads Served
January
5.58
98,167
February
5.67
81,765
March
8.08
137,929
Visitors and Views for the above period are as follows,
Date
Visitors
Views
January
10,870
22,998
February
9,009
23,768
March
13,104
56,844
You can see there was a considerable bump once we hit March. I believe that was from making several supporting pages and posts for one of the game wikis I host on the site. I’m thinking the internal links to the new dedicated pages kept visitors on the site longer.
Second Quarter
Since my social accounts only recently went away, I don’t think I’ll have any data points I can provide on traffic losses. Actually, my Reddit traffic increased by 120 visitors, and YouTube visitors dropped by 10 visitors under the previous period.
I don’t understand why there was a 50% drop in ads served for June. Site traffic was only off by 1.5k visitors. Maybe those 1.5k I missed were the prolific types who click on every picture and page?
Date
Earning
Ads Served
April
$10.88
166,178
May
$11.01
148,706
June
$6.07
70,747
I only published 5 posts during June, and although I published 5 Pages, those don’t get the same visibility as a post.
Posts will at least show up in the WordPress Reader under Discover. Pages need to be found by search engines, by accident, or by placing a button on the navigation bar.
Date
Visitors
Views
April
14,970
90,314
May
14,783
83,595
June
13,297
73,843
My total earnings for Q2 are $27.96, adding last quarter to the total brings us to $48.01. Now, looking at the chart, I can see the math is off. It may be that the calculation for June that I am seeing is not the full value. It would be nice if that were the case.
I am almost to the $100 threshold required to request a cashout on my ad revenue. The cost of operating the site was calculated based on the sale pricing I received when I upgraded my plan.
That cost was $66 per year for 3 years. If I can manage $198 by the end of December 2026, then I can say it all worked out.
We’ll call it a close here, I think.
Sales on eBay continue apace, social media is all gone, and the game wikis continue to flourish.
Thanks for reading. See you next quarter (hopefully).
I find it slightly annoying when I search for a style code and Google insists there are no results related to my search. This happens often enough that a post like this has become necessary.
This post is mostly for my own records, but the data may prove useful for others, so it’s not being written on a post-it note.
Further Uses
I’m adding more information that is adjacent to the list.
Helpful tidbits for when I am out sourcing and don’t know what something is or how to describe an item for a listing.
More detailed descriptions of women’s clothing.
A separate list for white-label apparel sold at Target.
The distinction between men’s and women’s for the Under Armour Velocity series appears to be the necklines. Men’s features a crew neck while Women’s have a V-neck.
The firm selling the Arcade belts has an official eBay account, and all of the pictures I found online were from the manufacturer.
It is generally advised not to use the brand’s photos in your listing; take your own photos to avoid getting flagged for copyright or trademark issues.
I have received a VeRO take-down in the past from Samsung for misuse of images and trademarks.
If you need an image and can’t take your own, you can use any of the ones included in this post.
Amazon LPN Codes
An LPN Label is a pre-printed label with a unique number that only fits one pallet or one box. At Amazon warehouses, any item marked “non-deliverable” is affixed with an LPN sticker regardless of whether the item is new or a return.
When reselling, it is important that we check the product’s condition, because often the LPN-affixed packages may have been used by the customer. You’ll encounter this more often with clothing items than with things like hardware or office supplies.
There are distinct patterns in the leading letters of the codes, and some codes have been determined.
Code
Status
LPN N
New
LPN RR
Returned
LPN PM
?
Women’s Garment Types and Styles
Outerwear
Women’s Tops
Blouses, tanks, t-shirts, halter, crop tops, and more.
I’ve noticed an odd trend of listing tank tops and camisoles as vests, which is inaccurate. A vest is a piece of clothing, like a jacket without sleeves, that is worn over other clothes for warmth or protection.
Camisole
Camisoles can be both innerwear and outerwear; their function depends on the material, design, and how they are styled. Traditionally, camisoles are worn as an undergarment (innerwear) for coverage or layering under sheer tops and blazers.
However, with their variety of colors, designs, and fabrics, camisoles can also be worn as a standalone top (outerwear) for casual wear, sleepwear, or even dressy occasions.
Undergarments
Bras
The purpose of a bra is to provide comfort, support, and shape to the breasts, though the specific reason for wearing one varies widely among individuals.
For those with larger breasts, a well-fitted bra supports the weight of the breasts, which can prevent pain in the shoulders, back, and neck.
Bras provide a layer of coverage, preventing nipples from showing through clothing, which is important for modesty or to conform to social expectations in certain settings.
Bralette
A bralette is a lightweight, wire-free, and often unpadded undergarment designed for comfort and a natural look, providing soft support without the structure of a traditional bra.
Bralettes are versatile, serving as everyday bras, undershirts, or even outerwear, and are available in various materials like lace, mesh, and cotton, with options for removable padding and different styles such as seamless, strapless, and racerback.
Young Adult Bras
Prioritizes comfort, proper fit, and age-appropriate style with adjustable features like straps and bands.
Featuring soft, breathable fabrics and wire-free designs to accommodate growth and prevent irritation. Comfortable bralettes for everyday wear or supportive sports bras for an active lifestyle.
Target Clothing Style Codes
The following are items I have had to look up when listing items on eBay.
I think Target is generally good at keeping sold-out listings active on its site for some time after the season ends. This makes it easier to find all the specifics of an item we want to resell.
I’ve included links to my eBay listings so you can see photos. I don’t have an unlimited amount of space on-site for photos, so I am prioritizing the mobile game wikis.
Redirecting users to fake websites without them clicking on a link.
Phishing
Phishing is the practice of sending fraudulent communications that appear to come from a legitimate and reputable source, usually through email and text messaging.
The attacker’s goal is to steal money, gain access to sensitive data and login information, or to install malware on the victim’s device.
Spear phishing
Targeted phishing attempts are aimed at specific individuals within an organization.
Angler phishing
Using fake social media accounts or profiles to trick users into revealing information.
Whaling
A highly targeted form of spear phishing aimed at high-profile individuals like executives or CEOs.
Clone phishing
Clone phishing is a type of phishing attack where cybercriminals replicate a legitimate email, often a follow-up to one previously sent, and then resend it to the same recipients, substituting malicious content like links or attachments, to trick victims into divulging sensitive information or installing malware.
Here’s a more detailed explanation:
How it works:
Cybercriminals intercept a legitimate email (e.g., a customer service message, a newsletter, or a follow-up email).
They then create a nearly identical copy of the email, often with slight variations to make it look more authentic.
Crucially, they replace legitimate links or attachments with malicious ones.
They resend the cloned email to the same recipients as the original, aiming to exploit the trust established by the initial legitimate communication.
Why it’s dangerous:
Clone phishing attacks are harder to detect than standard phishing attempts, as the emails appear more genuine and are often sent from a legitimate email address.
Recipients may be more likely to trust a reply to a legitimate email than a new message from an unknown source.
The malicious links or attachments can lead to malware infections, credential theft, or other cyberattacks.
Examples:
A cybercriminal might clone a PayPal balance email, replacing the link to the legitimate PayPal site with a fake one.
They could clone a company’s newsletter signup confirmation email, replacing the attachment with malware.
They could clone a customer service email, adding a malicious link or attachment.
How to protect yourself:
Be wary of emails that seem too similar to legitimate ones, especially if they contain urgent requests or ask for sensitive information.
Always double-check the sender’s email address and domain name for any discrepancies.
Avoid clicking on links or opening attachments in emails that seem suspicious.
Use strong passwords and enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) for your email accounts.
Stay informed about the latest phishing scams and how to identify them.
Quishing
“Quishing,” short for QR code phishing, is a type of cyberattack where malicious actors use QR codes to redirect victims to fake websites or applications, often to steal sensitive information or install malware.
Here’s a more detailed explanation:
How it works: Cybercriminals embed QR codes in seemingly legitimate emails, documents, or even physical locations (like posters or magazines).
The deception: These QR codes appear to lead to a legitimate website or application, but instead, they redirect users to a fake version designed to trick them into revealing personal or financial information.
Why it’s effective: QR codes can bypass some email security filters, as they are often treated as images, making them difficult to detect.
Common tactics: Cybercriminals often use urgency or create a sense of importance to encourage users to scan the QR code quickly, without thinking.
Examples:
Fake invoices with a QR code for payment.
Emails from seemingly legitimate sources (like HR departments) with a QR code to a “mandatory survey”.
QR codes on products or in magazines that lead to fake websites.
Risks:
Identity theft: Victims can have their personal information stolen.
Financial fraud: Attackers can gain access to bank accounts or credit cards.
Malware infection: Devices can be infected with malware.
How to protect yourself:
Be cautious of unsolicited QR codes: Be wary of QR codes from unknown or unexpected sources.
Look for red flags: Check for misspellings, grammatical errors, or unusual requests in emails or messages.
Don’t scan QR codes without context: If you’re unsure of the source or purpose of a QR code, don’t scan it.
Verify the website: If a QR code leads to a website, double-check that it’s legitimate by typing the address directly into your browser.
Sextortion
Sextortion occurs when a hacker sends you an email that appears to have come from you. The hacker claims to have access to your email account and your computer.
They claim to have your password and a recorded video of you.
The hackers claim that you have been watching adult videos from your computer while the camera was on and recording.
The demand is that you pay them, usually in Bitcoin, or they will release the video to family and/or colleagues.
SEO poisoning
Also known as SEO Trojan, it is a strategy where hackers work to become the top hit on a search using a search engine. The web address typically redirects to a virus or malware that infects the unwitting victim.
Smishing (SMS phishing)
Smishing, short for SMS phishing, is a type of cyberattack that uses text messages to trick victims into revealing personal or financial information, often by clicking on malicious links or providing sensitive data.
Here’s a more detailed explanation:
What it is: Smishing is a phishing attack conducted via text messages (SMS).
How it works: Cybercriminals send deceptive text messages that appear to be from legitimate companies or institutions, such as banks, retailers, or even government agencies.
Common tactics:
Urgency: Smishing messages often create a sense of urgency, asking recipients to take immediate action, such as verifying an account, resolving an issue, or claiming a prize.
Fake links: The messages include links that, when clicked, lead to fake websites designed to steal login credentials, financial information, or install malware.
Impersonation: Attackers impersonate trusted entities to gain the recipient’s trust and make them more likely to click on the malicious link or provide information.
Examples:
A text message claiming that your bank account has been suspended and asking you to click a link to verify your account.
A message stating that you’ve won a prize and asking you to click a link to claim it.
A text message from a shipping company stating that there’s a problem with your package and asking you to update your shipping address.
How to protect yourself:
Be cautious of unsolicited text messages, especially those that request personal or financial information.
Never click on links in text messages without verifying their legitimacy.
Don’t share sensitive information via text messages.
Be wary of messages that create a sense of urgency or ask you to take immediate action.
Report suspicious text messages to your mobile carrier or law enforcement.
Social engineering
The broader practice of manipulating people into divulging sensitive information or performing actions they wouldn’t normally do.
Spoofing
Impersonating another individual or organization, often with the intent of gathering information.
Vishing(Voice phishing)
Vishing, short for “voice phishing,” is a type of cybercrime where attackers use phone calls or voicemails to trick individuals into revealing sensitive information, such as financial details or personal data, often by impersonating legitimate institutions.
Here’s a more detailed explanation:
How it works: Attackers use various techniques, including caller ID spoofing (making the call appear to be from a trusted source) and creating a sense of urgency, to manipulate victims into divulging information.
Examples of vishing scams:
Pretending to be a bank or credit card company, informing the victim of a suspicious transaction or account problem, and requesting verification details.
Impersonating a government agency or law enforcement, threatening legal action, or demanding immediate payment.
Offering a prize or gift in exchange for personal information.
Common tactics used in vishing attacks:
Caller ID spoofing: Falsifying the caller ID to appear as if the call is coming from a legitimate, trusted institution, such as a bank or government agency.
Pretexting: Creating a fabricated scenario or pretext to extract information from the target.
Automated Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems: Mimicking legitimate IVR systems to trick victims into providing information.
Wardialing: Software that collects and calls specific area codes.
VoIP tools: These tools create fake phone numbers and mask an attacker’s real identity.
Dumpster Diving: Digging through trash to find personal data documents.
How to protect yourself:
Be cautious of unsolicited calls, especially those from unknown numbers or those that claim to be from institutions you don’t expect to be contacting you.
Never share sensitive information over the phone, such as bank account numbers, passwords, or Social Security numbers.
Verify the identity of the caller by hanging up and calling the organization directly using a known phone number.
Report any suspected vishing attempts to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at Link: http://www.ftc.gov 382-1222.
I greatly regret this purchase. What I received was largely junk and included several unsaleable, expired, and defective items, including items that were illegal to sell without a license.
The seller is quite aware of the problem with their product and has carefully worded their terms of service to shield themselves.
I strongly advise anyone considering Wholesale Ninjas, DON’T DO IT!
I recently took a chance on a liquidation shipment from a wholesaler. I had been watching YouTube videos and came across this company, Wholesale Ninjas, being talked about by Lindey Glenn (@LindeyGlenn).
I used a discount code for $25 off a shipment, which brought my total to $280. I selected the 100-piece Personal Care/HBA package for purchase. It took maybe three days for the package to arrive. It was sent via FedEx.
I posted about the order on the Flipping subreddit (r/Flipping) and had a rather productive conversation with several community members.
I even went ahead and live-streamed the unboxing. I didn’t have the 50 subs necessary to go live on the FatWalletRefugee channel, so I opted for GameGirlsGallery, which has 1.8k subs.
The box included 100 items. Most of which turned out to be CVS/Health products. Ironic that I worked at CVS for over 12 years before starting my own business. The store-branded items included 9 boxes of bandages ($4.99) and 4 boxes of lidocaine wound care gel (9.99).
There were 6 makeup remover pads and 2 hair towels, 3 Konjac body scrubs, 2 boxes of condoms ($14.99 each), an adult toy ($59.99) pretending to be a “health aid,” and 5 containers of athletic drink powder ($20-25).
That makes 31 items so far.
The were a bunch of Burt’s Bees products included in the shipment. 7 Dark Spot Corrector (), 8 Moisturizing Cream, 2 Glow Booster, 2 Day Lotion, 2 Night Cream, 1 Eye Cream, 1x Lip Balm.
There were 5 face masks, 1 shampoo hair dye combo, 3 lip balm singles, 1 twin pack of EOS lip balm (dirty), 1 partially used tin of Burt’s Bees facial cream, 3 Beauty Revolution hair sprays, 3 nighttime eye creams, 3 facial rollers of the same brand, and a hair cap.
We’re up to 75.
1 pack of BIC razors, 2 Schick Hydro Razors, an Oral-B toothbrush, a Colgate toothbrush, Children’s Dimetapp: 3 Cold & Allergy, 2 Cough & Cold, 1 Multi-Symptom, and 1 Combo Pack, plus a Dollar General generic Mucinex.
Some body-shimmer, biotin, tampons, and some other assorted items were in there, but I don’t recall exactly, and they are at the bottom of the box.
I can see from checking comps that several other sellers on eBay are ordering the same boxes I did. But the numbers look good for sales. Most items are 20% or higher on the sell-through rating. Free Shipping and Free Returns appear to be standard among listings.
I will initially undercut the other sellers a bit so I can clear this box and get my seed money back. After that, I will price a bit more in line with the trend.
I suspect the bigger sellers have repeat customers who have bookmarked the shops. I decided not to promote the listing for now. That may change if I don’t see any movement.
The expiration dates on all the items were at least October 2025, and many were 2026/2028, so I was happy about that.
I don’t think I’ll be able to sell the individual items like the lip balm or the face masks. I will make a pile of the items that are not worth flipping and count the value ($2.80) per item against my sales.
I paid $280, so I’d like to double that to $560, or at the very least get back my investment with a break-even return.
I recently sold a moped ($200) on FBM and gave another away for parts. I received cash and later realized I couldn’t put it in my online bank account.
My only use for it was as “fun money.” So this week I’ve been treating myself to crafted coffee at the local Packhouse drive thru. I’ve also been buying goods on FBM using the cash.
I had them in my garage for many years, and my family wanted them gone. We may be moving in the next 2 years, so I figured it was a good excuse to let go of some heavy material goods.
After listing the scooters I looked around the market and found several listing for mens apparel that caught my eye. Last month I bought $33 worth of clothing on FBM.
From one of the lots, I was able to quickly flip a Foundry and a Territory Ahead button-up shirt for an $18 profit. I found the clothes are in better condition than those I find at the Goodwill.
I encountered a reseller on the market after we were chatting a bit over the price on some jeans. It was encouraging to meet a comrade. I think I will keep checking FBM for more good clothes.
I managed to sell that motorcycle jacket with the Terminator patch sewn on it. Even though it wasn’t an original, the underlying Biker jacket was a vintage piece and had great value.
FMC Bikers Leather Jacket
Unfortunately, the eBay selling fees ($11) and promotions ($12) cut into my profit. I paid $35 for the jacket at the estate sale, and I listed it for $75. It sold at full price, but my earnings before COGS were $47.
So, I only earned $12 on the sale. I’m just glad I didn’t offer free shipping. That would have killed me.
I’ve started listing some of my mother’s and grandmother’s vintage shirts and coats.
Among the collections, I came across a vintage Grateful Dead shirt with an Om symbol in the “Steal Your Face” skull design.
I checked the comps and decided to list it at $149 for now. It has an original Double Apple Nepali collar tag. The shirt predates the licensing of the brand and subsequent mass manufacturing of Jerry Garcia merchandise.
Fat Wallet Refugee 