Stupid Ideas Thread

Had this idea one day. Costco is supposed to check that you have a membership before you enter but many times you can just walk into the store without showing a card. The problem is paying for the items. At a self-service checkout machine, you're required to scan your membership barcode before you scan your items. Now I was thinking, if membership barcode ids have a similar scheme, maybe i could build an app on a phone that could programmatically generate barcodes according to that theme to use someone else's barcode. I don't know if they're alerted that their card is used if I pay with cash or my card and I don't know if Costco would care. This way I'd get the savings without paying for a membership. Stupid idea, but maybe I could put something together as a proof of concept. Share your ideas for projects that are super specific and stupid.

You dont have to pay for your own account just so you know. Every Costco account they are allowed a secondary person on that account without extra charge. So if you just know someone who lets you on the account you can use theirs. Saves the hassle.

1) It's most likely a pseudorandom unguessable number 2) You can dupe someone's card barcode and use it, try asking family member or OSINTing online, on some review site where people brag about new product they consumed 3) I'm not American but I have local supermarket which has optional membership cards, they work like this: a) to get discounts only barcode is scanned, using someone's card you give them cashback points, details of your purchase and location b) to spend cashback a magnetic stripe or some fiddling in supermarket app is needed

>>10016 Went to the store with my Mother's card. They outright refused to let me use it to buy things, so you could have issues even if you did manage to get a proper membership barcode.

>>10016 I know that in my state (Colorado), they aren't allowed to require membership if they're selling fast food or have a liquor license. The liquor store is usually located separately from the store proper (right outside), but the food court is always in the main building with the rest of the merch, so you can get in just by saying "I'd like to use the food court" or whatever (look up your local laws). >>10086 Use the self-checkout, retard. They wouldn't allow me to use my mom's card in the main checkout aisle, but they don't do checks on people who scan their own stuff. I've also used my own EBT and credit card numerous times for years; corporate doesn't give enough of an eff to do systemic checks, apparently, but the local managers and cashiers will refuse to take payment from anyone but the official cardholder. So just don't interact with them and you're golden.

>>10675 I'm expecting these to get more popular as climate change progresses, even if only with rich bastards who can afford to build a McHobbit Hole. The failed civil engineer in me is excited to see what the architects come up with. >My bad idea Burner "laptop" made from burner phones, a portable monitor, and a bluetooth keyboard. You can buy smartphones in bulk on Govdeals for basically nothing and the keyboard and monitor will run you about $150 total if you buy new. You're not hacking the pentagon with that setup but you could get a little silly with it. The main hangup is I don't know how trackable those govdeal phones are. I really have no idea how they source them, I assume they're confiscated from inmates or lost and found in publlic parks. I'd leave them SIMless and turn them on for the first time when I'm already in the coffee shop, lobby, or wherever.

>>11150 Buy a raspberry pi instead of wasting money and plastic on burner phones

>>11150 >The main hangup is I don't know how trackable those govdeal phones are. I really have no idea how they source them, I assume they're confiscated from inmates or lost and found in publlic parks. When I was a student, I took a work study job doing miscellaneous work for one of the college's computer labs. One of the things I did was prepping a bunch of old computers for auctions on govdeals. The computers we auctioned were ones that were either too obsolete to donate to some local school or had some problem with them that we couldn't quickly fix. Myself and one other student did all of the prep, then our boss posted the auction and a few weeks later the buyer would show up and we'd help him load up the lot. We never did anything malicious to the computers, but there wasn't anything stopping us from doing something malicious if we had wanted to. So you'll want to wipe the phone before you use it. I don't know about phones in particular, but I think most of the stuff on govdeals is from universities, libraries, police stations, public service offices, and such, getting rid of their old tech and lost and found services getting rid of stuff nobody has claimed. You'll probably be able to tell from the lot description or from the seller. >>11151 Any phone on govdeal is an old phone. The plastic is already out there. It's better to give them some use than to send them to the landfill. As for money, auctions on govdeal are usually cheap. It's probably cheaper to buy multiple phones there than it is to buy one pi.

>>10675 > They're also more resilient to natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes than above ground homes. And floods?

>>11150 >Burner "laptop" made from burner phones Okay so this is a "bad" idea in the sense that this thread means it but now I'm genuinely intrigued. Limited possible use cases but if I ever find myself nearly destitute...

This idea was stupid but I have a solution I dont know why I didnt think of it long ago, Form a local group of people who chip in to pay for one membership. A Costco membership allows two people on a single payment, you dont have to be related even actually members can give a membership to anyone. These two people will act as the designated shoppers for everyone else. The designated shoppers will get a small fee to pay for their time and the gas money for the trip. You also can divide up goods so that someone too poor to buy bulk can share the cost with others just paying for the portion they can afford while others pay for their portions.

>>10016 >maybe i could build an app on a phone that could programmatically generate barcodes according to that theme to use someone else's barcode This is an interesting idea. The way I would go about it is first of all take a picture of your card and find some software that can read the barcode into raw data. Then you need to find other barcodes and compare the data to understand the format. It will be pretty hard to figure out the correct format for generating a fake but valid barcode. There are also some opsec considerations, standing infront of the self checkout holding up a phone where people are supposed to hold up a physical card will attract attention. Even though you're not doing anything malicious you are doing something suspicious which for the security staff is the same thing until proven otherwise. >This way I'd get the savings without paying for a membership. Wait I though this was a privacy thing, so they can't build a profile on what you buy. Skipping the membership fee is a form of theft so you will get in trouble if caught.

>>12571 >The designated shoppers will get a small fee to pay for their time and the gas money for the trip. It's not worth it. Costco membership is $60 a year and Sam's Club is $50 year, both give you two cards, and there's discounts for additional members. If you have to pay someone even just $5 to use their card, you're better off getting your own membership unless you buy groceries less than once a month. I don't know about you, but I'm not doing my friends shopping for a measly $5 either, especially if they're buying enough soykaf to last them a month. >>12573 >There are also some opsec considerations, standing infront of the self checkout holding up a phone where people are supposed to hold up a physical card will attract attention. They'll just think you're using the digital membership card. >It will be pretty hard to figure out the correct format for generating a fake but valid barcode I have no doubt that a motivated individual could figure out a way to get valid values. I can think of two off the top of my head. The stupid part of the idea is not that it's infeasible. It's that it's not worth the effort or risk. Doing fraud to save $5 a month is stupid.

>>12577 >I have no doubt that a motivated individual could figure out a way to get valid values. I can think of two off the top of my head. Thank you for adding nothing to the thread.

>>12577 Well I wasnt saying you have to pay them just proper compensation that is done collectively except when special trips are made for a specific person. Actually you dont even all have to have a card for them to let you in you just go in with someone who has a card grab your stuff and they pay on your behalf which no effort on their part so no need for compensation.

>>12577 > I don't know about you, but I'm not doing my friends shopping for a measly $5 either, i don't know about you but my friends and i do favors for each other, or just go shopping with each other since we enjoy each others' company

>>12599 not him but I'd feel silly doing a favor for a friend for 5 dollars that I'd gladly do for free

>>10016 I don't think that's how barcodes work. A barcode is effectively just a number. When they give you a card with a barcode it's just an arbitrary number like a ticket at a deli. The magic happens on the other side where they assign permissions to that number. Getting a valid barcode would be like showing up with a random number to the deli. It's not going to work unless they just happen to have a sandwich assigned to that number at that time.

>>10016 a new, easier to understand musical notation inspired by midi notes

>>12819 sounds like piano tablature

>>10016 Don't bother, there's a way easier solution. You buy a membership, then a week before it renews, go in and ask for a refund. They will give you a full refund at any point before the renewal. Then do a 360 degree spin and ask if you can apply for a membership card. No I'm not joking. I have been doing this for years. One time I let it renew on accident because the Costco website lied to me about when it was going to charge me. So beware of that, do it earlier than last-minute.

>>10016 AFAIK, TexMex Costco worx both for Tex and for Mex. Yet Mex card is cheaper than Tex. Get a Costco card in Mex, go home, ??????, PROFIT

>>11151 raspi are kinda teash compared to some phones from a few years ago + phones can be flashed with different systems, have options for processors archetecture and you can get usbc docks which charge + can add hardware + displays . you could get a crappy monitor or like options for laptops and a couple folding stands its pretty good really i agree with his idea but i prefer running exe programs and not using bluetooth but you can get any usb peripheral working on there like sound cards, controllers, wireless adaptors, the phone can also do prepaid unlimited 5g picrel its my idea

>>10016 I have the bus times and routes for every high and middle school. I often board them as I'm passable as 15. Met a few girls that way, usually just start talking to people on the way in which saved me from an uncomfortable situation once where the driver said she doesn't recognize me but my 5 minute friend vouched for me.

>>13392 Hold on, are you doing this for free bus rides or are you simply just doing this to talk to the highschool aged girls that are riding the bus?

>>13397 School buses don't go to any places that an adult needs to go, so I think we know the answer. >>13392 You need to stop.

Stupid ideas: * stay up till midnight snd later despite clearly knowing malsleeping can trigger a depression * not listening to my naptime jam * buying some slop and sweets-sweets instead of real meat * lamenting I don't take my vitamins while not keeping a stashful of vitamins * giving away a matress to my fren who has difficulty having a comfy sleep * not getting comfy on a Friday nite * buying a 20th pair of shoes

>>13397 A school bus in this person's area may go somewhere near this person's another bus station that allows a very comfy interchange... all while the school bus may have a strict schedule while the commuter buses in his area don't stick to the schedule.

>>13392 Kind of weird to me but I applaud the effort and I don't take moral issue with it outside of if you're trying to hit on everyone and I don't mean for age reasons. I'd do same to get around if I could since where I live there is no public bus and I am starting to get stopped by police just for walking by the road because Karens report me.

>>10016 Literally just buy a Costco gift card ye sped /thread