DoorDash Scams

DoorDash is an American company operating an online food ordering and food delivery service. It is similar to ride share companies like Uber and Lyft, except they specialize in food delivery. There are several other food delivery companies, for example GrubHub and Uber Eats. As of March 2024, DoorDash has the biggest market share of the online food delivery market in the United States. My girlfriend recently started working as a shift manager at Pizza Hut and in two weeks she has already experienced several online food order scams. The latest one was an order that was picked up by a DoorDash driver. A short time later, another driver showed up to pick up the same order. They had to tell the driver that the order was already picked up. This happened four more times for the same order. If you count the first driver, there was a total of six different DoorDash drivers looking for the same order.

Our best guess is that the first driver unassigned the order and kept it for himself. Another driver saw the unassigned order and claimed the delivery assignment. Upon finding out that the order was already gone, they unassigned themselves from the order... and on it went for each driver. Needless to say, this is just one example of the huge waste of resources, time, and money that is taking place in the fast-food industry. Other scams are orders placed for bogus addresses and people that never show up to pick up their order. Not to mention employees who steal from the till, don't share tips, and make food to take home without paying. DoorDash drivers are not all bad. They have to deal with scams directed specifically at them.

DoorDash has been known to close a driver's account without warning. Often as a result of a bogus complaint by a customer who wanted their order for free. Scammers will take advantage of drivers by contacting them directly and posing as someone from DoorDash. Once they get their account information, they change the bank account info and steal the driver's money. There are numerous videos on YouTube about drivers who have been scammed like this. So, it can be as simple as not paying for a food order to a complex identity theft online money scam. I'm not sure why restaurants like Pizza Hut allow DoorDash to pick up orders when they have their own deliver drivers. Seems like it would be a service that would be better suited for a restaurant that didn't have home delivery. Loss potential is still there, but at least you have some control over the order verification process and who is delivering your food orders.

Electric Lawn Mower Manufacturers

 Popular Mechanics recently published an article titled "The 8 Best Electric Lawn Mowers of 2024". That got me thinking about a replacement for my 30-year-old gas powered Lawn Boy mower. It still runs, but it is getting harder to find the 2-cycle oil that you need to mix with the gas. They used to have it at every gas station in town. But now, you have to order it online or drive to the nearest Arrow hardware store. My neighbors to the right and left have both switched to electric mowers. The advantages of an electric mower are that they are quiet, and you don't have to mess with the gas and oil. Many are now just as powerful as a gas mower with all the same features. Electric mowers cost just as much as a gas and replacement, or spare batteries, are rather expensive.

California has banned the sale of gas-powered mowers starting in 2024 and Minnesota has introduced a bill that would ban the sale of non-electric lawn equipment. With a mandate that everyone's next mower needs to be electric, I wanted to look at some of the companies that make electric mowers. You would think that they are making tons of money, but that isn't the case. Maybe it is too early in the replacement cycle, or because only one state has a ban on gas mowers. It could be that we are still in the early adopter stage, kind of like what happened with electric vehicles. Electric mowers have been around for a while. The early ones needed an extension cord. You can still buy a mower that needs a cord, but what we are looking at here, are the latest battery-operated models. Here are some of the popular lawn equipment manufacturers out there: Ego, Echo, Ryobi, Toro, Craftsman, Worx, and Husqvarna. 

Only one of these is what I would consider an American company. Toro is based in Bloomington, MN. The others are owned by companies based in foreign countries like China, Japan, and Sweden. Ego is a mower that you find in a lot of retail stores, but they are owned by a Chinese holding company. The only company I would consider buying stock in is Toro (TTC). As of today, the stock price is $96 per share. In the past year, the stock has traded in a range between $80 to $102. Toro equipment is popular with lawn care professionals. The home lawncare market is saturated with mowers from all of the non-domestic manufacturers listed above. It is unlikely that Toro will see a spike in sales with all of the competition in the home lawncare market. But they may see a small bump is sales as pros switch to battery mowers in the coming years. I would probably buy a Toro to replace my Lawn Boy, instead of one of the mower brands you find at the local home center. For now, I'll have to keep using it until it breaks. You can still buy a Lawn Boy, but they only have 3 gas powered models to choose from. Curious enough, The Toro Company acquired Lawn-Boy in 1989 and discontinued production of most of its equipment.

State Farm Insurance Rates Rise (2024)

 This month I received my annual homeowner's insurance rate statement from State Farm. For 2024 the rate is going from $104 per month to $125 per month. Thats a 20% increase over last year's rate. It adds $252 to the annual premium, which is now $1512. The home is located in the upper Midwest and is currently valued at $384k per Zillow. State Farm, California's largest insurer, announced it will discontinue coverage for 72,000 homes and apartments starting this summer. You would think that by cancelling high risk policies, rates could remain the same in lower risk regions, but it looks like that isn't going to happen. State Farm is also raising rates for everyone to compensate for their claim losses.

Reading a homeowner's insurance policy from State Farm is very confusing. You come away feeling like you are paying for things that you don't need. On my policy they add coverage for other structures, fuel oil release, and bed bugs, none of which I have. This year they added watercraft bodily injury liability, which I don't need. You get a lot of stuff you don't need built into your insurance policy. If you question them about it, they just tell you that it can't be removed. They also have a lot of fine print with exemptions for just about every situation imaginable. You can't be sure what level of coverage you are paying for.

I was looking at my auto insurance information on the State Farm website and noticed that they had one of my vehicles being driven 4000 miles per year and the other at 12,000 miles per year. The vehicle at 12k per year had a higher premium despite being 3 years older. Since I no longer have to commute to a job, I decided to change the mileage to 4000 on both vehicles. To my surprise, this reduced the semi-annual premium by $30. So, yes it makes a big difference how many estimated miles you have listed on your policy. It still doesn't cover the increase on the homeowner's policy, but it helps. It can be a challenge to find ways to minimize the amount you pay for insurance. Most of the time your only option is to raise your deductibles. I have only made one claim on my homeowner's insurance in 13 years. In 2017 a storm blew some shingles off the roof. I was able to get half the cost of a new roof covered under my homeowner's policy. But I have easily paid them back for that in premium payments.

So, you may be thinking, why don't you switch to a different insurance company? I've been with State Farm for a long time. They have local agents in town if I have a question. The few times I have had to file a claim, the experience has been fairly smooth. I have both home and auto policies with them, which gives me a discount. Switching to another insurance company would require switching both home and auto. I don't think the cost savings would be worth the effort. All insurance companies have their pros and cons, and they all can raise their rates for any reason. You could switch and get a lower rate, but next year you might end up paying a higher premium. I am not a big fan of insurance companies. It is a necessity that we have to endure. Most states now require proof of insurance to register a vehicle. No states have laws mandating homeowner's insurance. But a lender will require it if you have a mortgage.

Refurbishing Xbox One controllers

I think I finally found an item that I can sell on Ebay to make a (small) profit. I recently decided to look for a newer Xbox One controller and went to Shopgoodwill.com to see what I could find. They had numerous controllers, but most were getting bid too high. On Ebay, used controllers typically sell for between $30 and $40 depending on the model. I eventually found a gray/blue one that I liked and won the auction for $32.27 with tax and shipping. Since it was a custom color scheme, I didn’t mind spending a little more. I was planning on selling my old controller to get some money back anyway. When it arrived, I discovered that there was a problem with the vertical movement on the right joystick. In a game, the vertical axis would move on its own, which was a sign that the analog joystick actuator has worn out. This is also known as “Stick Drift”.

It turns out that this is a common problem and a reason why there are so many used controllers at Goodwill and other thrift stores. I decided to see if I could fix the problem on my own. I first needed to get a tool kit to take the controller apart. Since this problem is so common, there are dozens of tool kits for sale on Amazon and Ebay. The kit I bought had 3 different screw drivers, 4 actuators, 4 joysticks, a cleaning brush, and 3 nylon pry tools all for 12 dollars. With the tools, I was able to open the controller to get access to the actuators, which are soldered onto a circuit board. I next watched several YouTube videos to find out how to best go about replacing a bad actuator. Several videos showed the old actuator to being completely dismantled with wire snippers before being desoldered. There are 14 leads on each actuator, which makes desoldering a challenge.

I discovered that it was easier to remove only the horizontal and vertical pots that are attached to the sides of the actuator. These two pots are the main failure point. So instead of desoldering 14 leads, I only had to desolder 6. I used a desoldering tool to remove the solder from each lead, then used a small screwdriver to ply each pot loose from the base. They just snap on/off and are then easy to remove. I installed new pots and soldered them in place. The controller worked perfectly after it was reassembled. Since I didn’t remove the whole actuator from the pc-board, I was not as concerned about calibration. I found a YouTube video that explained calibration. Most methods involve manually adjusting the pots. Of course, other problems are common, such as sticky buttons and controllers that won't turn on.

After I was able to repair the controller, I bought two more online for $28.83. This was a better price and they only needed to be cleaned. Now I had 5 controllers, so I decided to sell 2 of them on Ebay. There are four primary model numbers. Model 1537 released on November 22, 2013. Model 1697 released on June 9, 2015, which added a 3.5mm audio jack and the ability to do firmware updates wirelessly. Model 1708 was released on August 2, 2016, alongside the Xbox One S console; this model added Bluetooth connectivity. The fourth and current model, Model 1914, was released on November 10, 2020, alongside the Xbox Series X|S; This model has a flat concave D-pad, an additional “Share” button, and changed from Micro-USB to USB-C.

I sold one model 1537 for $30 and one model 1708 for $34. I asked a little more for the newer model and they both sold in one day. I think that was a fair price for a used controller that has been cleaned and tested. For the newest model 1914, I would expect to get around $32 + shipping. When looking for used controllers, I avoid 3rd party controllers because the resale value is not as good. The only problem is that there are a lot of other folks that have figured out that you can make money refurbishing and reselling used controllers. The bidding on used/untested Xbox one controllers is very competitive. It is getting difficult to win an auction and still make a fair profit at resale. I used to focus on the games, but the trend is for all future games to be downloads. All controllers eventually wear out and Gamers will always be looking for an affordable controller. In the past two months I have sold 6 controllers at an average profit of $8 each. I only buy two at a time to refurbish so I don't have a lot of used controllers sitting around. It makes good use of my electronics knowledge, video game, and reselling experience.