Nobody likes an inbox full of junk mail. In fact, many of us have a second email account just for junk mail so it doesn’t clutter up our personal inbox (you do don’t you?). But sometimes junk mail isn’t so junky. It’s usually where all the restaurant coupons and fun Groupon adventures wind up that you forget about until they expire. But not all junk mail is created equal, in fact, mine just bought me lunch.

I used to shop at Staples quite a bit since I got free money from their ink-recycling program that has since changed and is unfortunately no longer worth the trouble. When I saved up a bit in rewards I would buy myself something nice, like a chair, or a hard drive, but not before finding someone with a valuable money-saving coupon I could apply towards my purchase. Staples has some pretty good coupons once in a while, so good in fact, that they are worth money to the right person. Knowing this, my interest piqued when I saw the subject line “Special coupon from Staples” in my inbox.

Upon inspecting the email, Staples had graciously provided me with a coupon worth $25 off any $75 purchase. Not a bad coupon at all if you’ve already got something picked out. Knowing the value of these coupons I did a quick check on eBay to see what I could get for it. I set a modest price of $6.50 and sold the coupon within an hour. The best part is, I didn’t have to mail anything, just a quick email to the buyer with the coupon code and done.

Staples has a variety of coupons, some better than others, and you can almost guarantee a sale if you price them right. And there are plenty of other good ones as well. You may look at that $30 of $75 Express coupon and think you might not use it, but somebody will. 10% off Lowes? That will get you free lunch too.

Next time you get a good coupon in your inbox (or mailbox) do a quick check on eBay and if you put in a few minutes of your time you might be getting yourself a free lunch too!