Reality Imitates Fiction: California Family Makes Millions Moving Bottles and Cans Between States For Recycling, Like Classic Seinfeld Episode ‘The Bottle Deposit’ – The Problem? It’s FRAUD – Say Prosecutors
Arbitrage is a trade strategy to generate gains from the difference in a security’s price in different markets. You purchase assets from one market at a lower price and sell them in a another at a higher price, thus generating a profit.
A crazy application of this principle can be found in the classic Seinfeld episode called ‘The Bottle Deposit,’ in which insane neighbor mailman Newman learns that bottles and cans can be refunded for 5 cents in New York but go for 10 cents in Michigan. The scheme bonds Newman and fellow loony Kramer into and adventure that goes sideways, as is usually the case.
This scheme has been widely used in real life, but – as it happens – it’s against the law.
