Last I had heard, Starbucks was scaling back its empire in response to the downturn in the economy, closing poor-performing stores and canceling the opening of new stores. Why then, do I still see their logo on every street corner?

I went to the local bookstore the other day hoping to find a good read for a quiet Sunday afternoon, and even then couldn’t escape the coffee giant. Their disposable cups with the cardboard sleeve were in the hands of every other customer sitting down browsing through their books while deciding which were intriguing enough to be worth going over the monthly book-buying budget.

I wondered how these avid readers could even afford a coffee addiction when they intend on buying a stack of books as high as three Venti Caramel Macchiatos. Starting at almost $4 for a fancy-named cup of milk and espresso, this one addiction that explains why half of America is broke.

However, as I sat down reading my own selections of “maybe I’ll buy this today,” I noticed several customers using a Starbuck’s gift card to pay for their two-gallons-of-gas worth of sugar and cream. I decided to look into it, thinking maybe there was some rewards program or other incentive that was keeping customers’ addiction to caffeine a priority above their addiction to money.

Apparently, from what I gathered, eBay is good for more than baseball cards and used books. Why I wasn’t browsing their site for my reading material that day has more to do with the time frame between seeing something I want and actually receiving it, rather than the quality of goods I find at auction.

So anyway, when doing a little research into why consumers prefer to pay with these plastic cards, I found a link to a Starbuck’s gift card on eBay for $29.99. Now right off the bat I’m thinking that $30 won’t get a Frappuccino addict further than a week’s worth of highs. I’m feeling a little sorry for the sucker who needs his coffee enough to buy an auctioned off fix. Then I read the fine print.

The card, at $29.99 plus free shipping–and no sales tax because it’s being offered in one of those states where the government hasn’t stepped in yet–is actually valued at almost $40. Thirty-eight dollars and seventy-one cents, to be exact. For those of you math challenged folks out there, that means on eBay you can buy a Starbuck’s gift card for only 77% of the face value.

A savings of 23% on a legal drug isn’t bad, I decided. Not bad at all and in fact quite good. Unfortunately for those of you switching over to eBay right now hoping to scoop up a few of these good deals, most auctions don’t offer these high of savings. I’d say the average is between 5-15%, though if you are one who knows where every Starbuck’s is located between your front door and your grandmother’s house in Minnesota–you are looking to save a good chunk of change with even a 5% savings each year.

With the average Venti “anything” costing about $4.55 plus tax, considering the average consumption of 6 per week–that’s about $1550 worth of frilly caramel and milk per year. A mere 5% savings would save your typical addict over $75/year, but a generous 15% would save more than $150. Consider the savings if every Starbuck’s gift card you found was offered 77% of face value. It’s enough to pay for a year at the gym where you can work off your high calorie addiction–or more than $350 to be more specific.