Portfolios often sell for 1% to 10% of their face value (e.g., $1 million in debt might sell for $40,000).

Buyers often receive only a spreadsheet of account information, sometimes lacking the original signed credit card agreement or complete payment history.

Debt buyers profit if they can collect even a small fraction of the total outstanding balance across the entire portfolio. Can Individuals Buy Debt for Pennies?

The practice of buying credit card debt for "pennies on the dollar" is a multi-billion dollar industry that allows banks to write off uncollectible debt and provides investors a high-risk opportunity to profit from delinquent accounts. While this is a common business model for professional agencies, it is significantly more complex for individual investors. How the Debt-Buying Market Works