I actually am running this experiment right now as well, basically trying this out for fun. Shortly after my post here on the 20th, I decided to create a YoBit account to test the OP's theory and to see if I could get performance similar to what I wrote earlier:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1126751.msg11928241#msg11928241I wanted to keep it realistic, meaning instead of just transferring .001 BTC in, I wanted to try and see what a person new to bitcoin with 0 invested would be able to do.
I began by using my test account's YoBit BTC wallet address, I hit up faucets for two days (all I could stand) and of course hit all the free coin buttons on YoBit which contributed some additional dust. I managed to accumulate ~ 0.00036 btc before becoming brain numb from the mindless clicking on those stupid faucets. Doing the math that comes out to just about a penny..... Not looking real good for initial investment, but hey a start.
Anyway, I then began looking at some coins on YoBit to invest in. Since my initial investment amount was miniscule, I only was looking at coins > 100 sat. I placed a few low-ball buy orders on a couple of coins that did not fill. At the time BIOS coin was newly released so I thought it may have some upside potential. I placed a buy order for 1440 BIOS coins which filled and I manged to snag some BIOS coins for 25 sat each.
Figuring it would have some good upside potential, but wanting a fairly quick sell as in the OP, I figured a initial 5x profit potential was an good place to start. I placed a sell order for all the coins for 125 sat each and went to bed.
The next morning which was the 24th, I was pleased (but not surprised) by sell order went through. I see BIOS actually spiked a bit higher, but I was still ok with 5x return.
So far then my test account log looks like this:
July 20 - Created account on YoBit and began hitting faucets - Ending Balance: ~ 3600 satoshis in BTC (only hit a few faucets before going to bed).
July 21-22 - Hit various faucets including YoBit's free coins- Ending balance: 36,000 satoshis in BTC and some dust in other coins.
July 23 - Hit a few more faucets which should be coming in, by now was I was sick of captchas so decided to start with the trading. Invested 36,000 sat into 1,440 BIOS coins @ 25 sat each. Note: I am not keeping track of fees at this point, as figuring extra dust and faucets will initially cover this. If the experiment gets to higher gains where fees are significant (> .001 BTC) I will start tracking those too, but for now this is easier.
July 24 - My sell order of 1,440 BIOS coins for 125 satoshis filled. Researched other coins and not finding anything attractive decided to try BIOS again. It had dropped down to the 60 sat range so I placed low ball bid on 6,000 BIOS coins for 30 satoshi each. Balance now: 0.0018 BTC (180,000 satoshis).
July 25th - My order has not yet filled. Canceled order and placed new buy order for 4285 BIOS coins at 42 sat each. If this doesn't fill I will look at other coins, but think BIOS still will have some volatility as it is new.
I will update this as I go on. If I get some more profit I might even break it out in its own thread, but for now I would think it only of interest to people in here.
NOTE: The reason my amounts seem so rounded (i.e. 3,600) is due the fact that I found what I consider the least annoying faucet that pays 1,200 sat every 15 minutes. I found it easier just to click this once in awhile throughout the day than keep track of many others that pay even worse and have more hoops to go through. My only other source is the YoBit exchange, which only awards 1 sat in BTC every 10 minutes and the free other coins which I don't have enough accumulated to trade yet.
July 26 - After evaluating the YoBit coin selection and not finding too much interesting, I re-opened my buy order at 42 sat on BIOS. It filled yesterday, yea!? I now have 4285 BIOS coins I am looking to sell. I see the sell orders are ~50 and it looks like the spikes into the 100's are over, so I am setting a sell order at 84 sat, or a humble doubling.
I will keep you posted, but so far I think I have dispelled any earn 1 BTC in a week simply from faucets. It could be argued my investment strategy is wanting, which I freely admit it is, but I did not see any mentions of being an expert trader in the OP, so I think the experiment is still valid.
I will maybe let this run for 1 month and see how it goes. The volume on YoBit is pretty low, so if I can trade my investment up to a point where the transfer fees will not destroy it, I may move the amount to a different exchange with higher volumes.