R.I.P. Gift Cards - "You had so much potential. Now you rot"
Now that's an attention grabbing title! haha...I've been coming across a lot of hooplah lately surrounding the idea of gift cards lately, so I figured i'd drop my own 12 cents. (I don't know why people say "2" cents, i don't think there's any logic to it is there? I'm changing it to "12" cents)Did you know that billions of dollars go UNUSED by not cashing in these cards? The numbers vary depending on where you're reading, but about 10% of them never make it out alive. It's not the worst thing in the world, but it IS basically throwing cash in the trash. Those poor Washingtons never stood a chance :(
"There is no way a $100 bill would sit in my drawer for a year," said BobSO TRUE! I don't think i've been that bad in the past, but I've definitely slipped and let a couple expire over the years. I just forget, but at least i'm not the only one ;) When it comes down to it though, "they" say it's better to spend it sooner than later. Especially now a days when a handful of companies are going under (The Sharper Image, Bombay Company, etc) where the plastic is worth as much as a pile of turds.
Butler, founder of Cardavenue, a Web site for buying, selling and swapping gift
cards. "But people will let a $100 card do that. . . ." - blog.cleveland.com
But what if you can't stand the store? Or it's too far a drive, or you really don't need anything?
Don't like your card? Trade it in!
According to good ol' Butler quoted above, "If you don't want this money, go get other money. ... I think our biggest issue is, people don't realize there are alternatives." I couldn't have said it better there Bob.
I, personally, had not idea there were places online where you can trade them in! And sometimes even for cash! Freakin' genius if you ask me. Here are a few places offering such services, courtesy of the same business blog over at cleveland.com:
Cardavenue.com: Fee: 50 cents plus 3.95% from sellers and traders and shipping.
Leveragecard.com: No fees. Users pay shipping and subject to marketing efforts.
Plasticjungle.com: Fee: 10% for buyers and sellers; 35% to 45% if selling for cash.
Swapagift.com: Fee: $1.99; 30% to 40% of value.
I haven't tried any of them myself, but i'd love to hear if anyone else has!
Don't want to trade it in? Re-gift it (*gasp!*)
I really hate to admit this, and i came close to leaving this part out, but it IS an idea :) If you're not one to buy things just for the sake of it, why not re-gift it? Or even more, what if your budget is tight and you're about to attend 5 weddings?
Well, for the first time ever, I used a gift card last night to buy gifts for someone else. We had $200+ in Bed Bath and Beyond credit, and we really don't need anything else since we got so much from our wedding. The Mrs. has been dying to use it for the handful of weddings we have coming up, so I finally just gave in...and I feel great about it! Our budget is still in tact, and we didn't let the money just dry up.
Yes it would be better to use it on yourself since the giver of it probably wanted you to do so, but if it makes you happier using it for others I say go for it. If the giver ever asks what you picked up on their behalf, just tell them "financial peace of mind". haha...
The point is, you should really just DO SOMETHING with them and not let them rot away (as I so elegantly put it). Someone wanted you to enjoy life a little, and it's about time to make their wishes come true...or at least someone else's ;)
Labels: gift cards, gifting, randomness 3000, shopping
posted by J. Money at
11:30 AM
13 Comments:
What about gift cards that just get lost? :( I got a blingy $50 giftcard to Macy's for my birthday, but I can't find it. There's no chance I would have lost a $50 piece of green, that's for sure. Where, oh where did my giftcard go??
You can sell them on ebay too. They seem to do pretty well on there.
Great post today! You neglected to mention the sheer disappointment that arises from THINKING you have a $50 giftcard to use, only to realize after swiping it that you already used $43 of it.
Not that it's entirely relevant to your post, but since it happened to us last night, I'm still bitter!! ;)
I'm itching to spend my Sephora gc ($100), Lush gc ($25), and spa gc ($150). However, I have to wait until I have a permanent address!
I agree with Ashley. Selling them on eBay is super easy!
Another peeve- losing your receipt and getting store credit for a return, when you won't easily be able to use that store credit (i.e. to a store you don't shop in regularly)
I've re gifted a gift card before - I don't see any problem with it :) It save me money.
Great post!
ah, I'm all about the re-gift. lol. you said "turd." i've got to read you more.
Great post! I have sold several gift cards on giftcardbuyback.com and have been looking for some other sites like this, so thanks for the list. :) I'm also a big fan of regifting the gift card, or using the gift card to buy a gift for someone else. My aunt always buys me junk at TJMaxx and I always take it back and get a gift card. Usually I sell those or use them to buy basics.
Hey! My name is Austin and I work for LeverageCard.com. Thanks for the shout out. It's great people are now paying attention to their gift cards. It's a shame billions of dollars is lost each year. Especially with all the bankruptcies recently . Just wanted to add (and you can fee free to moderate this), gift cards that are purchased through us, are protected from bankruptcies. When Sharper Image went under, we lost close to a $1000 in gift cards. I'm still trying to figure out, how to get our money back.
I have always considered trying one of those websites, but it has always seemed like more hassle than it's worth. Here's my favorite suggestion: ask all your coworkers to bring in the gift cards they don't really want. Then swap with each other. If you work in a decent-sized office, you should have plenty to choose from. Recently, a co-worker had a $25 gift card for Chile's and I had a $25 for Pei Wei, and we considered trading, though we ended up not. But that made me realize that coworkers are a great untapped resource for this, especially since people live in different parts of town and may have preferences for places you don't like.
Boy, i don't know WHAT you can do if you lose your gift cards. I think you might be $hit outa luck, eh? Some stores may have a record of it, like if you returned something and gave all your info, and if they logged it into the computer, but it's a crap shoot.
What i hate is when stores give you credit on a receipt paper!!! Do you know how much easier that is to lose or stuff away somewhere? Bed Bath and Beyond does this, and it always scares me cuz you need that paper to use your credit.
i'd much prefer an actual card to carry around. at least that way if/when i lose it, i can only blame myself ;)
Emily GREAT idea! I've never thought about that, but you're right you can prob. get a handful of cards to swap around...i just might have to bring that up!
pt turd, turd, TURD.
I absolutely hated getting gift cards, I always saw them as a cop out for giving gifts. Be personable and put in some thinking!!
I wrote about the SharperImage bankruptcy on my blog, and cited that as a n example of why gift cards are a bad idea. For the SI issue, they were allowing the card to be used as 50% of the purchase, and would only take the card once, i.e. use it all or give up the rest.
I had multiple $25 cards and certificates accumulated over some time both from gifts and company promotions. One day the store manager saw me pulling out a stack, and kindly offered to transfer all the value to one neat card. So, with no particular item of interest that I am willing to buy for 50% money, I am out the total $800. Gift card holders should count as first creditors, ahead of any others. These cards are bought with cash, and stores should not be permitted to take the sale as income, it should remain a liability on their books.
I'm going through all the gift cards in my daughter's collection, and for any store she's outgrown, finding the balance and either selling them or giving them to someone who can make use. It all adds up.
I love the $20 cards to a store that takes $5 of gas to get to, and a $50 purchase to find something worth buying.....
Joe
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