10 Reasons Gift Certificates Make Horrible Gifts
I don’t know who came up with gift certificates, but they should receive an award for one of the best marketing jobs ever pulled on the unsuspecting public. How else can you explain how people are willing to trade money, for a less useful and more restrictive form of money at a one-to-one ratio?
For those of you who can’t think of what to buy your miserly Aunt Josie who doesn’t seem to enjoy any material possessions or your nephew, John, who is involved in the next cult-like fad of card-collecting, baggy clothes or earsplitting music, avoid the temptation to get a gift certificate. Here’s why:
1) Gift certificates are like money, except less useful.
Money can be used everywhere. Gift certificates can only be used with specific stores. If the gift certificate offers some kind of special service or discount, this tradeoff might be reasonable. However most gift certificates can’t be redeemed for cash, nor do they offer special treatment so buying one is essentially buying less useful money.
2) Gift certificates are a mark of defeat.
When I’ve given gift certificates in the past, the unstated words are, “I give up.” A gift certificate is basically a sign that you couldn’t think of an actual gift to give the person, so you will just let them pick it out for themselves. If you want a gift that says, “I don’t know you well enough to pick out a gift, but I thought cash was tacky,” get a gift certificate.
3) Gift certificates have expiry dates.
Not only are gift certificates a more restricted form of money, now some companies have the nerve to put an expiry date on them. As if trading your money for less valuable money wasn’t enough, now you get the bonus of having money that only lasts for a year or two. Most stores won’t tell you about the expiry dates, but if you check the back most tell you that your less-valuable money will become completely useless after several months.
4) Gift certificates can backfire.
The main argument for a gift certificate over cash, is that it shows at least some thought into preparation. However, this can backfire if you get someone a certificate for a store they never shop at. I’m sure we’ve all had the joy of running over to a store to use a gift certificate to buy an item we don’t need, just to feel like we aren’t wasting it.
5) Gift certificates can cost your friends and family money.
When you give a gift certificate, often you are forcing them to pay some of their own money to use it. A twenty-five dollar gift certificate isn’t a whole lot at some fancy outlets and technology stores. You may be forcing your recipient to spend another ten or twenty dollars in order to use your wonderful gift. How thoughtful!
6) Gift certificates get lost.
Many stores have started using gift cards instead of certificates. These little devices magnetically store info about the dollar value they hold. Despite the tracking of the gift certificate money electronically, you still need to have the card in order to use it. That means that if your certificate gets lost, the money is gone forever. At least you can deposit cash in the bank.
7) Gift certificates have leftovers.
What actually costs exactly twenty-five or fifty dollars? Usually your lucky gift-card recipient will be left with a couple dollars on their card after buying a gift they probably didn’t really want for themselves. This means your tradeoff for less valuable, expiring money loses an additional dollar or two.
8 ) Gift certificates mean a trip to the store.
Buying a real gift for someone says: “I know you don’t like to treat yourself, but I went to the trouble of getting something I know you’ll like at a store to save you the visit.” A gift certificate is the do-it-yourself version of a gift, forcing the receiver to make a trip to whatever store you happened upon and spend hours driving, browsing and fumbling with the card.
9) Gift certificates don’t earn interest.
Okay, so twenty dollars in cash isn’t going to appreciate much in your 1-2% annual interest savings account, but it’s still more than your certificate. Slowly losing the battle against inflation you can be happy knowing your gift becomes less and less valuable each day before it eventually gets lost or expires.
10) Gift certificates… aren’t all that bad.
I’ve been giving gift certificates a hard time. Despite their many flaws, sending cash is still a faux pas by many peoples standards. And despite the lack of logic in preferring one to money, many people still do. Many people actually prefer the colorful little cards to gifts if it means they don’t have a choice at all.
Besides, when it is Christmas Eve and you still need to buy for a half-dozen more relatives, that card at the checkout counter starts to look a little more attractive. Sure it isn’t as thoughtful as a hand wrapped gift complete with ribbon, but Hallmark cards aren’t as romantic as hand-written poetry, but nobody does that either. You might just have to throw up your hands and give in to the brilliant marketing scheme that are gift certificates.
WRITER'S BIOGRAPHY
Scott H Young
Scott Young is a university student who writes about productivity, habits and self-improvement. Scott has been featured on the Be Happy Dammit! Show.
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Comments
Mike says on December 25th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
I actually really like gift certificates. Both giving and receiving. If I receive cash, I feel like I need to be responsible and put it into savings or use it for my regular expenses. But if I receive a gift card, I know I can go out and do something I normally can’t afford to: shop for something I like!
Eloy Ramirez says on December 25th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
when someone has no idea what to get me, I have no problem with gift cards. I don’t like requesting a particular gift. But, being a music lover, itunes gift cards are extremely useful.
Jeri Dansky says on December 25th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
You raise many valid points, but I don’t mind getting them myself. If it’s for a store I don’t shop at - as is often the case - I give it away to someone who can use it. They can also be sold and swapped; for example, see thegiftcardtrader.com and http://www.giftcardbuyback.com.
And here in California we’re protected against expiry dates on most cards, and will soon be able to cash in the small leftovers.
And if we’re talking about gift certificates for services (a facial or a massage, for example) - well, that’s usually a great gift! We don’t always spend the money to pamper ourselves, but we like the pampering.
dtj says on December 25th, 2007 at 3:04 pm
Gift certificates are fantastic gifts! They are cheaper to acquire and ship and don’t end up in being returned.
For people, like myself, that are pretty particular about what they want, or have relatives that aren’t as savvy as they should be, gift certificates are great. Let’s say you want a RAM upgrade for your laptop. Do you write a note to dear old Grandma explaining SODIMM and DDR? Or do you request “a Best Buy gift certificate for a memory upgrade”. What if what you really want is well beyond the gift-givers practical price range? Granny can’t pony up for an ipod video, so maybe half the price in the form of a gift certificate, rather than something else that you really don’t want or need. Think about gifts of clothes. I wouldn’t dream of buying my wife clothes, as I don’t particularly pay attention to her sizes for various pieces of clothing, nor do I have a focused bead on her color choices. That’s not because I am an insensitive oaf, its cuz i’m a guy and womens sizes don’t make one bit of sense. After all, size 14 pants are sort of give or take 4 inches of circumference, depending on the brand. And, no, I am not able to differentiate between eggshell, ivory, and white!
Not only must the gift-giver be charitable, but the receiver should also be charitable towards the gift-giver. Sending my Mom to the Newegg website will only end in frustration and disappointment. Or, because people can’t get me what I really want, should I just ask for another pair of socks that I won’t wear?
JimK says on December 25th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
I disagree completely, as do many others.
raja_r says on December 25th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
Since millions of people buy gift cards every year, maybe they know what works for them?
grant0 says on December 25th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
Where I live (Canada), it’s illegal for retailers to put expiry dates on gift certificates. =)
Seriously!
Dbk says on December 25th, 2007 at 10:50 pm
5 reason horrible gifts make horrible gifts
1) Horrible gift is horrible.
2) You feel embarrassed telling the gifter you don’t like it so you keep it anyway.
3) You tell the gifter you don’t like it but they don’t have the receipt or a gift receipt to return it so still yours.
4) You did manage to get the receipt, but you only had till January 31st to return it, and you’re too late. Even a gift certificate with an expiration date would have given you more than 37 days to redeem it.
5) So you do manage to get the receipt and return it to the store before January 31st, but there’s nothing you like, so you end up getting a store credit. Man, that was a lot of work for what is essentially a gift certificate!
Funky Love Bunny says on December 25th, 2007 at 10:56 pm
having owned retail stores the real nasty reason we sell them is that most people cant wait to spend the gift card after they get them so its a great way for shops to get rid of the stock that no one wanted to buy at christmas then after most of the gift cards have been traded in we then go out and buy new stock but avoiding the stuff that didn’t sell until after christmas. Also with the amount of parties and public holidays there are at that time of year you can be earning good interest on the customers money before they can actually get to your open store. Another great thing for rtailers is the card are often bought buy people who already shop in your store and want to tell their friends or family how great it is so it helps to bring in people who wern’t or wouldn’t have been your customers otherwise.
And heres the best point for retailers……………….
Every year 10 to 15% off our gift cards get lost or forgotten about!!!!! Pure Profit!!
1 more nasty to look out for is that if a retailer is on a short term lease they will usually only stay around until they have cashed in over the holiday season. so you will be left with money that can only be spent in a store that doesnt exist
MightyLambchop says on December 25th, 2007 at 11:11 pm
Gift cards/certificates have no expiry in Oregon.
rachel says on December 26th, 2007 at 12:27 am
in canada, gift certificates are no longer allowed to have expiry dates, so they retain their monetary value. i like and support this law.
however, online after the holidays i often see people selling their gift certificates/gift cards so they can get cash to buy something else.
you present a good list of reasons, though, even if i only agree with a few of them.
Miss Cellania says on December 26th, 2007 at 1:33 am
The one reason I expected to see here wasn’t. When you give a gift card, you can’t disguise how much you spent on it. It’s like giving a gift with a big bold price tag still attached.
seeyouinthepark says on December 26th, 2007 at 1:34 am
i absolutely loved this exchange of views on a subject many think of as mundane but which is really a wonderful window into important issues. as for gift cards, i can’t object if the retailer involved is one that i like and will shop at anyway. and oh yeah, the iTunes gift cards are my favorites too.
lowrads says on December 26th, 2007 at 2:01 am
It gets worse.
There are “gift cards” issued by major entities like Visa and others that are absolute ripoffs, despite the fact that they are supposed to be usable anywhere their carrier is accepted.
For example, on a typical $100 gift card, there is often a $4.95 fee for service or activation. That’s a 5% lien on money you already own. It’s treated as a loan that you pay one time interest on even though you already paid it off up front. Frequently, these fees are recurring. Some yearly, others process the fee monthly after an introductory period has passed. I believe it is simply a loophole to get around anti-expiry laws.
Every time you “reactivate” a card by putting more money on it, most cards reapply the service charge immediately. They are a simply a horrible way to store or transmit money.
Furthermore, even the friendliest retail clerks despise dealing with them. They fail to work correctly fairly often, which means that consume the time of managers above the clerks in larger stores, and create an unpleasant experience for the customer that staff cannot easily alleviate.
Sensible store chain owners would recognize them as an uncharitable predation upon their customers with unwarranted overhead concerns for their own business, and banish them from the shelves.
Michael says on December 26th, 2007 at 6:43 am
I had some expensive car repairs made during the holiday season. My mom wanted to give me some cash for Christmas to help me out, but I told her not to give me that. I would be fine. So she gave me a $100 gasoline gift card! Ha, ha! :o)
I would recommend buying someone a gift card to, say, a restaurant or other place they might want to go, but never can justify the expense in going. But, like you said, you have to take into account how much money your friend might spend on top of the gift card. That might cancel out the benefit.
Romasio says on December 26th, 2007 at 9:00 am
If I were to give someone a gift certificate, on it would be stated only the service a person will get, for example massage. I do not understand how anyone could give someone a cert with exact sum in dollars etc. on it… that’s pure nonsense… A gift has to bear some secret with it
StckFigure says on December 26th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
There are also some websites that let you swap gift cards for more useful ones, or occasionally even for cash. Googling will do a good job finding a couple sites; generally, they’ll charge you a bit, but it lessens the blow of the $25 gift card to a store you don’t like (or isn’t even in your town!) with a swap for a $25 to your favorite store (or selling it for say $20 in cash), with a buck or two going to the website. There’s also eBay, but that’s a bigger pain.
Chris Jones says on December 26th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
I agree with this post; although I would like to add something
11. Gift Card Piracy - people jot down the numbers than put them back on the stand. So when someone buys the card the hacker goes online and uses the money the person put on the card!
From the team
http://www.inspirationalexperiences.org
Mrs. Micah says on December 26th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
I think 5 & 7 are the biggest arguments against. But then, people mostly get me gift cards to my favorite crafting store…and I only use them when I was going to buy stuff anyway. So they don’t really cost me money and I use them until the leftovers are gone. But I find that annoying about gift cards to other places. I have a $3 Target card waiting to be finished off. (On the other hand, it helped me buy a really nice twin set that I love but wasn’t in my budget.)
I just have to figure out how to cash my Christmas bonus American Express check…
Mary says on December 26th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
I like gift cards because of many of the reasons stated in these comments. And the argument about having to go to a store and go through the racks and what-have-you to find something is not completely valid in this internet age. Most gift cards can be redeemed online. And Amazon and others offer free shipping for particular items or if you order over a particular dollar value. So I try to give gift cards/certificates for at least that amount or more.
However, I do agree about the refillable credit cards. They are a rip off and a hassle to use. Unlike gift cards, you don’t get a remaining balance on receipts after use and as stated by someone else before me, they nickel and dime you to death.
Nathaniel Poe says on December 26th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
I love gift cards. When a friend or a relative asks me what I want for my birthday or Christmas, I always ask for a gift card. The way I see it, a gift card is the only way to guarantee that I get exactly — and I mean exactly — what I want. I’m not interested in “the thought,” I’m not interested in “close enough” and I’m not interested in what someone else believes might make a good gift for me. I want what I want, so God bless gift cards.
dkong says on December 26th, 2007 at 6:32 pm
“What actually costs exactly twenty-five or fifty dollars?”
Not counting tax, many things. Most videogames are around the $50 mark. $25 can be easily spent at a bookstore with a $10 purchase and a $15 purchase.
But above all else, a big reason I know that some adults give out gift cards rather than cash is because you can’t buy alcohol or pot with a mcdonald’s card (well, usually not, I guess), but you can with cold hard cash.
Thus I know a few adults who don’t like giving cash to teens for that reason alone.
dkong says on December 26th, 2007 at 6:42 pm
“11. Gift Card Piracy - people jot down the numbers than put them back on the stand. So when someone buys the card the hacker goes online and uses the money the person put on the card!”
You realize how unlikely that is?
Most cards that you need to type in numbers (usually for onlines stores, like iTunes or the Wii shop channel), the cards are either in hard to open plastic (wii points cards) or the numbers are worthless until activated at the register (itunes cards).
So I really don’t see when this would be an issue.
Cyco says on December 27th, 2007 at 1:52 am
This may be the stupidest article I have ever seen on this site.
Amy says on December 27th, 2007 at 1:58 am
I think gift cards are a great idea - that way they are not wasting money on something I don’t want, and will then return and only get at best 50% back. I had that happen today - I received two gifts that were totally lame, didn’t get a gift receipt and didn’t want to come out and say “hey, these suck” so knowing where they came from I returned them to the store - the person who bought them paid $30 plus tax, and because of the lack of receipt, when I returned it I got a total of $15.17. So they wasted that $15. And my only options were to return the items or throw them away, because I don’t have the space in my house for the stuff I want and buy for myself, let alone crap I don’t want.
Morte says on December 27th, 2007 at 2:01 am
Possible the worst article I’ve ever linked to from Digg. Not only do 9 of your points make no sense and/or are easily disproved, but your 10th point merely agrees with me abotu how bad the article was!
Morte says on December 27th, 2007 at 2:01 am
Possible the worst article I’ve ever linked to from Digg. Not only do 9 of your points make no sense and/or are easily disproved, but your 10th point merely agrees with me about how bad the article was!
UncleBoogie says on December 27th, 2007 at 2:07 am
Gift certificates are better than cash in one regard: They show the person put some effort in. Sure, they’re less useful than money, but the fact is anyone who bought me one would know to make it for a place that sells DVD’s etc… And it’s great to be able to go and physically buy something without having to use your own money.
If someone hands you cash, they may as well say “I couldn’t be bothered to do anything.”
And your number 8 is asinine. Most people are intelligent enough to give certificates for stores you’d frequent anyway, unless you’re a goddamn hermit.
subcorpus says on December 27th, 2007 at 2:43 am
i love getting gift certificates …
u have to understand that there are other people living in other countries … and some times the only way to get a service or a product from US is to use a gift certificate … a gift certificate purchased by a US citizen …
And also …
Your number 8 may not be so true …
there are lotsa online gift certificates … one you get by email … that you can use when ordering stuff online …
gift certificates arent so bad after all …
hehe …
Beerage says on December 27th, 2007 at 2:48 am
I can understand this article it does have some points. I gave and received gift cards fir christmas, I knew the store my sister wanted to get an item from, and I knew the cost would be greater than how much the gift card is worth, so I was safe giving it to her.
I also received one, I wanted one because then I would restrict where I spent the money, I wanted to get an actual present with the gift card, if I had received money, I am more likely to spend it alcohol.
Skip D says on December 27th, 2007 at 2:49 am
Gift certificates are great. Most of your points are erroneous are apply to all gift giving.
Simon says on December 27th, 2007 at 3:25 am
Here in Japan giving money is perfectly acceptable. New Years is just around the corner and I imagine all the kids here in Japan are expectantly looking forward to their otoshidama or money gifts that their grandparents and parents will give them. Of course if you are giving money here make sure it is in the right envelope - giving a wedding money gift in a funeral envelope is big no no!
amir says on December 27th, 2007 at 3:38 am
I agree for the most part though one big exception are cards at the right time. Like home depot for someone who just moved or babies r us for new parents. Though these show a degree of thought and are somewhat personal.
b says on December 27th, 2007 at 5:01 am
what ever happened to asking some one what they want? or some one that knows that person?
Dr. W says on December 27th, 2007 at 5:50 am
Writer’s block? Reasons 1-9 berate those daft enough to give gift certificates whilst reason 10 tells them that such behaviour is really okay after all. WTF, mate?! I hope you don’t do this with your children.
N8 says on December 27th, 2007 at 6:07 am
they have credit card type gift cards now, as of the last four years plus, if someone is so inept at giving a gift let alone a gift card they get one the people don’t shop at, they clearly don’t know the person and it’s a lot better off than getting some god damn gift that will end up meaning nothing, other than shit that’ll sit in a closet for ten years, and then thrown out/donated… basically the easiest way to put it is, DON’T BE SO GOD DAMNED ANAL, there’s pros and cons to EVERYTHING and this is a waste of fucking time.
Anonymous says on December 27th, 2007 at 6:21 am
Actually they do earn interest, ever heard of leveragecard.com ? Maybe you should do more research before posting such an opinoin.
Jon Henshaw says on December 27th, 2007 at 8:15 am
Interesting article. They aren’t all bad. I really like the Give Card, which makes you give 10% of the money to a charity.
Jon Henshaw says on December 27th, 2007 at 8:17 am
It would help if I actually included the link: http://www.givingtreelife.com/
erick says on December 27th, 2007 at 9:49 am
I work at Best Buy, some things I saw that are inaccurate in your list are expiration date. We don’t have any at expiration dates at best buy. Yes, some get lost, I’ve had a gift card that was 9 years old once.
Another thing, you don’t have to visit the store, most places take gift cards online.
You also say that you can’t use them anywhere, there are Visa gift cards (probably for other credit card companies as well), that you can use almost anywhere, except there is an expiration date, and usually is it 1 or 2 years.
Joe Shmoe says on December 27th, 2007 at 10:16 am
I’d just like to mention that #1 was plagiarized directly from the Dilbert cartoon.
Bill says on December 27th, 2007 at 11:20 am
#5 and #7 cancel eachother out. Your list is not cool. Must be bored, huh?
Eric says on December 27th, 2007 at 11:24 am
I like gift cards. When I receive cash, it goes into my wallet and I end up spending it on food or mundane daily expenses. Useful, but not exactly a fun gift.
When I get a gift card, even if it’s for a store I don’t typically shop at.. it gives me an opportunity to find something I may not have thought to buy myself otherwise.
Example.. I was just given a gift card to KMart.. a store that I pretty much hate. I was initially a little bummed, but after thinking about it for a few minutes.. hey I can use a new bookcase, or maybe a portable jump starter to keep in the trunk of my car. Neither of these things would be something I’d run out and just get myself, and I don’t think my family would think to buy me either.. so I’m thrilled with the gift. Who knows what I might have gotten otherwise.
In general, I think the points stated in this article are pretty weak. What costs 25 or 50 dollars? Thousands of things. Plus, most stores will give you cash if you bring a card down to under $5. So if you really can’t spend a few bucks of your own to cover the tax on a $25 item, just buy something for $20.
One of the points states that gift cards say I wanted to get you a gift but don’t know enough about you… YES YES YES.. that’s the point! That’s why they’re GOOD! I don’t expect my 82 year old grandmother to know what kind of clothes I like to wear, or what intercooler will fit my car, or what video games are good(or even to know what an intercooler or a video game is, to tell the truth)
zxcasd says on December 27th, 2007 at 11:28 am
@lowrads
about the Visa/Mastercard gift cards with $4.95 activation fee
hint: Google checkout $10 off for new users(i.e. those with a new creditcard… i.e. visa gift cards work there [i've tried via buy.com+GoogleCheckout]… i.e. i get $6 back…. I WIN !!!)
zxcasd says on December 27th, 2007 at 11:32 am
and i forgot to add….
for chinese people, they celebrate Chinese New Year….they give hongbaos(red packets WITH REAL MONEY) to relatives, family etc…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_bao
Supa Chiney says on December 27th, 2007 at 1:44 pm
I dont see anything wrong with Gift certificates
DNA says on December 27th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
I know what your whiny ass is getting next year:
NOT A DAMN THING!
Santa says on December 27th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
Its not christmas anymore dumbfuck
ecommercedude says on December 27th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
Cash money is the best gift certificate universally - can be used, saved, invested, whatever. I’d prefer to receive cash over any other gift. Signs of defeat? Why would I want the person giving me a gift taking so much time on me anyways?
dkong says on December 27th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
“And your number 8 is asinine. Most people are intelligent enough to give certificates for stores you’d frequent anyway, unless you’re a goddamn hermit.”
You’d be surprised…I’ve gotten countless sports authority and regal cinema gift cards for Christmas.
There are no regals or sports authorities where I live, but they are close to where the people who bought them for me live.
So I really don’t think it’s that rare…
waltbosz says on December 27th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
I hate gift cards. Who wants expiring money locked to a certain retailer? My dad’s standard Christmas gift is what he calls “Presidential Trading Cards”, or sometimes “A twenty wrapped in a twenty”. On my Christmas list I told people if they wanted to get me a gift certificate, stuff some cash in an envelope and write the name of a store on it.
If you’re the kind of person that feels obligated to spend gift money on a gift for yourself, but you don’t have currently anything you want to gift yourself with … consider rationalizing the new money as having already been spent on a past self-gift.
Joe says on December 27th, 2007 at 6:16 pm
Please don’t forget that some gift certificates actually are more valuable than money when you get them at a discount. It becomes an especially good gift if it is a place that the receiver does like, or has not been to but would enjoy going to. Every week I check for gift certificates that are 50% off, offered by local radio stations. Some restaurants also offer 20% off, so if you spend $100, you’ve just saved that person $20, assuming they would like to go there in the first place, and would spend that much money. You’re also in effect forcing someone to do something nice for themselves that they normally wouldn’t.
Greg says on December 27th, 2007 at 8:17 pm
Count me in the I love gift cards group. Let me tell you if you think you are buying just what some one will want or need then you will be totally wrong most of the time. Yes, they will smile and say they love it but most of the time its not true. Sure buy kids toys but for those of us who are a bit older cards makes a good choice. Better yet go shopping with them and then you can enjoy spending that extra time with they that you would have never had if you had given them some thing other then gift cards. : )
Dustin Wax says on December 28th, 2007 at 1:30 am
Great points. Seth Godin recently wrote about why companies LOVE gift cards: “breakage”. That’s the EIGHT BILLION dollars in unclaimed gift cards last year alone. What company wouldn;t like having customers giving them mney that there was a very good chance they’d never have to offer anything for in return?
Here’s the link: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/s.....ion-s.html
Tuplad says on December 28th, 2007 at 5:46 pm
You might want to check: http://www.violentacres.com/ar.....-the-world
Scott H Young says on December 30th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
Thanks for the comments everyone.
This post was meant to be a light, humorous post. Don’t take my attack on gift cards TOO seriously! I’ve bought them in the past and I still receive many (despite their craziness, people still love them!)
I also live in Canada. I hadn’t realized they changed the laws on gift cards that expire.
Merry XMas Everyone,
-Scott
Shopping says on January 9th, 2008 at 8:35 am
I had one of these which expired with $20 left on it! Was pretty annoyed by it!
Kwame Kuadey says on February 23rd, 2008 at 9:10 pm
Interesting article. This debate about gift cards keeps creeping up. Actually, more than 80% of gift cards by the major merchants do not carry fees or expiration date. How do I know this? I have compiled the data on my blog http://www.giftcardblogger.com under “Gift Card Guide” where you can sort the list of gift cards by features, including those without fees or expiration date. Granted, some of the other issues raised are legitimate concerns but I do not think they make gift cards necessarily bad.
Gift certificates says on November 26th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Well, for those that DO still like gift certificates, there is a new site at http://www.giftzip.com that basically aggregates access to gift cards from a boatload of major retailers. Makes shopping for them a LOT easier.
For those who think they make awful gifts, I would suggest you steer clear!
Derry says on December 20th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
This is funny since I usually get an Amazon gift
certificate from friends at Christmas. You
are right though, for two people especially,
twenty five dollars is not enough. My
husband and I get a CD each and usually
end up paying shipping charges anyway.
robert says on January 5th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
My recent experience with VISA and AMEX gift cards:
DO NOT USE THEM AT GAS STATIONS! (the pay at the pump ones anyway) It will deduct approx. $50 from the total value of the card and put it on hold for about 8 days! I put $10 in my tank on xmas day, I then tried to use the card at a deli where it was declined. I checked my balance and it was at $0!!!!!!!!! After speaking to the customer service rep. she said there was nothing I could do but wait 8 days for the money to be put back on!
DO NOT USE THEM IN RESTAURANTS!! an automatic 20% is added to the final bill amount or total that you ask them to put on the card. I had $15 left on my VISA gift card so I asked the waitress to charge $15 from it… It was declined! After I called and found this out I asked her to put $12 on the card… now I have to wait 8 days for $3 to be put back on my card!!!!!!!
this is some scam!!!!! especially because there was a $5 charge to buy this useless piece of garbage.. the credit card companies are reaping the benefits and using shady tactics to take advantage of consumers