Comments on: The Gift Card Dilemma(s)

By: Peter

Peter — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 05:13:33 +0000

If you like gift card but have a hard time using up the last few buck on the visa/mastercard type, you can transfer the balance to PayPal now at http://www.cashfromcards.com.

By: bunny

bunny — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 19:26:14 +0000

if you ever again end up with a sephora gift card, you might consider trying out a shaving cream by jack black or one of the other men’s lines they carry. these products aren’t just for men who spend a ton of time on themselves, they’re for any guy who appreciates a close shave. i worked there for many years and men from all walks of life enjoyed these products.
also, hello many years supply of body wash!

By: Kevin

Kevin — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:44:10 +0000

Amp -

That’s a great idea about using the “leftover” balance on a gift card.

I also agree with a couple people that you should either let your kids pick out a book, regift the card or give it to charity perhaps if you really don’t want to buy something for yourself.

By: Dee

Dee — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:25:09 +0000

I agree with Sally Villarreal, and I’m surprised it took 34 comments for someone to bring up combining a gift card with coupons. A couple of Christmases ago, I got a JCPenney gift card from my in-laws. I had just lost a lot of weight and I needed new clothes. By combining the GC with sales and coupons, I pretty much doubled the value of the card. Besides using a gift card to buy things for others (also using coupons and sales to stretch the value), you could also check out sites where people trade gift cards they don’t want for ones they do. I love the idea of passing the card to the person behind you in line – good karma!

By: Emily

Emily — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:22:32 +0000

Don’t forget that if you wait until the company closes down, you may not be able to use the gift cards. When The Sharper Image announced it was going bankrupt earlier this year, it also announced their gift cards were essentially worthless. They got in trouble for that and began accepting the gift cards again, but only if you spent a certain amount of cash in addition to the card (I believe it was $50).

Sometimes competitors will accept coupons of the companies closing, (http://blogs.creditcards.com/2008/08/gift-cards-bennigans-steak-and-ale.php) and sometimes you can use it at partner businesses that are still open, but that doesn’t always work out. We just got a comment from a reader saying they tried to use their Steak & Ale gift card at a partner restaurant (the back of the card said it would be accepted there) but that place said they could not honor the card and could at most give them one free meal and one drink, which was a fourth of the value.

In this tough economy, you may be best using the card ASAP in case the business shuts down.

By: reulte

reulte — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 09:35:17 +0000

Why don’t you take your son to the bookstore and let him buy himself (and baby sister) a book for you to read to them (I really like Simms Taback’s “Jacob’s Coat” and “There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly” for his age, maybe a ‘touch’ book for her.). Explain the card to him the best you can, have him pick the book/s and get in line and ‘pay’ the cashier. Leave the bookstore when he is tired of looking at books (not when YOU’re tired). This could be an early lesson in how a ‘credit/debit card’ works. Go on a very slow day . . . when the cashier will notice the small customer in line and have him do it all by himself if he feels like it.

By: Tracy

Tracy — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 22:36:55 +0000

You suggested using a gift card right away, then won’t take your own advice. Maybe the giver knew about your $0 spending on books goal, and wanted to give you a book, knowing how much you love them. A very thoughtful gift indeed.

Go buy yourself a book and enjoy it :)

By: Jason

Jason — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 21:08:59 +0000

I’d like to share an alternative to gift cards that I use. Take a bill (preferably a crisp new one) of the desired denomination for the “gift card” and on the blank border write a suggestion for spending, I.E. “book store gift certificate,” “farmer’s market gift certificate,” or my favorite “Liquor Store Gift Certificate.” This way it shows you’ve put a little thought into what the recipient would like (at least as much as a Target gift card shows anyway), without limiting what they can do with it, paying some company in advance, or giving them something to lose in a drawer. It also allows more creativity than the boxes marked Starbucks, Target, etc.

By: neimanmarxist

neimanmarxist — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:38:05 +0000

I almost always use gift cards to buy people presents. I know, it’s not what they are intended for, but if you don’t need or want anything from the store it is a great way to re-purpose the card. I feel badly giving gift cards, most of the time – I have a hard time seeing how it’s different from cash; the same thing but less versatile.

Someone gave us a $100 gift card to 10,000 villages. There was nothing I wanted but we used the card toward a $150 bowl for my mother in law ’s birthday. we still paid something for the gift, and were able to get something really nice for less of a cash outlay. perfect!

By: liv

liv — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 18:31:47 +0000

Gift cards are awesome! This Christmas, I plan on setting up a gift card white elephant gift exchange (last year was board games)…but anyways…while it can backfire, you should make a list of things you want throughout the year, or grocery/necessity lists. if a random gift card should appear in the mail that matches the list, then you really are getting something you need. remember, only use the list for things you will have to SAVE for to get!

By: Jane

Jane — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 17:42:57 +0000

To Gunny, you might trt allrecipes.com for zucchini recipes, they have a new one that is supposed to have the texture of crab cakes, I haven’t tried it yet, buy the reviews are great.

Trent, thank you for the great post on gift cards. I was going to just save them for a Christmas shopping trip. Now, I can still use them for Christmas, but I will use them quicker. I lost a water massage because I didn’t use the gift card befor it expired. I really like to receive gift cards, and I will use them quicker. Thanks for the post.

By: A Non

A Non — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 17:23:51 +0000

Why go through all the hassle of keeping track of gift cards. I sell all mine on eBay and use the cash wherever I like.

By: Gunny

Gunny — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 12:53:07 +0000

Fiona, thanks-correct, I need to harvest earlier. Shevy thanks as well, but alas; it’s only one plant-no way to plant less. Your ideas sound great. Momof4, The recipes sound great too. My daughter saw the zucc and cukes next to each other and asked about Cucumber Bread. Hmm. I’ll pass the ideas off to Household 6. I blame Trent. $%#^ compost. $^%&# Gift card!
Concur with use it or lose it.

By: Joel

Joel — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 11:42:00 +0000

Personally I detest gift cards but for absolutely different reasons above. I married and had a child recently, and lots of people prefer to give gift cards rather than give cash or consult the wedding/baby registry. I hate shopping.

Long ago I learned that buying anything pricey left me with a sense of buyer’s remorse whenever I looked at it. There’s a certain Zen like quality of life when you only buy stuff when you need it (not just because it’s on sale, or you might need it in the future).

For this reason alone I hate gift cards. If you don’t want to give me a gift, give me cash. It’s a cop-out to give a gift card (which is basically cash, but limited to one store) instead of a real gift. When I get one, I now have to go shopping, which I view at best as a chore, a to-do on my long list of never-ending string of tasks.

Not sure I’ll like the gift? Include a gift receipt so I can return it (if I dislike it strongly enough). Consider the gift/receipt combo as a heavier version of a gift card. At least giving a gift shows you gave it SOME thought.

But please, do not make me go shopping. Just give me a real tangible gift or sweet, debt-reducing cash.

By: Fiona

Fiona — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 11:32:27 +0000

To Gunny: I can’t stand zucchini myself but I have had and enjoyed a rich chocolate cake made with zucchini. I think the zucchini was peeled and grated to give moisture and bulk to the cake. I couldn’t taste zucchini at all (much to my surprise and delight) and it was much more interesting than zucchini bread. The only way I’ll eat zucchini from now on. I gather that freakish size rather than excess crop has been your problem but for future years you could harvest the zucchini flowers and use them as the Italians do – stuffed with savoury or sweet mixtures and fried – and reduce the crop. As to the calf-sized specimen – zucchini and their near relations are notorious for doubling in size overnight. If the cake doesn’t appeal, I’m sure you could devise a pickle.

By: Sally Villarreal

Sally Villarreal — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 08:37:48 +0000

I don’t think using this card is cheating at all. The goal was to not spend money on books. This is not your money. Whoever gave it to you wanted you to have a book.

Also, you can use your gift card to buy gift books for someone.

I think that’s when gift cards truly are gifts, as opposed to cash. They were giving you the enjoyment of getting a book. You were not obligated to save that money or spend it on rent. They don’t often work that way.

You can also combine your gift card with sales and coupons. You didn’t specify the bookstore, but both Barnes and Noble and Borders have coupons of single items all the time if you join their mailing lists.

In some cases it’s probably best to wait for what you need or really want. Obviously, you have tons of books that you would like to buy.

If all else fails, I’ll take that giftcard off your hands.

By: Shevy

Shevy — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 06:40:49 +0000

Zucchini fried in butter, mmm. Now if I could just get my 5 yo to touch it.

Next year plant less. I remember once when I was a little kid my dad overplanted and we were eating it just about every night, making zucchini bread, plus giving it away to all the neighbors.

Never having grown it myself I wonder if it’s possible to pinch them off early if you see that you’re going to have too many….

As for the gift card issue, I got a $30 gift card for a book store a couple of years ago that disappeared almost immediately. I think someone who was cleaning up wrapping paper tossed it in its little envelope by mistake and I only realized it was missing a day or so later (far too late for dumpster diving). I love books, so it was a Big Deal.

Trent, do as others have suggested and use it for a book or books to give as gifts. Don’t risk something happening to it or its value over the course of the year. If you don’t trust yourself in the bookstore, send your wife.

By: Richard @ Student Scrooge

Richard @ Student Scrooge — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 06:14:22 +0000

I’ve gone back and forth on this as to how best to manage gift cards. I think your advice to use it as soon as possible is certainly the easiest way to handle the situation, but in my experience I end up feeling pressured to buy something I might not otherwise want. Similarly, I am not a huge fan of spending less than the value of the card, simply because you end up losing some value. So when I get a gift card, I try to evaluate how likely I am to use it — if it somewhere that I am likely to purchase something from, I wait until I am ready to buy something. To try to fight off expiration problems, I keep a spreadsheet that lists the gift cards I have and when they expire — its a small bit of effort, but it helps me keep track of these gift cards.

Also, an encouraging sign in the last year or two has been how many large retailers have moved away from expiration dates on their gift card, which makes me even more inclined to wait to use a card until I need to use it.

By: Eric

Eric — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 04:18:17 +0000

I completely disagree with using the cards immediately. My wife and I were married nearly two years ago and we still have a couple of gift cards sitting the drawer. We always wait to use them until we really need something from that store.

Luckily in the state of Washington, we have two great laws. Companies can not charge any kind of inactivity or “lack of use” fee. Those 2 year old cards are still worth their full value.

Also in the state of Washington, once the balance on the card is below $5.00 you just ask the store for the cash and it is yours!

By: Michelle Littleton

Michelle Littleton — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 03:55:23 +0000

If you have a card that you don’t think you would use, and you don’t have a way to regift it, it would make a great donation to a local shelter, foster care service, etc. I have worked for a women’s shelter in the past, and I have been involved in foster care in the past, and I know how helpful those kinds of gifts can be. Just a thought, if you can’t use it, or pass it on to a friend or family, donating it would be the next best step.