I remember as a kid my Grandparents would always give me a McD's gift book for $5 and I would buy a small fry (back then about .25) and collect the change. 5 times. Then I'd go buy a pack of smokes from the vending machine at the bowling lanes and spend the rest on video games and pinball.

Just do away with gift cards.
I farking hate them.

Did I say video games and smokes? I meant booze and hookers.

Nothing is stopping you from spending $5 and applying the gift card balance to your purchase while funding the rest out of pocket. Stop being misers. On the other hand, I totally agree that gift cards should be 100% refundable and exchangeable for cash. I hate getting a $100 gift card for some place I'll never go to and I end up buying some piece of crap just to spend the card after a year so it doesn't start having a $2/month fee start leeching away the value.

Finally, a decent idea for gift cards. Instead of having states steal your money, give it back to the owner of the card! Some states like Maryland has been pushing to confiscate money from gift card balances using "abandoned property" laws.

Why does subby hate pencils?

capecodcarl: Nothing is stopping you from spending $5 and applying the gift card balance to your purchase while funding the rest out of pocket. Stop being misers. On the other hand, I totally agree that gift cards should be 100% refundable and exchangeable for cash. I hate getting a $100 gift card for some place I'll never go to and I end up buying some piece of crap just to spend the card after a year so it doesn't start having a $2/month fee start leeching away the value.

i agree from a consumer standpoint, but i'm not sure how i feel about the government making it mandatory for the businesses. the unspent cash on the cards is part of the business model. the cards themselves aren't free to produce, and stores wouldn't if they couldn't make them profitable.

if a company finds out they can enjoy profitability from the cards while offering the ability to change it for cash, it would catch on. maybe one will try it.

Best Buy has a new (to me) policy of handing out $5 gift cards when you purchase $X worth of merchandise. I guess the idea is to coax you into using it on your next trip, but since it's free, I feel no obligation to use it at all.

Never buy a damn gift card. Give people money. The only person I would think to give one to is a drug addict, and they would probably sell it for 50% cash.

capecodcarl: Nothing is stopping you from spending $5 and applying the gift card balance to your purchase while funding the rest out of pocket. Stop being misers.

It's not being miserly, it's being something other than a tool of marketing campaigns and major corporations. Avoiding a con is not being a miser. Buying a gift card is giving the store a 5% discount on selling you stuff, since you're likely to never spend those last few bucks.

they do this now with rebates too, it's a pain in the ass.

California started this on Jan. 1st.
Any gift card with under $10 can be redeemed for cash.
Works great for me, but most people have no clue about it and retailers look at me stunned when I ask for my money back.

Barnes and Noble gives you back cash on a gift card purchase if the balance is under $1.

moothemagiccow: It's not being miserly, it's being something other than a tool of marketing campaigns and major corporations. Avoiding a con is not being a miser. Buying a gift card is giving the store a 5% discount on selling you stuff, since you're likely to never spend those last few bucks.

Actually, it's a win-win situation. Either you use the gift certificate, and essentially get a discount for stuff--but a discount that someone else payed for--or you wind up not using the gift certificate for the whole amount, and you donate some cash towards the business.

What can fark with folks, is that gift certificates can really fark with inventory, since the local outlet doesn't get cash in their till for them. Depends on how folks account for their gift certificates--Massachusetts just saw a small meltdown for a lot of restaurants because they passed a law requiring businesses to redeem gift certificates for seven years after issue, no matter the printed expiration date. A lot of small businesses who had figured the gift certificates were done and gone got hammered when gift certificates came back on them like a tidal wave.

Handing the cashier my gift card should be like handing them a bill. I want my change back. Yeah, it costs the store money to produce and process the cards, but I can't believe they aren't making all of that back at christmas when they're selling millions of dollars of cards that aren't redeemed for at least a month.

Ha ha! I feel superior because I have a $250 Sharper Image gift card!*

Oh, wait..

* not really

SoBeDrummer: California started this on Jan. 1st.
Any gift card with under $10 can be redeemed for cash.
Works great for me, but most people have no clue about it and retailers look at me stunned when I ask for my money back.

I did not know that. Now I'm off to see if it works!

SoBeDrummer: California started this on Jan. 1st.
Any gift card with under $10 can be redeemed for cash.

That

/gift cards are such a scam, in some states you get totally screwed over with acquaintance fees, expiration dates, etc.

moothemagiccow: Never buy a damn gift card.

Or, if you do, get them something that's not store specific, like a visa prepaid gift card or something.

/good wherever visa is accepted

hubiestubert: moothemagiccow: It's not being miserly, it's being something other than a tool of marketing campaigns and major corporations. Avoiding a con is not being a miser. Buying a gift card is giving the store a 5% discount on selling you stuff, since you're likely to never spend those last few bucks.

Actually, it's a win-win situation. Either you use the gift certificate, and essentially get a discount for stuff--but a discount that someone else payed for--or you wind up not using the gift certificate for the whole amount, and you donate some cash towards the business.



Actually, it's win-win-win because most people get a $50 gift card will end up buying $62 worth of stuff, the extra twelve coming out of pocket. BONUS!

Here's a link of mine from a few weeks ago that didn't go green:

I've got a Visa gift card with $2.50 left on it. Any ideas on how to blow it online in a mad dash of freewheeling lack of care? (new window)

Well, crap, the link didn't work.. operator error:


I've got a Visa gift card with $2.50 left on it. Any ideas on how to blow it online in a mad dash of freewheeling lack of care?

Thanks to sokeri, I spent it on delivering a cookie.. to sokeri, of course.

http://www.specialtysdirect.com/cookiegram_create.asp (new window)

SoBeDrummer 2008-03-01 03:11:32 PM
California started this on Jan. 1st.
Any gift card with under $10 can be redeemed for cash.
Works great for me, but most people have no clue about it and retailers look at me stunned when I ask for my money back.

Serious? That's awesome. My place is pretty much littered with gift cards holding $3 or less in balance. Clerks should be required to inform you of this option.

Oh, and kudos to Maine. And I don't say that often.

Most giftcards DON'T store the value on the card. So you simply buy some lame cheap gift, collect the change... spend it somewhere else.

Or, you know, you could tell the person who got you the gift card that you hate that place.

While it's annoying when you have a card with just a few bucks left and you can't get cash out of it, this is the agreement that's made when someone buys a gift card. This is a matter between the customer and the company, I don't see why government should be getting involved. If you don't like the terms on gift cards, don't buy them.

I remember, at the arcade, as a kid, I would have 13 tickets left, and the only thing to do was buy two tootsie rolls and three plastic spider rings.

/That's almost the same.

This weeks Stupid uneccesary legislation brought to you by the State of Maine.

Con_Authority:

Finally, a decent idea for gift cards. Instead of having states steal your money, give it back to the owner of the card! Some states like Maryland has been pushing to confiscate money from gift card balances using "abandoned property" laws.

I thought you said "finally a decent idea", it sounds like Maryland had a pretty good idea as well.

How come nobody has mentioned those damn fees on VISA giftcards. $1.25 a month? Yeah, they are good for a year, but at the end of the year you have lost $15.00!

I sense a return to coupons mighty quick. They can still get away with giving you 1/20th of a cent there...

If you understand the time value of money, you'll understand why gift cards are brilliant for businesses and terrible for consumers.

Maine is great...come visit! Bring your shiatty giftcards.

SoBeDrummer: California started this on Jan. 1st.
Any gift card with under $10 can be redeemed for cash.
Works great for me, but most people have no clue about it and retailers look at me stunned when I ask for my money back.

Wait, what? Srsly?

I need to remember this next time I use one of the gift cards I inevitably get for christmas/my birthday

ChrissySeebs: Maine is great...come visit! Bring your shiatty giftcards.

I love Maine but haven't been there in a long time.

Can I trade my gift cards for lobster and cranberries?

BizarreMan: Barnes and Noble gives you back cash on a gift card purchase if the balance is under $1.

That's ass. It was $5 when I worked there.

I'll let you in on a little secret too - you can cash out any gift card amount if you cause a scene with the manager.

"Nothing is stopping you from spending $5 and applying the gift card balance to your purchase while funding the rest out of pocket."

Many places will charge you a split tender fee if they can get away with it. Many also refuse to honor them online.