Benefits of Giving Gift Cards
Many people have discovered the benefits of giving a gift card as a present instead of trying to find something that their loved one will like.
How many people have been on the receiving end of a gift that they never used? And how many people were the one who gave the unusable or likable present?
Let’s be honest, everyone over 21 years of age has more than likely been in both situations.
It is okay to give your father socks for a birthday or Christmas gift when you are 8 years old, after all, he probably needs them. But what to do when you are an adult yourself?
This is where a gift cards come in handy.
Basic Benefits of Giving Gift Cards as a Present
Who doesn’t like getting a gas station gift card for their birthday? Even a regular ‘ol department store card is better than getting an ugly green striped sweater that your mother in law thought would be “perfect for you”.
To be honest, this author’s mother-in-law just gives cash as a present, but a plastic card with some money on the balance certainly would make a suitable option.
Recent studies have determined that there is more than a billion dollars worth of spendable cash just sitting on unused gift cards. This has given rise to a whole new industry.
There are several companies that now help people get money for gift cards that they are not going to use. What these companies do is buy gift cards at a discount from people who either aren’t going to use them, or just want to get cash for them.
Usually the company will offer as much as 90 cents on the dollar for the value of the card, and then re-sell them to other people who want them for 95% of the value. These wholesale gift card companies make money on the “spread”, which is the difference between what they bought them for and what they sell them for. It is a pretty cool business.
You can also find companies that will do an outright swap too. What this means is that it is now easy to trade gift cards for gift cards. If you have one that you don’t like you can swap it for one that you do! Most of these same companies will also offer you cash for your unused or partially used card too.
If you keep a watchful eye on the offers available you can sometimes find cards that are discounted as much as 30% or more from the actual cash value. Of course you don’t have to tell the person receiving your gift that you got it at a discount, but you can be sure they will more than appreciate the fact that you didn’t buy them another pair of brown socks that they will never wear.
