Discover How To Buy, Sell Or Trade Gift Cards
Wikipedia has a simple definition of gift cards as being a something that is issued by banks or retailers and that hold a specified monetary value that may be cashed in for products or services. They have become very prevalent as they offer a convenient way of giving a gift you know the other person will like. Businesses love them because they are a large source of revenue. So much money, in fact, that research in 2006 discovered that people in the U.S. and Canada spent a combined total of over $81 billion dollars on gift cards.
This has created an entire industry geared around selling add-ons such as gift card holders that mixes a greeting card and a place to insert the gift card. If ordinary holders or too mundane for you, you can always choose from a array of attractive gift card packaging, from bags to tins and boxes. This is all great but recent estimates on card redemption rates showed that approximately 10% of these cards never get cash-in.
This means billions of dollars that are collected by retailers without them having to ever hand over a product or service. Even though this means 100% profit for the store, a used card can really bring in more revenue. Studies have shown that customers will generally spend more than the card’s value on merchandise or services.
Inability to redeem a gift card can stem from several factors such as expiration dates, complex redemption rules or lost cards. But what happens if you are simply don’t like the store that the card is good for. Recently there are a few internet based services that are exploiting to this segment. These are the gift card resellers.
These reseller websites, such as Plastic Jungle, allow people to buy gift cards at a discounted rate or sell a card you no longer want. And it is not only buying and selling because you are able to trade cards also. Some sites can also guarantee that you will be able cash in the gift cards for their entire value.
This is starting to be popular with consumers who otherwise could be stuck with a card they may never use. Converting the card into cash allows you to use that money for something you want. Since a lot of people hold a credit card balance the money may be used to pay some bills.
Buyers may be receiving the better end of the deal. The reason is that these gift cards are usually sold at a reduced price. The reduction that is given can vary but you could look to get ten percent off of the card’s posted value. This can add up to a great deal of savings specifically if you use it to purchase items that are on sale.
Many of these reseller sites have yet to make a profit themselves but popularity seems to be growing. This is assisting make gift cards more valuable for the general public. The cash value can now be unlocked and put towards anything that is really needed, want, or meaningful.
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