You have a list of folks you want to send gifts to. Many are out
of state. Then there are your immediate siblings. Some you know well.
Others? You just don't have a clue as to what half of them like? So you
consider giving them a gift certificate. After all money doesn't grow on
trees. The fact is with the cost of gas doubling over the past few
years, inflation on our heels and the growth in family reunion
attendance, offsetting the cost of gift giving by finding low priced
items that every body loves has become an even greater challenge then it
ever has been. Thus the growing popularity of gift cards.
The
National Retail Federation anticipated $17.24 billion worth of holiday
sales last year in gift cards. The reasons gift cards are so frequently
bought in place of other items are numerous. No one wants to give a
gift that is not appreciated. In addition, who wants to burden down an
aging relative with having to drive several miles to a store she nevers
shops in order to exchange the gift.
All
too true. For instance, what if you give a gift card from a sporting
goods store to someone who's not into sports? Or a gift to shop a
jewelry store to someone who lives too great a distance from the store
to even bother to shop there.
But has the gift card changed all
that much over the past three or more years? Perhaps. Prepaid gift cards
issued by VISA and MasterCard offer a way to use a gift card anywhere
credit cards are accepted. Prepaid debit card issuers and 60 percent of
store gift card issuers offer the potential to obtain a replacement card
with the remaining balance if the original is lost or stolen. But
getting a replacement may require the purchase receipt and the card
number. Some companies may accept other proof of purchase. The gift
card recipient would have to have all these papers to obtain a
replacement. No wonder a significant percentage of gift cards have gone
unredeemed. That said, when buying a gift card, look carefully at the
pre-purchase disclosures of terms and conditions on the web site and the
packaging in the store. If terms are not given or appear too cryptic
to be complete don't buy.
So when a recipient receives a store
issued gift card from a store they don't like obviously the card just
sits in a dresser drawer until it's long past the expiration date? Are
merchants pocketing the cash while the gift card purchasers just throw
away money? That was once the case. But companies like Sears announced
it is eliminating expiration dates from all gift cards issued beginning
December 17, 2003. Other card issuers have been quickly following suit.
In
addition to less expiration date worries there are now a handful of
companies dedicated to redeeming major retail gift cards for recipients
of unwanted, unredeemed gift cards. One site, thegiftassistant.com,
offers gift card ordering, redemption programs as well as gift card
exchanges. Many of these companies offer services for such card issuers
as Best Buy Starbucks and Outback SteakHouse. Still with all the recent
changes in favor of the recipient losing the impersonal commercial
stigma associated with gift cards has been a challenge.
Some gift
card websites have gone to great lengths to overcome this obstacle. Now
you can upload your own images and add your own text to create a custom
card. Embossed text gives the card that engraved look, a very personal
touch.
Still with all the work to personalize a gift card they
still seem to need help to stand out in the crowd of greeting cards and
gift bags. After all a gift card is four times smaller that a simple
greeting card and weighs only a few ounces. Does this mean that gifts
card don't have what it takes to stand out among large presents? Some
issuers compensate for this by upping the monetary value of gifts cards.
Some cards values far outweigh any large dominating boxed gift. From
$200 to $300 or more. With the advent of prepaid debit gift cards from
VISA, MasterCard, American Express and DiscoverCard folks can give a
gift card valued at $500 to as much as $3000 dollars depending on the
provider. Perhaps big things do come in small packages.
Important gift card tips:
Retain
a copy of all the purchase receipts and the card numbers. Mail original
receipts to recipient. Papers including instructions and card use
should also be sent to the client as some cards do not have expiration
dates printed on the card itself.
With all the attention gift
cards have been given these past few years it would seem they are here
to stay. Just make sure you can find them once you've put them away. And
above all exchange or redeem the non-debit kind.
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