8 Things You Need To Know About Gift Cards

Bankrate Via CNBC:

There's no denying the popularity of gift cards. You'll probably be getting or giving one this holiday season. As a last-minute gift, it's a no-brainer. But there are some things both the giver and the receiver need to know to make the gift worthwhile.

According to the National Retail Federation, 52.8 percent of consumers surveyed said they would like to receive a gift card for Christmas.

Total gift card spending in 2006 amounted to $24.81 billion, up from $18.48 billion in 2005. And the average amount spent per gift card rose to $39.16 from $33.42.

So whether you're getting or giving, here are eight things to consider when buying or spending a gift card.

1. Fees for cards
When gift cards first began gaining popularity a few years ago, many retailers charged a flat fee to you to buy the card in addition to the amount you loaded onto it. Not anymore. Retailers have found that the average "spend" beyond the face value of a card is 25 percent. They don't have any reason to charge you a fee for the card; they just want to get you into the store.

Read the whole story: Bankrate Via CNBC

Comments

[loki]

shouldnt you run a story like this BEFORE Christmas? You know, when people can use this information to make a intelligent purchase.. Oh crap what am I saying, people, intelligent purchase in the same sentence??? Thats like an intelligent republican voter. Aint no such beast.

[johnnycanuck]

Do not buy them .

[DoctorDonut]

You can either collapse outta global polital pressure to BUY IT NOW....

http://www.theweeklydonut.com/index.php/category/christmas-2007/

Or go with the Religious flow:

http://www.theweeklydonut.com/index.php/category/santa-pope-and-the-frightened-little-boy/

The holiday choice is of course yours

[Earl]

GIFT CARDS SUCK. PERIOD.

[JaneaneTheAcerbicGoblin]

A lot of big retailers want you to buy gift cards because they often expire after a year. Many people forget about them, so when the recipient doesn't use them, their time expires and that money stays in the coffers of the big retailer.

[dynametrics]

Lame article.
Failed to mention:
According to the Needham, Mass.-base­d consulting-firm TowerGroup, the estimated value of unused gift cards in 2006 was $8 billion. That amount eventually converts to a bottom-line profit because retailers and restaurants never have to supply products or services for those unredeemed cards.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071202/BIZ/712020348/1001/COL02

It's really a scam when you pay for extended an extended warranty on a product & when you need your product breaks, they send you a gift card in 7-10 days.
Another example of corporate bottom line impeding on consumer rights.

[robinhood1]

Gift cards are a silly idea, from the consumer's point of view. Why not just give the recipient cash and let her spend it where she wants? Gift cards are more likely to get lost or misplaced than cash. You can't get change back with a gift card. So the small amount left over may never be spent. Great for the retailer issuing the card, bad for the consumer. Safeway makes millions of dollars in fees every year selling other merchants' gift cards in its stores. That tells you what a lousy deal they are for the consumer.

[jurassicpork]

We here at Pottersville agree that Christmas has become too commercialized and that we tend to forget in the hyped-up hoopla of getting and spending the fundamental, original meaning of Christmas.

In this spirit, my lib'ral cronies and I have decided to celebrate Xmas at Pottersville in a more dignified and less profane manner by presenting the liberal's version of Jesus Christ Superstar, or Dubya Bush Superstar.

JP
http://welcome-to-pottersville.blogspot.com/2007/12/dubya-bush-superstar.html