There's a good possibility that one or more gift cards were among the gifts you got for Christmas or other occasions this year. Certain very fashionable gift cards are probably welcome additions since you recognize that you will use them. But others, like gift cards offered by specialty stores, won't ever be used by you or anyone in your family.
So what are you able to do with unwanted gift cards?
At this point of the year, that's a crucial question. According to estimates since 2008, $43 billion in unused gift cards have been issued. The fact that some issuers levy annual inactivity fees, some cancel their gift card programs, and a few even go out of business adds to the situation. If any of these happen, the worth of the gift card will be reduced or eliminated altogether. So that it doesn't happen to you, here are seven belongings you can do with unwanted and unused gift cards.Sell Your Unused Gift Cards for Cash
Websites are available that will enable you to sell your gift cards for something very close to their face value. One such site is GiftDeals.com. When you sell your gift cards through the site, the location promotes that it will get you the best price possible. They also promise that they "only work with the foremost reputable resellers to provide top-notch service and prompt payment." Once you've arrived at the site, all you have to do is enter the name of the retailer or store on your gift card to check which exchange site will give you the most money. The percentage you can sell a gift card for on the site can vary depending on the merchant (which determines the popularity of the card). For example, gift cards to a well-liked retailer like Target will fetch as much as $90 for a $100 card. But a $100 gift card to a way more highly specialized retailer, like Bass Pro Shops, will get no quite $78. Still another site where you'll sell your unwanted gift cards is Gift Card Granny. There you'll sell hundreds of famous (and not so popular) gift cards and provide you with the choice to either redeem the proceeds by mail or online. The site claims that the most popular gift cards can be sold for as much as $92 (on a $100 gift card), which is significantly less than the face value, and that they also provide free shipping.Regift the cardboard
If you're not satisfied with the refund policy offered by a specific gift card issuer, probably the simplest way to recover at least some of the value of the card is by regifting it to someone else. Let's say that somebody gives you a gift card to T.J. Maxx, a store where you never shop. Regift the cardboard to someone else, who may very well shop there. You'll save money because you won't have to buy another gift. Of course, this is often not the same as recovering anything close to the value of the gift. But it'll enable you to meet a gift obligation to someone else without truly paying for the gift.Sell or Exchange them with People you recognize
One of the best things about unused gift cards is that almost everyone has a few of them lying around. Nowadays, you may genuinely get free Amazon gift cards! Please send emails to everyone in your social network offering them to exchange their unwanted gift cards for their own undesirable cards. It's possible that others have a similar stock of unwanted cards, but you'll never know unless you ask. It only takes one person to form a match, and you'll each recover the total amount of your unwanted gift cards, whether or not that involves the additional exchange of a small amount of cash.Donate the Gift Card to a Charity
Donate your unwanted gift cards rather than giving cash to a favorite charity. Even if you don't have any use for a particular gift card, a charity may be able to put it to good use. If you're going to give cash gifts anyway, the gift cards will represent a recovery of the worth of the cards. A tax write-off is another way to gain a more immediate advantage. A present card will be tax-deductible for the face amount of the card. If you've got a combined federal and state marginal income tax rate of 35%, you'll get an immediate tax benefit of $35 on a $100 gift card donation.Use the Gift Card to get Items that You Can Sell.
Just because you don't care about a gift card issuer's merchandise doesn't mean others don't. If there's no other way to redeem the gift card, consider buying one of the more popular items that the issuer sells. And once you've got it, sell it on eBay, Amazon.com, or maybe Craigslist. You won't get anything near the total value of the item you're purchasing, but it'll at least give you a chance to recover some of the card's value.Return the Gift Card to the Store That Issued It.
Unwanted gift cards are frequently handled in this manner. However, not every issuer makes it simple to attempt. Here are a number of the possible outcomes of returning gift cards to the issuing retailer:- The retailer may exchange the cardboard for cash but at a reduced rate. For instance, the issuer may refund 90% or less of the face value of the cardboard.
- The issuer refuses to simply accept a return of the gift card unless you have the purchase receipt. This will be awkward anytime you return a gift, including a present card.
- The issuer may offer an in-store credit, which will be useless if you don't shop at their stores in the first place.
Use Gift Card Exchange Websites
Another benefit of using Cardpool is that they can swap gift cards. After all, there are several websites that now work for exchanges, including CardCash, CardHub, Raise, and Junkcard. On these sites, you'll exchange or sell one gift card – that you won't use – for one that you will. Since the discount fees related to each card are different, you'll end up paying a small fee in the exchange. Otherwise, you can even earn a small amount if the gift card that you are offering comes with a smaller discount. Whatever you opt to do with your unwanted gift cards, the worst strategy of all is to quickly put them away in the hope that you may one day use them. More likely, you'll forget you've got them, turning them into an entire waste of money. The simplest time to deal with unwanted gift cards is always as soon as you receive them. The vacations are over, so make sure of it now!