The holidays are a distant memory, but some reminders still remain — the gift cards, in your wallet.
You know, the ones you got from your grandchildren where the thought was beautiful, but the card itself?
Admit it, some of those holiday gift cards were not exactly what you needed or were hoping for. You don’t have to feel bad. You’re not the only one who raised an eyebrow when opening that gift card to Lids or Jamba Juice.
Well, you're in luck. There are several sites on the internet that will allow you to sell or trade your gift card, or even buy another one that interests you.
At cardavenue.com, you can buy, sell, trade, and auction your unwanted gift cards through a simple, free-registration process. All trade and auction transactions valued at $100 or more are guaranteed by Cardcowboy, a balance-verification outfit. After you register, you can make your unwanted gift cards available.
And what's available for you? As of this writing, a $500 Macy's gift card was up for auction, with a minimum cash bid of $424.50. The bid on a $100 gift certificate to Ticketmaster had a $75 minimum. A $25 gift certificate to Target was available for trade.
Cardavenue.com charges auction sellers 3.95 percent of the closing price, plus a fee of 50 cents. If you're involved in a trade, both parties are charged 3.95 percent plus 50 cents. Everybody involved has to have a PayPal account.
Swapagift.com works much the same way, but often you don’t have to auction the card. Swapagift will pay you cash for your gift card if it is worth between $25 and $200. The company offers 70 percent of the value of the card from such retailers as Best Buy, Lowe’s, Kroger, Home Depot, and Walmart, among others. Swapagift offers 65 percent of the value for retailers from A (Abercrombie & Fitch) to, well, W (Williams-Sonoma). Visit the website for a list of all the retailers.
Other sites that will redeem gift cards for trade, auction, or cash include plasticjungle.com, giftcardrescue.com, and giftcardbuyback.com.
At giftcardsagain, it’s just the opposite. On this site, you can purchase gift cards at discounted prices. For instance, gift cards for Applebee's restaurants are discounted 7 percent; for Best Buy, the discount is 5 percent; for Barnes & Noble, it’s 10 percent.
But what if you didn’t get a gift card and received a real gift? Maybe you received a nice electronic gadget that's an upgrade over what you have, and you want to get rid of the old one? Of course, there are web sites for that. Visit gazelle.com or myboneyard.com to not only pick up a few bucks on those old laptops or iPods, but to easily recycle them. Be forewarned; however, you’re not going to get rich doing this. The Wall Street Journal did a story on these sites last summer; the reporter wanted to sell a 2004 first-generation iPod Mini in excellent condition, originally purchased for $249. Gazelle assessed its value at $25.
Still, you have options. And with Mother's Day, Father's Day, weddings, graduations, and birthdays, having these options for gift cards is a good thing.
When your present flops, here's what to do. Need gift ideas? Visit our Toys & Gifts section.
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