Gift Cards Suck as presents!!!

[SUBMAN1]

Why do people insist on giving gift cards as presents for Christmas, birthdays, etc? I have a stack of Best Buy ones sitting in front of me that total hundreds of $$$, and there is not a damn thing in that entire store I want!!! To make matters worse, you can't just go into the store and cash out these cards (isn't that illegal?), you have to actually buy something with them. So simple logic dictates that you buy something and then return it, right? Answer - no! They will put it back on a gift card for you. How can they take your money, and then not give it back if you try and return the product? The logic escapes me unless it is purely for scam purposes.

So inevitably, my pile of gift cards will continue to pile up. Someone out there must have decided I like Best Buy or something, but I have no idea where they got that idea. For electronics, rarely do I want something that they might have - for stereos or TV, Definitive Audio is where I buy all my gear from, so why can't I get a gift card from here? SOftware is about all I would buy from them and they don't have a large selection in that area either.

Another complaint - Best Buy doesn't even sell full products for their larger ticket items either. What do i mean by that? Well, they have the same model # on the outside, but if you look at the SKU number on their TV's for example, and then go to any other store, the SKU number won't match the SKU number found at each and every one of their competitors. Turns out, this is a price point thing to make sure they keep the lowest cost - so something is hacked out of your nice brand new TV to keep the cost down! Had this happen to a friend of mine on his Mitsubishi TV. Best Buy had the same model, but the SKU was different, so upon further research, some of the TV's features were cut out to keep the cost down. Nice. THis is called buying on a price point - they are dictating to the manufacturer that they will pay a certain amount for a product, and that they plan to sell for a certain price. The manufacturer responds by making their model TV or whatever fit that bill - hence you get a crippled product.

So what do you say to the gift givers? Do I flat out say - stop buying me gift cards? I don't want them to waste their money is that problem. I am torn on this subject because you don't want to appear ungrateful, but still - they are probably wasting their money and time to get me these things. That is the big problem. I could sell them at a disount online, but that would take more time and effort than it is worth.

So I guess I will hang on to my gift cards and use them on the pathetic selection of games that come available in the best buy PC software aisle. Hopefully I manage to spend them faster than they collect. I am not banking on that idea though since I am failing so far.

Sorry for the rant - but had to get that off my chest.

-S

[STEED]

Feel better now? ;)

[SUBMAN1]

Feel better now? ;)

After looking at the stack again - not really.:D

[STEED]

Time for a good strong cup of coffee I think. :hmm:

[Gizzmoe]

there is not a damn thing in that entire store I want!!!
Because you already have everything or what? Why not buy a Geforce 8800, or a few DVD box sets, a Blu Ray writer, a color laser printer, a 500GB drive for backups, a digital camera, a household appliance, ...???

Man, I wish I had your problems... :lol: ;)

[bradclark1]

I wouldn't do this for everyone Subman but if you send those gift certificates to me I'll spend them for you.;)

[August]

there is not a damn thing in that entire store I want!!!
Because you already have everything or what? Why not buy a Geforce 8800, or a few DVD box sets, a Blu Ray writer, a color laser printer, a 500GB drive for backups, a digital camera, a household appliance, ...???

Man, I wish I had your problems... :lol: ;)
Yeah dig that.

Subman you ever thought of using those cards to buy stuff you could give to others as presents?

[SUBMAN1]

Time for a good strong cup of coffee I think. :hmm:

Got organic Black Chai tea rolling (http://www.amazon.com/Tazo-Chai-Tea-Bags-48-pc/dp/B0000WEV2G), with raw sugar (http://www.sugarintheraw.com/) and a bit of organic soy milk (http://www.silksoymilk.com/Products/SilkSoymilkRefrigerated.aspx#AL5). Sounds weird, but it tastes really good!

-S

[ReallyDedPoet]

there is not a damn thing in that entire store I want!!!
Because you already have everything or what? Why not buy a Geforce 8800, or a few DVD box sets, a Blu Ray writer, a color laser printer, a 500GB drive for backups, a digital camera, a household appliance, ...???

Man, I wish I had your problems... :lol: ;)
Yeah dig that.

Subman you ever thought of using those cards to buy stuff you could give to others as presents?

Or give them to charity to auction off:up:

[SUBMAN1]

there is not a damn thing in that entire store I want!!!
Because you already have everything or what? Why not buy a Geforce 8800, or a few DVD box sets, a Blu Ray writer, a color laser printer, a 500GB drive for backups, a digital camera, a household appliance, ...???

Man, I wish I had your problems... :lol: ;)
Because I basically have everything you describe except the Blue-Ray writer, but I think I will be going HD-DVD since I am not a fan of Sony products and I think Blue-Ray will be going the way of Betamax. I am waiting to find a high quality writer - maybe a Plextor or something, but of course Best Buy won't carry decent product, so that idea is out. I have the digital cam I want. I just bought another Seagate 500 GB for my Kurobox. I don't want DVD box sets - I prefer to just rent them. I have a ton of DVD's that I frankly watched once or twice and don't watch anymore - I'm in the mood to give away a lot of them since they take up space, let alone add to them!!!

Basically, I've been to the store 3 times since Christmas and walked out empty handed time and time again. That is the reason I wrote what I write above.

-S

[SUBMAN1]

there is not a damn thing in that entire store I want!!!
Because you already have everything or what? Why not buy a Geforce 8800, or a few DVD box sets, a Blu Ray writer, a color laser printer, a 500GB drive for backups, a digital camera, a household appliance, ...???

Man, I wish I had your problems... :lol: ;)
Yeah dig that.

Subman you ever thought of using those cards to buy stuff you could give to others as presents?

This is a great idea! Actually, you may have just hit the nail on the head!

-S

[Gizzmoe]

Basically, I've been to the store 3 times since Christmas and walked out empty handed time and time again. That is the reason I wrote what I write above.
Poor little bunny... :lol:

[SUBMAN1]

Basically, I've been to the store 3 times since Christmas and walked out empty handed time and time again. That is the reason I wrote what I write above.
Poor little bunny... :lol:
Hey! I wasted my time to go over there! :D That is probably why it irks me that i have these things in the first place - I've gone in there 3 times and it has been a waste of time.

[GSpector]

Hello SUBMAN1,

If I am not mistaken, I do believe those gift cards do expire.

If those do, then you can really complain about them taking your money.

One thing you might want to ask Best Buy is if you can consolidate them all into one card.:hmm: This would be good to do if any are due to expire.

[SUBMAN1]

Hello SUBMAN1,

If I am not mistaken, I do believe those gift cards do expire.

If those do, then you can really complain about them taking your money.

One thing you might want to ask Best Buy is if you can consolidate them all into one card.:hmm: This would be good to do if any are due to expire.

They don't say anything on the card about expiring. Hmm - maybe I should go buy something and then return it? That might be the best plan.

-S

[cobalt]

yeah, giftcards do suck, especially if you constantly get them to the capitalist superstore target.

[Penelope_Grey]

Gift cards do suck. Makes you wonder why not just give you the money in the first place....

[AVGWarhawk]

Smartest thing these companies ever did! Say you got a $10.00 gift card. You go and use it. The item is $9.95. There is 5 cents left over. Are you going to run back later to use that 5 cents? Probably not. Now, multiply that 5 cents over 10,000 people=$500.00 of free money:o. Mind you some people leave more than 5 cents on the card....I have;). Great 'free money' scheme to date!!!

[fredbass]

I know it doesn't seem very personal to give out gift cards but that is what I have ended up mostly doing for xmas gifts the last few years. 90% of the gifts I give are for my parents and they really don't need anything.

They enjoy getting gift cards and gift certificates so that's what I do. All I do is to make sure I know where they'd like to go. Then I get all my xmas shopping done in just a few hours, which takes place about 3 days b4 xmas. :up:

Oh, FYI, I take each card and put them in a separate box, stuffed with wadded newspaper and wrap them up with xmas wrapping paper. For me, I think it makes the holiday of giving a little more personal while taking up some space under the tree. :)

Subman: Just let those people know, who give you cards, where you do your shopping. It might help avoid your annoying issue. :yep: :lol:

[fatty]

I don't like to give them to people who live nearby. But my dad lives in the U.S. and knowing he is always up to a home renovation project, I got him a card for Home Depot. I didn't have to pay any extra shipping to just stick it in the envelope.

The issue for me is the dollar amount. With physical gifts, you take the tag off and the price is somewhat of a mystery. With the card, you can't help but feel that you're only worth as much as the card is for.

Oh, FYI, I take each card and put them in a separate box, stuffed with wadded newspaper and wrap them up with xmas wrapping paper. For me, I think it makes the holiday of giving a little more personal while taking up some space under the tree.

YES! My family did this for me last X-Mas. They ganged together and got me a card to put towards a new camera. It was in an ENORMOUS box, about the size of a washing machine. They also put pop bottles filled with water inside the box. I never guessed in a million years what it really was.

[SmithN23]

Hello SUBMAN1,

If I am not mistaken, I do believe those gift cards do expire.

If those do, then you can really complain about them taking your money.

One thing you might want to ask Best Buy is if you can consolidate them all into one card.:hmm: This would be good to do if any are due to expire.
They don't say anything on the card about expiring. Hmm - maybe I should go buy something and then return it? That might be the best plan.

-S According to Best Buy's website their cards don't expire, http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?type=category&id=cat09000. (you can also check you balance here too)

Although if you have any other cards from different companies you might want to check your local laws regarding this, some states have passed laws making this illegal.

Have you thought of selling them? Possibly for less than what they are worth. I know you won't get the full amount but at least you would get cash.

[SUBMAN1]

Subman: Just let those people know, who give you cards, where you do your shopping. It might help avoid your annoying issue. :yep: :lol:
That is the problem. I am hard to shop for and I know I am hard to shop for. No one is going to be able to buy a gift card at my favorite place to place to buy stereo equipment for example. Another example is what I do buy, it is very targetted and specific - People go to the store and pick up a GeForce 8800 GTX for example. Me, I'll search until I find a specific manufacturer (Only place most times to find what I am looking for is online), and then I am not done because I have to modify it in a specific way such as buy specific cooling for it, or I may be looking for a speicific power requirement. It is an impossible thing to shop for me like that. That is why I probably get the cards.

Speaking about shopping - any of you Europeans may be able to answer this - I am trying to find a Loewe Aconda CRT. Anyone know where to find one? Finding German TV's - espeically tube based TV's (LCD and Plasma just have too poor picture quality for my tastes) is exceedingly difficult. I've been to the best Audio Video places I can find as still have come up short. I'm about to give up and I am willing to import it.

-S

[FIREWALL]

First rule of male survival.

Don't buy your girlfriend a blouse.
You might find yourself being celibate.
for an indefinite period.

[SUBMAN1]

Hello SUBMAN1,

If I am not mistaken, I do believe those gift cards do expire.

If those do, then you can really complain about them taking your money.

One thing you might want to ask Best Buy is if you can consolidate them all into one card.:hmm: This would be good to do if any are due to expire.
They don't say anything on the card about expiring. Hmm - maybe I should go buy something and then return it? That might be the best plan.

-S According to Best Buy's website their cards don't expire, http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?type=category&id=cat09000. (you can also check you balance here too)

Although if you have any other cards from different companies you might want to check your local laws regarding this, some states have passed laws making this illegal.

Have you thought of selling them? Possibly for less than what they are worth. I know you won't get the full amount but at least you would get cash.

Thanks for the info! It is good to hear they don't expire.

I have thought of selling them, but I hate the idea of selling them for less than they are worth. Especially when I can get their full value back out at some point. I think as software becomes available, I'll use it for that. Might take me a while htough - and the gift idea also works!

-S

[SmithN23]

no problem, there are some good games that are comming out soon, along with the direct x 10 graphic cards...

[Heibges]

Gift Cards are a huge scam.

80% of all Gift Cards given go unredeemed. It's like free money for the store.

Prepaid phone cards are another scam, because, again, like 80% of them are lost before the minutes used up, so the actual per minute price is much higher than that stated on the card.

[SUBMAN1]

Gift Cards are a huge scam.

80% of all Gift Cards given go unredeemed. It's like free money for the store.

Prepaid phone cards are another scam, because, again, like 80% of them are lost before the minutes used up, so the actual per minute price is much higher than that stated on the card.

Just found out that Nordstrom is reporting over 24% of them go unclaimed. So, even though it is not 80%, it is still an abnormally high number!

-S