Turn Gift Cards into Cash

Buy, Sell or Trade Merchant Cards Online

Dec 28, 2007 Jace Shoemaker-Galloway

Over 50% of American adults will purchase gift cards this year. Turn gift cards into cash by selling, buying or trading those unused merchant cards online.

According to the National Retail Federation, over 56% of adults will purchase gift cards or gift certificates in 2007, making the cards one of the most popular gifts this season. $26.3 billion will be spent on gift cards in 2007, an increase of 6% from 2006.

For those hard-to-buy-for family members or loved ones, gift cards offer a convenient alternative for gift giving. Although gift cards may not be particularly personal, some merchants are allowing buyers to include personalized messages, special photographs or personalized designs. Gone are the days of bad ties and re-gifted label-makers; gift cards provide another option for gift giving. Redeem gift cards at specific merchant’s store for face value of cards.

While gift cards offer an alternative for traditional gift giving, buyers need to be aware of several potential drawbacks. When buying gift cards, read the fine print prior to purchase and save all receipts. Some cards include activation, transaction and dormancy fees. Some cards may also include expiration dates. Unfortunately, many people do not use their gift cards, due to loss or other factors.

Recipients can also exchange gift cards online for fast cash, swap or trade for other cards or use cards to pay a variety of bills. The websites listed below allow users to buy, trade, exchange or sell gift cards online.

Swap A Gift

• Buy, sell, swap, pay bills or get fast cash
• To turn unused merchant cards into fast cash, mail the card to the appropriate address. Once verified, a check will be mailed to owner within 3 or 4 business days. Various fees apply and cards must be on Preferred Merchants List.
• $1.99 flat fee to list gift card
• No fees for buyers

Ebay

• Registration is required
• Percentage based fees incurred
• Located under the "Gift Certificates" category

PlasticJungle

• Registration is required
• Buy, sell, trade, and protect from loss or damage
• $3.99 flat fee for selling
• Quick cash for cards with varying minimum balances
• All transactions guaranteed
• Instant email and text alerts available

CardAvenue

• Buy, sell or trade gift cards
• Registration is required
• Buyers and sellers must have a valid PayPal account
• Fee’s range from 3.95% to 6.25% plus .50 cent closing fee
• No fee for buying gift cards
• Requires owners check the balance before offering it to others

GiftCardBuyBack

• Buy, sell or donate gift cards
• Easy-to-use interface
• Sell cards for 60% to 80% of face value

GiftCardWish

• Buy, sell or trade gift cards
• Payment is made by personal check or PayPal account, which takes 7 days for processing

The websites listed above provide various online options for selling, trading or buying gift cards.

Source

National Retail Federation

The copyright of the article Turn Gift Cards into Cash in Internet is owned by Jace Shoemaker-Galloway. Permission to republish Turn Gift Cards into Cash in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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Comments

Aug 19, 2008 11:03 PM

Guest :

What was missing as of this articles posting was an easy way to turn open-loop gift cards (Visa, American Express, Mastercard, and Discover) into cash easily. There is now a service that does this - www.cashfromcards.com. You can transfer most of your balance instantly to PayPal.

Apr 21, 2009 5:24 PM

Guest :

There is a site that was not mentioned above that I love, www.dogpawgiftcards.com. The site is cool and easy to use. Their fee's are less than most and they pay you quickly when you sell them your cards. Most of all, they also donate some of their proceeds to charity....unlike most of the other sites.

Check them out at http://www.dogpawgiftcards.com

May 30, 2009 8:02 AM

Guest :

You can get more cash for your gift cards by selling them to http://www.giftcardrescue.com/. They pay up to 80% cash and all transactions are guaranteed. All payments are through paypal.

3 Comments