How to Sell, Trade or Donate Gift Cards You Don’t Want

Did it ever happen to you to receive an uninspired gift card? It seems that roughly 10 to 15 percent out of all gift cards are never redeemed. Many retailers actually count on this, since this is profitable for them.

Without a doubt, getting a gift card that doesn’t appeal to you can be quite frustrating, at the very least. But, is there a solution to this? Can you still find a way of using that gift card so that it doesn’t go to waste? Here are some tips regarding what to do in this situation.

Exchange It Online

If you didn’t know until now, then, you should find out that, if the card you get doesn’t appeal to you, you have the option of exchanging it online. There are numerous online platforms that facilitate this. You can either exchange it for other gift cards or sell it. Ideally, you should have a look at various websites that do this, to ensure that you get the best deal.

On the other hand, in the case in which the gift card is for a small, local business, you can still come up with a way of benefiting from it, by selling it on eBay or on Craigslist. You never know until you try, right?

Return It to the Retailer

Another option you have at your disposal is returning the unwanted gift card to the retailer. This might or might not work, depending on the retailer, but there’s no harm in giving this a go. Some stores allow you to do this.

Donate It to Charity

During the holiday season, it couldn’t hurt to do some good deeds, would it? So, if you feel like it, you can always go down this path, so that someone else would get to enjoy the gift. For example, Goodwill is known to accept gift cards. However, that will depend on the location, since, in some areas, charities accept gift cards, but this doesn’t apply to most cases, which is why you should get your facts straight beforehand.

Swap Your Gift Card for a Better Gift Card

There are plentiful options in which you can trade your gift card, one of them is swapping it for a better alternative – one that is more down your alley. There are a bunch of gift card exchange websites that provide this alternative, so that you can actually get value from your gift card.

Final Thoughts

Considering that the gift card industry has been developing recently, it would be safe to say that we should pay more attention to choosing our gift cards. Many a time, picking out a gift card appears like an easy, fast solution to a pretty complicated problem. Nonetheless, it appears that many of these gift cards eventually go to waste, in the sense that they aren’t used as they were intended.

The good news, however, is that you can trade the gift cards that don’t appeal to you, donate them, or exchange them for something better suited.

Resources:

https://lifehacker.com/everything-you-can-do-with-gift-cards-you-don-t-want-1790570272

http://time.com/money/5068888/sell-gift-cards-for-cash/

https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/shopping/gift-card-options/

https://www.moneycrashers.com/unwanted-gift-cards-sell-trade-exchange/