diSposal

December 21, 2008 4:21 PM

Disposing of an iTunes gift card (without using it)

I got a $25 iTunes card for a Chanukah present. As it turns out, this is a pretty crummy present for anyone who's been following the digital rights movement. I'm looking for some way to get rid of it without offending the giver. I already tried selling it on Kingdom of Loathing for in-game goods - I was told by a moderator that doing so was verboten. How would you get rid of an iTunes card?

posted by LSK to computers & internet (21 comments total)

I understand and agree with your anti-DRM stance, but you are aware that Apple does sell DRM-Free mp3s via the iTunes music store?
posted by namewithoutwords at 4:24 PM on December 21, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

Look for the "Plus" songs in the iTunes store if you only want ones without DRM. Of course, it would be perfectly valid to not patronize them at all, too.

Alternatively, send me a mefi-mail and I'll take on your burden.
posted by odinsdream at 4:27 PM on December 21, 2008

Sell it on Craigslist for $15. Give the cash to charity or buy food-bank items.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 4:28 PM on December 21, 2008

Regift it.

And I follow the DRM movement and don't mind this kind of DRM at all. But then I treat iTunes music as a way to sample music I will either later buy or not. I've yet to buy a full disc.

You can also use it to rent movies or buy iPhone apps.

Put it in one of the Toys for Tots bins or some other charity.

And as to not offending the giver, just say "thanks." You'd be crass if you told him you didn't use it or gave a DRM lecture.
posted by cjorgensen at 4:28 PM on December 21, 2008 [6 favorites has favorites]

sell it on eBay. They are quite popular in Europe as it's an easy way for people without credit cards to circumvent Apple's / the media industry's walled garden of US content which you need an American iTS account for.
posted by starzero at 4:33 PM on December 21, 2008

Apple already has the money. They've already won this battle.

Probably yourself you don't have any use for DRM music, even if you're not paying for it yourself. Give it (don't sell it, then it's YOU profiting from DRM) to someone who doesn't know about BitTorrent etc. and for whom it would be useful.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 4:39 PM on December 21, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

[Maybe not so much with the "your feelings are bad and you should feel bad for feeling them". Stick to constructive advice, please.]
posted by cortex at 4:40 PM on December 21, 2008

Give it to someone who agrees to download an album, un-DRM it, and offer it on bit torrent servers.
posted by aleahey at 4:57 PM on December 21, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

I don't know if there are any official statistics, but there's a ton of music on iTunes that is DRM-free. I'd say that 60-75% of the time I search for an album on iTunes, it is "iTunes plus" (which contains no DRM).

Why not spend the $25 buying "iTunes plus" tracks, to reward/thank the record labels who chose to release their music in DRM-free format?
posted by helios at 5:19 PM on December 21, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

Give it to someone who agrees to download an album, un-DRM it, and offer it on bit torrent servers

Yes, because encouraging the spread of piracy is a good way to end DRM. I wish this were an appropriate place for a lecture on how being Anti-DRM is not the same as being Pro-Piracy. But, hey, on behalf of those of us who would prefer not to have to monkey with DRM while we're not violating someone's copyright, accept our sincerest thanks for helping the media companies to validate their mistrust and vilification of the Anti-DRM movement.


I'm not quite sure why the OP's first thought was to try to trade this thing for imaginary goods rather than, say, cash but I'd say try to sell the thing on eBay for $20.
posted by toomuchpete at 5:24 PM on December 21, 2008 [4 favorites has favorites]

Assuming that the gift-giver doesn't go through your trash, you dispose of it by obliterating any numbers on the back with a sharp implement and then cutting it up into many pieces.
posted by CKmtl at 5:30 PM on December 21, 2008

actually you can probably sell it for the full $25.

People overseas often buy US itunes on ebay cards so they can access the US store
posted by compound eye at 5:33 PM on December 21, 2008

After satisfying yourself that your premise is accurate, throw it away. Shred it. Melt it.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 5:37 PM on December 21, 2008

Apple has the money already. Use the card to get some non-DRM files from iTunes - it will be a tiny message that people want the non-DRM files.
posted by nowonmai at 6:14 PM on December 21, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

ISTR a rumor that Apple struck a deal with whatever major label had been holding out, and they will be all DRM-free relatively soon.

Otherwise, there are gift card trading websites, though I don't know anything about them other than they exist.
posted by dirigibleman at 8:21 PM on December 21, 2008

The problem with ya'll talking about buying music via iTunes, drm'd or not, is that it still requires...iTunes and/or use of the AppleStore. Something which a large portion of folks would rather not have to suffer through.

even if I owned an ipod, I wouldn't install itunes. :::shudder:::

I suggest you regift it to some niece/nephew who is more about appearance than function/quality and move on down the road. Alternatively, sell it on CL or any other given source and use that money to buy a present for someone else, give it to charity, or spend it on something of equal or similar cost that you would actually like to own.
posted by TomMelee at 8:44 PM on December 21, 2008

regift it.
posted by agentwills at 6:27 AM on December 22, 2008

I got a $15 gift card last year and hate DRM as well so I didn't use it for a full year. When I got an iphone last week, I remembered the card and I treated myself to $15 worth of iphone apps and games. I guess they are "DRM"'d but it doesn't feel as sinister as with movies and music that you'd want to keep forever.
posted by yeti at 8:22 AM on December 22, 2008

Give it to a younger person with a compilation CD you put together yourself, in the hope they won't grow up listening to Nickelback and happy hardcore.
posted by mippy at 8:37 AM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Wait.

Apple is expected to dump DRM soon or open a substantial part of their current DRM library b/c Amazon is taking share w/ their non-DRM music.
posted by gnash at 9:14 PM on December 22, 2008

Whoever bought the gift card has already given money to Apple...so not using the gift card won't count as a big victory. I agree with those who suggest finding some non-DRM music on the iTunes store.
posted by fantine at 4:35 AM on December 25, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]