"...closest to the original retail price without going over."

March 21, 2022 7:07 PM

I was awarded $11.83 in a class-action lawsuit and got an online gift card for the amount. The not-so-fine print states that "the amount authorized for your purchase must be less than or equal to your available balance" and that the card can't be used for a split purchase. What can I buy online for $11.83 or less including shipping? No books, music or other media please - I already have so much waiting in the wings to be consumed that I'm overwhelmed.

I like trinkets and tchotchkes and souvenirs and things like that but as little plastic/packaging waste as possible. Smaller is better. Generic things like band-aids printed with bacon are annoying, as are cheap electronics. Things to build or fidget with are nice. I'm not into much pop culture especially stuff like HP, GoT, comic universes, Star Wars/Trek, vampires, etc.

This Breaking Bad minifig is awesome as is the cookie-pusher minifig.

I find beauty in patterns and symmetry and I love orange California poppies.

I'm a web developer, a fidgeter, a loner, a nerd and middle-aged.

posted by bendy to Shopping (13 answers total)

If you are an Amazon user, you can buy yourself an Amazon egift card for $11.83, and then just apply that to any future purchase.
posted by tomjoadsghost at 7:28 PM on March 21, 2022

Some handy household tool that in the moment you always wish you had, but otherwise always forget to buy (just for example, a tape measure - bonus: also doubles as a fidgety thing! - or outlet tester, or pepper spray)?

Some food or condiment thing that you like but either can't find locally, or is cheaper online (for me it's bulk chopped walnuts)?
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:31 PM on March 21, 2022

You can process the card yourself with a Square account for a very small fee if you'd rather just have the cash.
posted by mezzanayne at 7:54 PM on March 21, 2022

2 or three basic Cosmic Wimpouts.
posted by vrakatar at 8:44 PM on March 21, 2022

3 Fish Studios has lovely affordable golden poppy options [1] [2] but I think shipping would put you over :(
posted by roger ackroyd at 8:45 PM on March 21, 2022

Pomeranian in alien suit.
posted by Glinn at 8:49 PM on March 21, 2022

If you want to make sure to use every penny, possibly donating exactly $11.83 to a charity?
posted by sonofsnark at 8:50 PM on March 21, 2022

I got the Drizly settlement, too, and was determined to use every penny. I did exactly what tomjoadsghost recommends: I put it into an Amazon gift card (which allows you to purchase amounts to the cent) and spent it on myself.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 10:33 PM on March 21, 2022

For stuff like this I connect the card to my PayPal account, then PayPal my wife the amount on the card.
posted by AzraelBrown at 5:55 AM on March 22, 2022

I hope this doesn't get deleted, but bendy and Conrad Cornelios O'Donald O'Dell, you should start a class action for people who have received class action settlements in this form. It's clearly designed to ensure that many people DO NOT use every cent and I have a strong suspicion that at some deadline, the unused portions will be returned to the gift card purchasers. There's no reason a gift card shouldn't be usable for split purchases, except to prevent people from spending it all.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 6:12 AM on March 22, 2022

Donation to an organization one cares about is a good way to spend an exact amount.
posted by eotvos at 6:46 AM on March 22, 2022

LOL, penguin, I had in fact been thinking about that very issue! This is obviously a totally abusive practice, but I highly doubt we'll ever see it get fixed, and I'm afraid I have other activism priorities.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 2:40 PM on March 24, 2022

I just bought myself gift cards and spent them on cleaning supplies. 🙃
posted by bendy at 5:41 PM on April 21, 2022