Best gift card exchange site?

January 1, 2008 6:11 PM

What is the best gift card exchange site?

I got some gift cards for Christmas that I won't use and would like to exchange them for a like dollar amount of a card I will use. I found a whole bunch of sites by Googling "gift card exchange" but have no idea which are reputable. And how does this work? How do I know that the gift card I'm getting has any credit on it at all? Mefites, if you've used one of these services and had a good (or bad!) experience, let me know.

posted by Joleta to shopping (8 comments total)

I've seen this done via ebay (never did it myself though), typically at a 5-15% discount on face value based on the popularity of the store (best buy gets better rates than podunk restaurant).
posted by cschneid at 6:21 PM on January 1

This might be a long shot but so many stores seem to be selling all kinds of gift cards these days, is it possible for you to use the gift card at that retailer to buy a gift card for another retailer? It would save you the face value loss if your retailer happens to be one carrying a lot of other gift cards. Even my supermarket has a kiosk of about 50 different gift cards you can buy.
posted by 45moore45 at 6:32 PM on January 1

OP here: I have two Coldwater Creek (women's clothing) gift cards, one for $75 and the other for $25. I have been in the store and on their web site several times and haven't found anything I want to buy. I'd like to trade them at face value to someone who wants them and has cards they don't want (Chico's, Amazon.com, chain restaurants, Best Buy, etc.). Several web sites seem to facilitate this, but I don't know which to use, so I'm querying the hive mind.
posted by Joleta at 6:39 PM on January 1

CertificateSwap.com might be of interest, but I have no personal experience with it. I do think it is reputable, however, as it has been around quite a while.
posted by The Deej at 7:26 PM on January 1

i bet you can find someone on craigslist who will take your $100 for $80. you'll probably need to agree to meet the person in the store so they can have the clerk verify the card balance right there.

alternately, go to the store and have a cashier check the balance. then hang out for a bit, and speak to people standing in line, offering to sell them the cards for $80 cash. the cashier who just checked the balance will overhear and nod to the customers that the cards are valid, so someone will go for it. i've done this to get rid of credit notes before.
posted by twistofrhyme at 7:57 PM on January 1

This MSN Money article from last week might be helpful; it mentions Cardavenue.com, PlasticJungle.com and Swapagift.com and describes how each one works.
posted by mediareport at 8:29 PM on January 1

I believe that Coldwater Creek is going out of business, so I would try to buy presents, something, before those cards are worthless.

I have a friend with a $500 gift card she won in a raffle for Design Within Reach. She has tried bartering, she has tried offering it for $400, no dice. It is not that easy to move a gift card on the open market.

The problem with eBay is that there is too much gift card fraud. People on this site should especially know this :)
posted by micawber at 1:19 PM on January 3

micawber, where did you hear that Coldwater Creek is going out of business? I can't find anything online about that.
posted by Joleta at 10:46 PM on January 5