Gift Card Warning

[BOSSHOG]

Got an email about a possible gift card "problem" and it sounds legit. Gift cards from stores which are available to customers prior to purchase are having their numbers taken down by some of our finest citizens. They then wait awhile and check for the balances on the card over the phone. If there is a balance they proceed to shop online. Heads up. Maybe this will result in stores keeping such cards in a secure location.

[pitohui]

1. thanks boss

gift cards are a nuisance anyway, just give me the damn cash, i have on at least two occasions received gift cards that required me to travel over 90 minutes each way to use the card -- i later found out one of these could have been used online but the other store would only accept the cards for instore purchases, a real headache


people just don't stop and think

[mconvente]

2. I'll definitely make a note to tell my family k & r

Thanks for the heads up! :hi:

[MADem]

3. Who in their right frigging MIND gives gift cards? I find them "controlling"

Here, I want to give you a gift, but I want you to only shop at this shitty store that I happen to like!!!! Who CARES if you don't like it, I do! So there!!!!!!

I get those little rectangular designed-for-cash greeting cards, and stuff them full of Dead Presidents. I'm the most popular gift giver of the lot...and I don't have to worry about wrapping and all that happy horseshit! I'm happy, the kids are happy, everyone's happy!!!

Ho, ho, ho!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ian David]

4. On the other hand, there have been a couple DUers who complained...

that they bought bookstore gift cards for their family, only to find out that Mom used the card to buy something by Bill O'Reilly or Ann Coulter.

So, don't buy gift cards.

Buy books.

I bought my dad, "Worst Person In The World" from Overstock.com

[MADem]

6. I figure, it's a GIFT, this cash. A gift. Ya need to put some towards a bill you have, or

a car repair, or tuition, or books, or concert tickets, or taking your date out for a nice time....whatever, kiddos!!! ENJOY!

That way, I don't have to deal with the fake smile and the insincere thank you. It's one gift that I KNOW always gets a good reception.

Now, the little ones, they'll get toys. The social security cadre, they get things they actually want, but that's sussed out well ahead of time. It's the critical mass of humanity that I can't worry about without going batshit crazy--all these teens and young adults, ya see--I can't keep up with the video games, XBOX 360s, Wiis and what-have-you, so 'dough-re-mi" is the tune they like to hear, and the easiest one for me to sing!

[BOSSHOG]

5. But how does that make you feel?

I sense anger. Disenchantment with the season? A longing not to give? Hang in there big guy. Actually, last year I gave my wife ten gift cards (to places I know she liked) and put them in a nice little credit card wallet. Was I a hero or what? And I made the amounts of each card low enough that I knew she would spend more so it was the gift that just kept giving. I'm doing the same this year but don't tell. I also have an old gift card I got to Barnes and Noble that I have retained and add to frequently cause I read alot and its nice to have handy if I am ever in the vicinity. And I handpick gifts for my sisters in law in the quarter. I am the most popular brother in law gift giver of the lot. Breath deep grasshopper. Let the anger go.

P.S. - I got my wife a gift card to the Navy Exchange (50 miles to the east or 50 miles to the west, her choice.) We'll make a day of it, she can shop a little we'll have a nice lunch and bond as only 50+ folks can.

[MADem]

7. The exact OPPOSITE, in fact. It's LIBERATING!

See my post above on this very subject. I give them more cash than I'd spend on a gift, most years. It's a goodly chunk. The kids make good use of the cash, they look forward to the envelope (and the snarky cards, which are keepers) and the gift-unwrapping is left for the little ones. There's just no way to keep up with the 13 to 30 set, because the minute you think you have them figured out, they're on to something new.

This way, I'm happy, they're happy, and the focus is on the youngsters, the "Santa" set, which, IMO, is how is should be...!

[pitohui]

10. if my hubby gets me a gift card

he's gonna get beaned

if he REALLY can't think of anything, a wad of bens and a scribble telling me to do something nice for myself will do

i don't need another chili's or another sak's gift card to keep track of, i really don't

[BOSSHOG]

12. Besides a small handful of nephews and nieces

my wife and I have no one to shop for but each other. I get her a whole bunch of stuff besides the gift cards. But she does have a very active shopping gene. And, after 33 years of marital bliss I know where she gets her "stuff." I think its fair to say I shop smart. I wouldn't want to give her anything she does not want. But, after having her open a whole bunch of this and that, I spring one more gift on her, a wallet full of gift cards. I am the master of my universe for at least a short while.

And there is no doubt in my mind that you love your husband regardless of what he might put for you under the tree. We're guys, we can legitimately plead ignorance and we are loveable to boot.

[pitohui]

13. heh heh i'm just messing with you

it did sound cute, just too much work for me since i'm no shopper, other than the grocery store and the wine store

[MADem]

15. See, you are in a different situation than I am. I have a houseful to deal with

from young to very old...and imports from here, there and everywhere. It's like the damn Waltons on steroids around here at the holidays. The cash makes everyone happy, and there's no danger of getting something costlier for youngster A than you got for youngster B. About the only thing they can gripe about is if one got newer money than the other!!! There are plenty of others who go out and shop for this, that and the other, so it's not like they don't get gifts at all, but they do seem to like those envelopes the best! It's the brightest idea I've had--I've been doing it for the past five years or so, and they're a total hit, and free me up to do other heavy lifting chores. AND, I avoid those crowded malls, which I have no patience for even outside the holiday season...!

[tpsbmam]

19. Love it.

See, you know her perfectly well -- there's nothing impersonal about it. You give her cards to the places she likes and you do some of the shopping with her (at least at the Navy Exchange). I think that's a cool present.

Last year we got a new neighbor who fit in quickly and became friendly with most of us pretty quickly (we're a pretty easy bunch.....except for the fundamentalist minister who lives over there -----------------> and doesn't socialize with anyone).....I was so surprised and touched when they gave me a $15 gift card to a local health food store. They cared enough to pay attention, they knew I liked to shop there, and they took the time (and cost) to do that for me, a person they barely knew. The place isn't exactly cheap either, so having $15 off my bill was very nice! I think that's lovely. If they'd handed me $15 I'd have spent it on my next tank of gas. (Also nice but frankly, I enjoyed the health food store more.)

[BOSSHOG]

25. Thanks and a belated welcome

I KNOW my wife likes having gift cards in her purse and they are the icing on the cake after she opens up all the ticky tacky stuff I get her. This year I got her a wacky picture of a Pink Flamingo, cheap, tacky but she'll love it and its going right in her bathroom. And no doubt I'll find her another keepsake or two next week when I stroll the French Market.

The health store card is a great idea. I never thought of that and there is a fine little store down the road a few miles. I'm gonna check to see if they have gift cards. Thanks for the suggestion.

[NYC Liberal]

14. I agree...usually when I get a gift card, I wish that they'd have just given me cash

In fact, nowadays, that's what I tell people to give me. Just send a check/cash, and I can do with it what I wish. Seems like, at least to me, that's a much better gift than anything else. And you don't have to worry about what someone "likes" or wants.

Just me though...

[pitohui]

16. especially when it's a really snotty store

it's on the tip of my tongue, you know, that store where drownie brownie shopped, crap

anyway, the price of that stuff is so inflated and i don't need any more clothes anyway, i get enough from the thrifts in my size that are stylish and cute

the cash could have actually done something for me

[NYC Liberal]

22. You mean Nordstrom's? Yeah cash is better, I can find a cheaper store

if I want to. Get more out of the money.

[tpsbmam]

18. C'mon

I buy my neighbors gift cards for Christmas. I know where they shop and I go there to buy the cards -- I don't buy them at places that I prefer, I buy them at places they prefer. They'd think it was bizarre if I gave them cash. I do give their kids cash, though. I know it's a silly and superficial difference, but so what. It's a gift and they appreciate it. It works for us -- why does anyone else care?

And hey, they knew I needed some shelving for my garage (a fair amount of it) and had buy a little each month because it was expensive. They knew where I was buying it, got together and pooled their money into a group gift and gave me a generous gift card so that I could buy more of it at one time. That was thoughtful and greatly appreciated. As strange as it seems, it would have felt weird if they'd handed me the cash. Again, a superficial difference but one that works at some level. And frankly, if they'd handed me cash, I probably would have spent it on gifts for them or groceries or something. This way, I really did get what I needed and wanted.

[fishwax]

21. sounds like you have some nice neighbors

:toast:

[MADem]

23. To each his or her own, I guess. I just don't like the cards, don't use them, don't want them, and

end up handing them off to someone else. It ain't regifting, either, because they know where it came from! Then again, I am not much of a shopper. I am probably a two on the 'consumer' scale--I don't need much or want much! And I only give the cash to the teens to thirty set, and they LIKE it. Green goes with everything, they say!

[fishwax]

20. I like gift cards

Getting them and giving them.

Here, I want to give you a gift, but I want you to only shop at this shitty store that I happen to like!!!! Who CARES if you don't like it, I do! So there!!!!!!

Or the giver could pick a card from a store that the receiver likes. :shrug:

[MADem]

24. See, that never works for me, because I am not much of a consumer.

I don't need a lot of "stuff" and don't want a lot of junk. I really don't need or want presents, I'd rather have practical help around ye olde mansion than anything else, and I'm lucky that I do have a load of sturdy young 'uns in our enormous crew that are most helpful in that regard. I'm at the stage in life where it's better to give than receive, and I find that giving dough is what works for our bunch. They usually have something in mind to do with the money, and this way, they can shop around for the best deal.

Hey, people can do what pleases THEM. If it's those gift cards, well, more power. That's just not my schtick, though, and I'll not be sold on it. What pleases me is to give cash, and the people who get the green look forward to it. It's usually just the thing to feed a thin wallet during the often cash-strapped season.

[warrens]

8. Clever

A lot of work, but clever.

Of course, the bigger theft is after a year, they pronounce your card dead and keep the balance. Which is why retailers LOVE them. They make at least 10 percent in unclaimed money. It used to be they gave you back whatever you didn't spend in cash, with gift certificates. With cards, forget it.

[BOSSHOG]

9. I've been very fortunate

I shower my wife with gift cards at Christmas and we've yet to have a problem; and she loves them. And I don't have to worry about them languishing in her purse. Any reason to shop is fine with her. The sun came up, I'm going shopping. She has an incredibly large closet full of nothing to wear but I'm hopelessly in love. However, I hope this scam prompts action by retailers. If too many people get burned the cow will stop producing milk.

[MADem]

11. In my state they don't go bad--it's something like seven years, no matter what the date on the card

[FlaGranny]

17. My company gave me a gift card

and also my husband's brother sent us a gift card. One was a Visa and the other an American Express. Both could be used anywhere that took credit cards.

Then recently I found a lady's dog and she gave me a Target gift card even though I told her I wanted no "reward." I really didn't mind getting a target card, but there are stores whose gift cards I wouldn't want.