With retailers estimating about $28 billion in gift card sales this year, it’s likely you received a gift card for Christmas, Hanukkah or your birthday.
Retailers know that many gift cards are redeemed in January, after the holidays subside and folks can focus on buying something for themselves. Stores are hoping to catch you in the holiday mood with after-Christmas sales and promotions, to capture even more of those gift cards that often go unused.
What happens if you’re carrying around a gift card to a store you’ll never visit, not even online? There are some alternatives to help you sell, swap or even invest the card’s value into a mutual fund!
Sell or Exchange Gift Cards
PlasticJungle.com will give you up to 92 percent of the value of your card that it resells via cashier’s check, PayPal or an Amazon.com gift card. Similar sites that offer cash for gift cards include CardPool.com and GiftCardRescue.com.
Invest Your Gift Card and Increase Its Value
Asset manager GoalMine.com, is offering to redeem your first gift card for 150 percent of its value if you open a new account, but only until the end of January 2012. After entering gift card numbers and values, you can create a free account where you can apply the value to a mutual fund or FDIC-insured savings account.
To learn more about ways you can sell, swap or invest your unwanted gift cards, check out Jennifer Waters’ Wall Street Journal article.
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