Comments on: Gift Cards Are Bad Gifts And A Waste Of Money

By: » The Carnival of Personal Finance #184: From the Land Down Under | Saving to Invest

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 22:01:05 +0000

[...] The Happy Rock presents Gift Cards Are Bad Gifts And A Waste Of Money. Can’t say I agree, because they are very convenient [...]

By: jen @ soy candles by Caterpillars

jen @ soy candles by Caterpillars — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 14:08:00 +0000

I don’t ever give gift cards – they’re way too impersonal. Nothing says I love you, merry christmas! like a hard piece of plastic

By: Jessica W

Jessica W — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 09:28:39 +0000

Gift is a gift and you must take it and like it whenever you get it. Same apply with gift cards also. It is just up to you if you are going to use them or not…

By: RC@Thinkyourwaytowealth

RC@Thinkyourwaytowealth — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 02:08:45 +0000

I think gift cards can be good for some people, especially if they are hard to shop for(like my brother!) But I think when you start making gift cards the default for your Xmas shopping, there is a good potential the person may not use it and the money might get wasted. I don’t mind giving cash either- but I only feel comfortable doing that with someone younger than me-like a niece or nephew-but not someone older, like a parent.

By: Debt Destroyer

Debt Destroyer — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 06:33:19 +0000

I guess I don’t really have a problem with gift cards. In fact, I love getting iTunes gift cards.

But there’s a regional grocery store’s commercial that shows a lady buying a whole bunch of gift cards for different stores. This got me & the Mrs talking, and we decided we’d not like receiving a whole bunch of them.

But it you only get one, they are fun!

By: John @ Curious Cat Investing Blog

John @ Curious Cat Investing Blog — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:18:32 +0000

I agree if you want to give a gift – give one. If you want to give the opportunity to buy a gift give cash. also most people should just focus less on the obligation to spend money to impress someone that you care for them and do something more personal to show you care for them.

By: Teri Llach

Teri Llach — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 20:37:00 +0000

As a leader in the space, we at Blackhawk Network (largest third party distributor of gift cards and creator of Gift Card Mall) want to set the record straight. Gift cards will continue to be the preferred gift this holiday. In our study, over 70% feel that gift cards are a useful gift since the recipient can get what he/she wants and 58% of consumers still plan on buying gift cards this season. Deloitte’s Holiday Survey also found for the fifth straight year that gift cards are expected to be the top gift purchase. Regardless of the state of the economy, they provide benefits such as convenience, personal budgeting and fraud protection when buying online. In addition, the reports of the vast amount of retailers not accepting gift cards has been completely overstated and not true. They want to keep their customers during this crucial financial time.

Teri Llach, Group Vice President of Blackhawk Network

By: Peter

Peter — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 18:31:00 +0000

Yeah, i agree to some degree that gift cards are impersonal – but to a lot of people i think they’re slightly more personal than cash.

With a gift card they at least know you had to go out of the house and buy it, put some effort into it, as opposed to just opening your wallet.

Does it make sense? probably not.

By: Double Eagle

Double Eagle — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:55:16 +0000

I love gift cards. My family and friends pretty much know the places I normally shop, so the cards never go to waste. Is cash more flexible? Obviously. But a gift card says to me, “hey, I know you wanted to get something from Best Buy so here’s something to help with that.”

Gift cards may be somewhat impersonal, but cash is totally impersonal.

By: The Happy Rock

The Happy Rock — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:52:14 +0000

@Pete – I don’t mind getting them, but cash is better. Gift cards are OK, if it is someplace you want, they don’t expire, they don’t have fees, the company doesn’t go out of business, you don’t lose them, you actually spend it and spend it all. That is a lot gotchas. Cash has no catch.

I don’t think cash is any more impersonal than gift cards, it says about the same thing to me.