Buying and Selling Gift Cards Online

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The internet is revolutionizing everything there is about commerce and trading. Gift cards no exception. I’ve found two websites where people are buying and selling gift cards. Why would you be buying or selling gift cards online you ask? Read on to find out.

Buying and Selling Gift Cards: Selling Online

Before the internet, if you had a gift card, you had three options:

• Try to find something at the store to buy with the gift card
• Give the gift card to a friend that likes to shop at the store where the gift card is from
• Throw the gift card in the trash

Now though, you have another option: Go online and sell your gift cards. Your best bet is to go to an online reseller of gift cards. These sites are great for sellers because you will get cash for your gift cards. The catch is that you won’t be getting face amount for your gift cards that you sell – more on this below. There are two websites to sell your gift cards on: CardCash and GiftCardRescue.

To sell your cards, you sign up (it’s free) and enter the retailer and the gift card code on the back. The site will then quote you a price for your card. While you won’t get face value, you will get relatively close. I sold a Bed, Bath & Beyond gift card worth $25 to CardCash for $20.50. While it is 18% less than the value of the card, there isn’t anything I needed from the store. Plus, it’s $20.50 more than I would have if I just threw the gift card in the trash. You then agree to send your card to the site and they give you an order form to print out as well as a postage paid label. After they receive your card and verify the amount, you can get your money sent to you via a check or through PayPal.

Buying and Selling Gift Cards: Buying Online

When you go the route of buying gift cards, you have three options. The first two, eBay and Craigslist are ones that I frown upon. The reason is simple: there is no guarantee that the gift card you are buying will be what you get. I have heard of horror stories from friends that buy a gift card from eBay or Craigslist that was supposedly worth $25 and when they got the card, there was only $12 on it. Even worse, I know of a friend that bought a handful of gift cards from a seller that turned out to be stolen gift cards.

Buying is just as easy on CardCash and GiftCardRescue. You find the gift card and buy it. Pay through PayPal and they send your gift card to you and they will not charge you for shipping. Currently, you can get a $100 Home Depot gift card for $90, saving 10%. Or a $50 Best Buy gift card for $45, a 5% savings. It’s a great way to get what you need and save some money at the same time.

Buying and Selling Gift Cards Online: Restrictions

One downside of these sites is that they have limits on the values of the gift cards. As of this post, CardCash only accepts cards worth more than $25, while GiftCardRescue accepts cards worth $20 and up.

The other downside is the gift card you are looking for is not available on the site because they may not accept gift cards from regional retailers. For example, they most likely will not have for sale a gift card from a grocery store that only operates in your area as opposed to the entire country.

However, if you are shopping at a national retailer or are looking for a gift card from a national retailer, you will most likely be in luck.

Final Thoughts

Buying and selling gift cards online is an easy way for you to earn some money from unwanted gift cards or to save money on your purchases. If you are looking into either buying or selling gift cards, I highly suggest you check out the two sites I mentioned. They take a lot of the risk out of the transaction that buying and selling gift cards on eBay and Craigslist carry.