Gift cards can be totally awesome – once upon a time, there was no real way to make sure you could get what you wanted as a gift whether it be on Christmas, graduations, or birthdays. You just had to cross your fingers and hope that your grandma got you something good, or just ask for cash – which isn’t exactly a fun gift.
Then, gift cards became commonplace. Gift cards offer a great middle ground between a standard present and cash – since you can get exactly what you want, they’re a great gift, and those who think cash is no fun, get to select a gift card for a store that they know you’ll love. Everybody wins!
Well, everybody wins most of the time. Occasionally, you’ll still get stuck with a gift card that you don’t really care to use – whether you get it from an office Christmas party, an acquaintance, or you just would prefer to have cash over a gift card.
In the past, there was no real way to convert your gift cards into cash. You could try to sell them to friends or family members, but most people aren’t really interested in buying gift cards in person. So you could get stuck with a useless gift card – loitering in your wallet, never to be used.
But not anymore! The internet has changed everything – including the gift card industry! No longer do you have to sit on useless gift cards to stores you don’t like – there are tons of businesses online, purpose-built to be giant gift card marketplaces!
On these sites, you can quickly and easily put up your gift cards for sale, get offers, and get cash sent to you directly – amounts range from 75%-90% or more on most major marketplaces. By selling your gift cards, you can easily turn your unwanted cards into extra cash – and who couldn’t use that?
Still, there are some things you should know if you plan on selling your gift cards online. Not all marketplaces are built equal – there are some shady websites out there for every industry, and the business of buying and selling gift cards online is no different.
So to help you avoid getting scammed, and let you find the best deals selling gift cards online, we’ve put together a quick list of the 5 things that you absolutely have to know before you sell gift cards online. Once you read through this article, you’ll be totally prepared, confident, and ready to sell your gift cards online.
- Make Sure You’re Getting A Good Deal – Both For Your Time And Money
Not all gift cards are created equal. This is especially true when you’re selling them online – a gift card for a niche restaurant, a smaller chain, or a lower-end store is usually going to be less valuable than gift cards sold by retail giants – Wal-Mart, Target, and Amazon, for example.
As a rule of thumb, the larger the merchant the gift card is issued from, the better the price you will get when selling your gift cards online. This is because store credit and gift card balances to large corporations that offer online ordering and huge inventories provide far more buying options than, say a gift card to Red Lobster. Expect to get a better deal on your card if it’s to a larger, more popular online-based retailer.
Still, each gift card buying website is different. Some offer really great prices – but don’t give immediate payments. Instead of getting an instant payment via PayPal, for example, some gift card buyers issue payments through the mail, which can take forever to reach you.
Often, you’ll find that convenience means a lower payout for your card – some of the very best gift card buyers only go up to about 50-70% gift card value, but offer nearly-instant cash deposits, so you won’t have to worry about getting scammed, or being forced to wait for a snail-mail payment.
The standard rules of shopping and doing business online are relevant here – if an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Before doing business with a gift card buyer, make sure that they offer instant cash payments – if they do, it’s almost certainly worth your time to sell your gift card there, even if other websites offer “better rates”. These websites almost always use slower, less reliable payment methods, increasing your likelihood of being scammed.
Just remember – saving time can be worth getting a lower price offer – 50% of a card’s value in your pocket is better than 92% lost in the mail. So choose a company that offers direct, instant payments through PayPal or another reputable method of direct deposits. When you need your cash, you’ll thank yourself.
- Choose A Gift Card Buyer That Is Reliable – And Reachable
Some gift card buyers and sellers out there are not exactly above-board – even if your sale goes through without a hitch, it can be incredibly difficult to get attention from customer service representatives if something goes wrong, or if you need to communicate with somebody about an issue.
These merchants should be avoided. While selling gift cards online is usually fairly straightforward, the same rules that apply to great companies in the business world apply here – service is everything. The very best gift card buyers have an extensive customer service team, and can be easily contacted if you have a question about an issue you’re having with your sale, payment, or anything else.
Before you sell gift cards online to any merchant, take a look at their website. Do they have a clear contact form? Do they place a premium on great customer service? Do their terms of service make it clear that what you have to do, should you run into an issue? If not, you may want to reconsider using that buyer – if something goes wrong, you’ll have nobody to turn to.
Reliability, reachability, and great service count for a lot when it comes to selling your gift cards online, so make sure you’ve chosen a reputable buyer with great service – you’ll thank yourself later.
Also, selling a gift card online isn’t always easy – so having a company that’s willing to walk you through the process can also be of huge benefit, especially if you’re an older person or someone who isn’t exactly tech-savvy. Helpful, happy customer services goes a long way when it comes to selling gift cards online.
- Choose A Service That’s Easy To Use – Not A “Marketplace”
Ease-of-use is paramount when it comes to selling your gift cards online. If you wanted to jump through a bunch of hoops and be limited in your options, you could have just chosen to keep your gift card and spend it at the store!
Selling your gift cards online means you’re looking for cash – that means you’re looking for quick payments and flexibility. Waiting around for someone to decide to buy or trade for your gift card can be a huge waste of time.
There are some services out there that let you list your gift cards for sale, eBay style. In our experience, these are not good choices for you – the listing process is complicated, you can ask for prices that are far above standard (meaning that it will take a long time for your card to sell – if it sells at all), and customers can take a long time to issue payment.
To top it off, these “marketplaces” usually take a percentage of your sale as profit – so even though you think you’re selling your card for 90% of its value, you’re only really getting about 70%, or in some cases even less.
Ease of use of a gift card selling service should be one of your number one priorities. The best gift card buyers offer you an instant, automated cash quote, and let you sell your cards as quickly and as easily as possible. This minimizes the time you have to spend trying to find a good deal, and allows you to focus on converting your useless gift cards to cash.
As touched on in the first section, payment method is also important – you should choose a service that issues PayPal payments or a similar method of instant, direct deposit of your funds. Nobody wants to wait for their money to come in the mail.
- Make Sure You Sell Your Gift Cards On A Site With Low Minimum Balance Requirements
Let’s be honest – most of us have a huge amount of small dollar-value gift cards that are just sitting around in our desks, dressers, or wallets.
The best way to make use of these cards is by turning them into cash by selling them online – but some gift card buyers require high minimum balances on gift cards – $20, $25, or even $50 or more.
This can make it hard to sell a large amount of small, low-dollar value gift cards – which is what many people want to do when they’re selling their gift cards online.
The best online gift card buyers have low mandatory minimum balance requirements – $10 is usually the lowest you’ll find on any gift card buying website. This allows you to get rid of the large amount of low-dollar value gift cards that you have laying around, without worrying about whether or not they’re worth enough to actually sell for cash.
Gift cards are gift cards, and if a buyer is really looking to get their hands on plenty of gift cards and in-store credit, they won’t turn their noses up at low-dollar value gift cards. They spend just as well as any other gift card.
However, it’s common to find slightly lower rates offered for low-value gift cards. Generally, this is because higher dollar-value cards tend to sell more quickly, as many consumers prefer to buy just one high-value gift card over multiple small ones. However, this difference in rate is usually quite slight – and 5 bucks in your pocket is still better than 10 dollars tied up in a useless gift card that you’ve had sitting around for over a year.
- Choose A Gift Card Buyer With Great Reviews
Word of mouth and customer reviews have long been the standard of determining how reputable a company is – and today’s online world is no different.
The very best gift card buyers have happy customers who are happy to share their experiences with you – so check out the details about the reviews and experiences of real customers who have used a gift card buying service, and get the inside scoop about what they do well – and what they could do better.
Taking the time to do your research and find a gift card buyer with great reviews can be the difference between having a smooth, seamless experience when you sell gift cards online, or going through a terrible merchant with poor customer service, low rates, and slow payments.
So even if you’re in a rush to sell gift cards online, make some time to find the right gift card buying company. Read some customer reviews, posts on their website, and get a detailed picture of how they do business. Your wallet will thank you.
Wrap up
When you sell gift cards online, you turn wasted money into cold hard cash – fast. And by following our simple tips on choosing the right gift card buyers, you can stop worrying about having a bunch of useless gift cards sitting around in your wallet, and turn your gift cards into cash quickly, painlessly, and easily.
So don’t wait. Check out a reputable online gift card buyer like EJGiftcards today. We offer competitive prices, hassle free PayPal deposits, and are one of the most positively-reviewed gift card buying services on the internet. See the difference – sell your gift cards now.
