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With the holidays gift-giving season at a close, many of you will have gift cards you want to sell. Learn about how to get the most for your cards in this sponsored post.
The value of gift cards has risen in popularity over recent years. Now, it has become an accepted form of gift for special occasions to replace cash. Even companies distribute gift cards to their employees as an additional incentive package. For the Christmas holidays, they are also handed around as a present.
However, with this purchasing instrument, your choices are severely limited. Typically, their use is tied to the merchant that issues them. If you have a card for Walmart, you cannot use it anywhere else. But you have another option, and that is to sell gift cards instead.
The global market size for gift cards is rapidly growing. According to data, total revenues are expected to hit $1.59 trillion by 2023, up from the $585 billion by 2016. The industry has a compound annual growth rate of 15.7 percent between 2017 and 2023. One of the major drivers for growth is the increased popularity among the consumers.
If you do receive gift cards, you might not know what to do with it. If you are not using it, you will likely:
- Re-gift it to someone else
- Sell it to your friend for cash at half the value
- Just stuff it somewhere around your house
- Use it to buy something you do not need or want
Getting Value on Unused Cards
As already mentioned, the gift cards are tied to the merchant. If there is no way you can go to the location to redeem the cards, they are left collecting dust on your shelf. Even if the store is near you, they might sell any item you want. When you sell gift cards, you get cash instead, which gives you plenty of flexibility.
How to Sell Gift Cards
Multiple online traders will gladly take your gift cards away from you. They also have different methods of exchange. In one approach, you will offer your gift card, and they will post it on their website. The visitors will then bid on the gift card, and you share the profit with the website owner.
Another way is for the online merchant to buy the gift card directly from you. However, you can’t expect to get the full value of the card. It is the more viable option because you do not wait for a certain period before the auction ends to get your money.
When you sell your gift cards, the merchant will pay you from 80-90% of the value. The percentage will depend on the potential for resale. For instance, if you have a gift card from Bosch, the merchant will have a more difficult time using it. It would be a lot different if you have a $500 gift card from Target, for instance.
The entire process of selling your gift card is straightforward. You go to the online merchant, enter the brand from the pre-loaded list on the website. Enter the amount of the card then choose “Get Offer” to get your expected payout. When you agree with the amount, you enter the card details and then select your preferred payment method. For example, you can pick up the cash from the pre-agreed location or via money transfer.
