Not long ago I was cleaning out our “junk drawer” in the kitchen (you know the one we all have) and found a couple of old gift cards. I had no idea I even had them and and probably won’t use them. Have you ever received a gift card from a store that you know you won’t go to? Maybe it was a restaurant that is nowhere near where you live. Now there is something you can do with your cards. Consumers are expected to spend $50 billion on gift cards this year.
I saw a segment about Gift Card Rescue on the TV show Shark Tank and then saw it again in a magazine. This company allows consumers to sell or exchange their unused cards. One of the best things about it is you can exchange it and Gift Card Rescue will send you another one from a store of your choice (they have a list of popular places) and you can purchase cards at discounted rates from such places as Bed Bath & Beyond and L.L. Bean.
Here’s how it works:
Trade it for cash or exchange/swap gift cards. Enter in your card details and the site will tell you how much it will buy your card for. Gift Card Rescue typically buys cards for between 60 and 80 percent of the card value depending on its popularity, according to the website. Then you can receive cash through PayPal, exchange it for another card from the site or swap it for an Amazon gift card.
There are also a few other sites that offer similar services.
Plastic Jungle: On this site you can pretty much do the same thing. Cash in your cards with a minimum balance of $25 for up to 85 percent of the verified card balance. You can purchase discounted gift cards or even donate them to benefit your favorite charity.
Monster Gift Card: You can browse by category and you use a “Monster Point” system which allows clients to buy, sell and trade gift cards with other clients anonymously and set their own price.