When the question of safe gifts to give comes up, the words “gift” and “card” seem to always be at the top of the list. Gift cards can be bought for store front businesses as well as online stores, but the sad reality is there are those that don’t want gift cards, and there are those that repeatedly give them. The problem with gift cards isn’t always that people don’t like them; it’s that the unwanted cards are usually for retailers the recipient doesn’t frequent or even like.
This is where Cardavenue comes in. You can buy, sell, or trade your gift card you don’t want for a card you do want. If gift cards aren’t your thing – sell for cash. The most popular gift cards are the ones that yield the higher offers, but no matter what gift card you hold, chances are someone out there would rather have your gift card than the one they are holding.
Registration to Cardavenue is free, but sellers do have to pay fees for auctioning their gift cards. 3.95% of the closing bid plus 50 cents closing fee is charged to the seller. Buyers are not charged. In the event of a card trade, both parties are charged 3.95% plus 50 cents. Depending on the card’s value, these fees can be minimal compared to having a card you won’t use anyway collecting dust on your dresser or serving as a bookmark in the middle of the novels you will be reading this winter.
Topping the list of most popular gift cards at Cardavenue are Best Buy, Blockbuster, Wal-Mart, Target and Borders. There is no limit as to what types of gift cards will be posted for buying, selling and trading. Bennigan’s and Amazon.com are quite popular on the site as well.
Since this is an auction site, there is the possibility a gift card can be bought for less than the actual face value of the card. One such item is a Burberry gift card valued at $623.00 that has only one hour left and the last bid was for $399.00. The sellers and traders provide a summary about the cards they are attempting to unload, with information such as card condition, card value, minimum bid amount, and whether or not the seller will accept credit card payments or PayPal. Much like other online auction sites, the time remaining on the auctioned cards shows in the details, along with the bid history, allowing others to watch and pounce at the last minute in hopes of getting a great deal on their favorites.
This Holiday season, fear not the small envelopes Grandma keeps under the tree. There is no need to only save those cards for times when you lock yourself out of the house. Gift cards now serve a far better purpose than a poor man’s lock pick set.
Reference:
- Cardavenue
