Gift Cards Save 20% to 75% on Post-Holiday Mark Down Sales.

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Gift cards — love them or hate them — they’re still one of the most commonly purchased items of the holiday season.

Before you say they’re a cop out gift, I’ll admit that I partially agree with you. Gift cards are certainly a convenience gift for those who hate to shop.

Like me!

So if you have a significant other or someone on your gift list that is more fastidious than the average person, don’t even think about buying a gift card. The easy road is nice to travel, but it’s not worth the grief if they get annoyed with you and your laziness.

However, here are a few reasons while I still find gift cards serve a valuable purpose:

Convenience for the buyer. This is often the rub with most folks who hate gift cards. There is no real thought or feelings that are included in a gift card other than “Hey, I was thinking about you, here you go, now you can’t be mad at me for not getting you something.” Maybe I’m too much of a guy, but this doesn’t bother me one bit. As I said before, this can occasionally backfire if you buy a gift card for someone who expected something more personal than a $50 piece of plastic.
Peace of mind the recipient can buy something they want or find useful. I wish I knew the exact number of sweaters I’ve given to Goodwill over the years because I didn’t care for someone else’s tastes in clothing. Granted, it’s still going to a good cause and I’m doing my part to better society, but I would hope that my gifts are being used or worn. Otherwise, it’s a waste of money to let things sit in a closet for 10 years or collect dust in the garage.
Instant savings opportunities. I’m a huge fan of after Christmas sales. If you aren’t, you should be. The best thing about a gift card are the post holiday sales where most of the unsold merchandise is marked down 20% to 75% from the “before Christmas” retail price. After Christmas, retailers are simply looking to break even on their investments and mark down their merchandise accordingly. By giving someone a gift card, you’re essentially allowing them to buy more “stuff” with your money.

If you decide to go forward with a gift card purchase, just make sure your chosen retailer will stay in business beyond the holiday season. With stores like Circuit City and Linens-N-Things declaring bankruptcy in 2008, it could be possible that buying an ugly sweater would have been a better gift if that convenient little gift card is no longer honored when it’s recipient tries to redeem it a few weeks after Christmas.

I would also suggest you read the fine print included on the card. I generally hate reading the mandatory legal disclaimers, but you could find that the card is only valid for one year, or has a “nickel & dime you to death” policy hidden somewhere in the fine print that eats away at the card’s original value.

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