Buying gift cards online is a great way to save money on everything you buy. In order to ensure you get real value for your money, follow this sage advice from GiftCardBazaar.com.

The best way to learn about buying gift cards is to look at some common questions and answers from GiftCardBazaar.com.

Question:  Why do people sell gift cards at below face value?  Aren't they just giving away money? 

Answer:  This is a very common -- and very important -- question. The reason people sell gift cards online for less than face value is that merchants don’t give out cash for unused gift cards.  To the merchants, a gift card purchase is like a merchandise sale -- if they had to give out cash for returned gift cards, it would be just like giving out cash for returned merchandise. Returns make stores less profitable, which is why many stores don’t take them. But even stores that take returns don’t let people return cards -- that’s because gift cards are just like cash. Stores can cover their cost of returns in the price they charge for merchandise, but they can’t do that with gift cards. By making sure gift cards are used at the store, merchants can guarantee that the holder will use the value of the card to buy their merchandise.

That means that anyone who wants to sell a gift card has to sell it at a discount.  Paying face value for a gift card would like be paying cash for cash – there would be no motivation for a buyer to go through the effort.

Question:  Is selling a gift card to someone else legal?

Answer:  In most cases, yes. Gift cards are meant to be transferred from one person to another; hence their name of "gift" card. There are at least two exceptions to this however: 1.Gift cards may not legally be sold for more than face value; and 2. Some retailers forbid the sale of gift cards.  A gift card will rarely sell for more than face value, so this is not usually a problem.  In practice, the sale of non-saleable gift cards is rarely if ever a problem either.  Retailers have no way to track which gift cards have been bought and sold and which have been given as gifts.  So, while we at GiftCardBazaar.com have never heard of a gift card being invalidated due to a sale, you should always use your best judgment before buying any gift card online.  Don't be afraid to ask the seller if there are any resale restrictions.  These restrictions, if any, will most often be printed on the back of the card.

Question: Isn't it easy to get ripped off when buying gift cards online?

Answer: Unfortunately, the answer to this question is 'yes'.  Many unscrupulous eBay sellers and private websites will try to scam you out of your money by selling you gift cards they do not have, stolen gift cards, or even by reselling the same gift card to multiple buyers.  Some buyers will even sell you a valid gift card and then use the gift card number online to buy merchandise for themselves. Without some proof that you are the rightful owner (such as an original purchase receipt), most merchants will not help you.  Depending on the situation, your only recourse may be to leave a negative feedback rating. Regrettably eBay has no real ability to stop these sorts of practices, even with severe restrictions on gift card sales.

Question: How then can I protect myself against scams?

To protect yourself against gift card fraud, it is important to examine the reputation of any seller with whom you may consider doing business.  Have they sold many gift cards on eBay or elsewhere?  Do they have a good feedback rating for those transactions?  How long have they been on eBay?

Even when you have the answers to these questions, it can be difficult to tell which sellers are off-loading an unwanted birthday present and which are trying to rob you of your hard-earned dollars. The best way to protect yourself from fraudulent sellers is to buy only from sellers who deal in gift cards regularly and have earned a solid reputation in that field. Some sellers, such as giftcardbazaar, guarantee the gift cards you buy from them.  GiftCardBazaar.com obtains, verifies, and secures the gift cards we sell so that you are guaranteed to get a solid value every time you shop with us.  When you buy from GiftCardBazaar.com and its eBay identity giftcardbazaar, you can buy with confidence.

Hopefully this guide has helped you to better understand the issues you face when buying a gift card online. We know there are many other questions however, so if you need more informaiton, please email us at service(at)giftcardbazaar.com, and we would be happy to help!

Sincerely,

giftcardbazaar and the GiftCardBazaar.com team