Tech site GeekWire reports on an Amazon.com patent filing that, despite the obvious privacy implications, makes me sorry I didn’t think of it first. … digging into the text, the approach includes the option for the giver to not only recommend items via the gift card but also to restrict the types of things the […]
Archive for the ‘Interesting’ Category
We recently took a fresh look at CardAvenue which changed its business model from a strict secondary marketplace to a gift card registry and secondary marketplace listing aggregator, which lists gift cards for sale at a discount from many of the secondary marketplaces. As one of the reasons we started this site was to help […]
That retailers are realizing they have nothing to lose and everything to gain by making gift cards easier for consumers to use is what I’m taking from this piece on Cardpool’s new service (now in limited release to existing Cardpool customers) that allows you to buy gift cards, and have them immediately delivered to your […]
Secondary Marketplace Cardpool is now offering gift cards that can be used on their site, to purchase gift cards. That is, two levels in indirection to a recipient actually getting a gift. From a economical standpoint, this makes sense. If you wanted to give your gift recipient as much choice in what gift they actually […]
Burried in this article (Bloomberg Business Week, Google’s Search for a Digital Wallet) about a payment service Google is experimenting with in Portland is an interesting tidbit that might bode well for gift card customers. The idea behind this is that cell phones could contain a near-field-communication (NFC) chip (and some Android phones already do) […]
Here is one indications that gift cards are winning the battle against consumer advocates that say they can be a bad deal. That’s my niece’s Christmas wish list. Gift card issuers seem to be doing a pretty good job of creating demand for their products. I’m just glad she didn’t ask for any open loop […]
Portland’s Giftango, which had previously scored a $1.4 million Series A financing round in 2009, got a fresh $5 million recently from a group of investors, let by Minnesota’s Taylor Corp, a company involved in gift card printing and fulfillment services. Giftango helps retailers manage digital (including mobile) gift card and loyalty card programs.
I’ve sat back silently and watched all the hubub about Facebook gift cards over the last couple of weeks, waiting until I had enough information to form a good opinion. If you haven’t heard, the big news is that Target will be selling Facebook gift cards. I think the reason that this is so widely […]
AT&T and Verizon, Deutsche Telekon and T-mobile are working with Discover to create an alternative payment network to Visa and MasterCard that uses smart-phones instead of credit and debit cards for payment. Could this also be the future of gift cards? A payment system like this has been talked about in the US since the […]
I recently came across the Gift Card Trader iPhone app, on sale for $4.99 in the iTunes app store. They are more like a Craigslist for gift cards than a true secondary marketplace, like Plastic Jungle or Gift Card Rescue. The GiftCard Trader app allows anyone to list their gift card for sale, along with […]
About a month ago, I did a post on Plastic Jungle’s announcement that they were working with First Data, who runs a number of retailers gift card back end networks, to be able to start processing secondary gift card sales electronically rather than by mail, thus making the process more efficient and easier for customers. […]
Take a look at the deal shown in the picture. That’s right, for 2x$6.49, you get the razors and a $5 gift card. This makes me wonder if the retailer knows something that most consumers don’t. I don’t think we have to look to far or think too hard to figure this one out. The […]
I’m not sure exactly how the main-stream TV news gets their stories, but in the last 10 days or so I have seen the websites of ten or more TV news stations reporting essentially the same story on gift card resale sites, a phenomenon I have not seen in the couple of years I have […]
Cupertino-based Mobeam has created a device called Numi that is specifically made for holding retailer loyalty card (Ralphs club, etc.) information which it cam beam using an LED into a checkout scanner, thus allowing you to carry one key faub size device on your keychain rather than a bunch of credit-card sized loyalty cards. Where […]
With 40+ active sites that buy and sell used gift cards now, the market for buying and selling gift cards is a lot like eCommerce was in the early days of the internet boom. Lots of places to shop with widely varying prices. Since then, shopping comparison sites like PriceGrabber and Nextag have flourished and […]
As if gift card issuers didn’t already let us know the gift cards we pay cash for are not actually meant to be treated like cash, Sears announced that gift cards can not be used towards the qualifying purchase price of their $50 men’s clothing rebate promotion. This sounds an aweful lot like the Apple […]
We recently reported on Plastic Jungle’s integration with First Data’s electronic gift card network, allowing them to handle some gift cards electronically, saving customers the trouble of completing transactions by mail. Here is what First Data has to say about working with Plastic Jungle: But now there are sites that can provide a trusted environment […]
Plastic Jungle has just announced its integration with the electronic systems of First Data, one of the large gift card networks (the system behind in-store gift card issuing and processing). This means that they will be able to handle some gift transactions electronically for gift cards that use First Data’s network and for stores that […]
According to this article in the Los Angeles Times, about 8-10% of small businesses today offer gift cards, up from 2% two years ago. The costs of setting up to offer gift cards can be as low as $800 plus a small monthly fee. Many small business owners report selling many more gift cards than […]
Home Depot has a new feature where you can upload a personalized video tied to a particular gift card. My first thought was, how stupid, and that is how many things related to gift card strike me. But, on deeper consideration, not a bad idea. You’ve got a gift card which specifically tells the recipient […]
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