There is no question that gift cards have been hugely successful, at least if you measure how big of a market they’ve become. But in my opinion, the success that has been lavished on gift cards has mostly been undeserved. By just about all measures, they are a terrible product; as gifts they are usually […]
Archive for the ‘Interesting’ Category
As smart phones become more ubiquitous, applications related to gift cards are bound to appear with greater frequency. We’ve previously reported on an iPhone app from Wildcard Network that allows you to store your gift card information (so you have it when you need it), but few gift cards are supported. Joining the ranks of imperfect […]
While the details are as of yet thin, Target announced gift cards that can be kept on mobile phones. Hey, I am for anything that makes it more likely you will have your gift card with you when you shop.
Trouble with your gift card at Best Buy? Be careful not to get arrested like one customer did. Seems the Best Buy staff was having trouble with her AMEX gift card and made the unfortunate assumption that she was trying to pass of a tampered with gift card. She wasn’t, the Best Buy staff were just […]
Someone came up with the idea of a gift card that could be used to pay utility bills. Rather than give you some random gift card, people could sign you up for this gift card that was accepted by certain utility companies. Sounds like an interesting idea but it must be very regional as none of […]
Gift card issuers like to claim that gift cards are the most popular gift. Cashstar, a company that manages digital gift card networks for retailers, recently shared some trends that point out that gift cards may be popular, but they are most often the gift of LAST resort, not first choice. My interpretation – people often […]
I’ve found this to be true with many problems. One couple was promised a gift card by ADT as a promotion for signing up for a security system, but despite months of waiting and many calls, it didn’t come. So they called their local news channels problem solver, they contacted ADT, and the gift card […]
I haven’t quite made up my mind about electronic gift cards (e-gift cards?). Electronic only gift cards like one we recently received for Barnes & Noble have been around for a while but have mostly been online only, but a new offering by CashStar, for stores such as Home Depot and CVS, allows for gift cards […]
A recent Ebay auction sold a $100 Visa gift card for $161.50. That makes no sense to me.
What gift card has no fees, never expires, is always worth exactly what you paid for it, can be spent anywhere, and will never be subject to bankruptcy? Well, none. But I have an idea for a gift card that will satisfy all of that. Basically, it would be a gift card with a hollowed […]
This article in the Chicago Tribune’s Consumer Help column tells us a couple of things anyone should know: First, contacting either a newspapers or TV stations consumer help guru is possibly the best way to get stubborn banks or other companies to change their minds and give you what they want. Almost every story I have […]
If this app from Wildcard Network works the way it claims, it may solve a problem I’ve always had with gift cards, not having them with me when I am at a store and want to use them. The app allows you to virtually store your gift cards in the iPhone so that you can use them […]
Here is a blog post showing some new dual purpose gift cards; one glows, one is a remote control car, one is a USB key, one is an MP3 player, and one is a digital camera. Is this really what will drive people to buy gift cards, or are stores just desperate?
Someone did a survey where they asked people if they preferred gift cards vs. other gifts, such as DVD’s. The very not surprising results were that people preferred gift cards. Perhaps a better survey would be to ask people if they preferred gift cards or cash. My prediction: 99% of people would take the cash.
I’m scratching my head about this one. Do people really want gift cards that double as toys? Will it get people to buy gift cards that otherwise might not?
Two women Pennsylvania agreed to walk around in public carrying sandwich boards that announced that they had stolen from a 9-year old after stealing the little girls gift cards, in exchange for no jail time. Perhaps if they made Postal employees do this when they were caught stealing gift cards …
Western Union just announced a new prepaid debit/gift card, but I think they missed the real feature that Western Union as an organization could offer. Hardly a week goes by that I don’t hear about a Postal Service employee getting caught stealing gift cards from the mail. The mail is clearly an insecure way to send […]
According to this Slate article, retailers sell low value gift cards ($5 or $10) because they know most people will spend more than that when the come in to use the gift card.
A startup called rackup has developed a new discount gift card site that uses a complicated short and quick auction scheme to sell gift cards at a discount (plus the chance to win an added value bonus). The average discount is 18%. They have apparently managed to attract $3.5 million in funding? Consumers can already get […]
The recent Series A funcing round of $4.8 million that Plasic Jungle just scored from the likes of Shast Ventures, Bay Partners, and First Round Capital is the first such investment in a gift card site that I’ve seen. (article)
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