Gift cards. Image: Cardweb.com
The holiday season is coming and there are plenty of options to buy gift cards for loved ones rather than gifts. Gift cards will be present everywhere you go in the malls, even in online stores. But is it really effective? Seth Godin says no.
More than $8 billion in gift cards were wasted last year; they were either left unused or soaked up by fees associated with the gift cards. If the gift card is not used within a certain period of time, the money is kept by the business.
So, you waste that money instead of putting it to good use. Wasting $8 billion for nothing is a monumental blunder says Seth Godin: "Along the way, we bought the story that giving someone a hundred dollar bill as a gift ("go buy what you want") is callous, insensitive, a crass shortcut."
Godin said it is a scam and he hopes people will stop using gift cards.
Consumer Reports and other organizations are trying to spread this message, saying gift cards are for chumps. They encourage consumers to spend money differently.
When you spend, for example, $100 on a gift card and your loved one only uses $90, the remaining balance is wasted.
I believe businesses that receive left-over money should put it to good use, such as investing in charities. But they don't.
The businesses keep the money for themselves and make money with fees. I think they should have a provision available to consumers to return the money to the spender, but I doubt they will do it. If a retailer did chose to give money back, think about how great of a marketing tool it would be.
Gift cards may be convenient, but they don't serve the purpose so buy a real gift. Next time you're tempted to buy, think about who will get that leftover balance when you're loved one only uses 80 per cent of the money you spent on them.
Last year more than $8 billion was wasted on gift card donations that people did not use. The money that expires on gift cards goes to the businesses, not to your loved ones in most cases.
More than $8 billion in gift cards were wasted last year; they were either left unused or soaked up by fees associated with the gift cards. If the gift card is not used within a certain period of time, the money is kept by the business.
So, you waste that money instead of putting it to good use. Wasting $8 billion for nothing is a monumental blunder says Seth Godin: "Along the way, we bought the story that giving someone a hundred dollar bill as a gift ("go buy what you want") is callous, insensitive, a crass shortcut."
Godin said it is a scam and he hopes people will stop using gift cards.
Consumer Reports and other organizations are trying to spread this message, saying gift cards are for chumps. They encourage consumers to spend money differently.
When you spend, for example, $100 on a gift card and your loved one only uses $90, the remaining balance is wasted.
I believe businesses that receive left-over money should put it to good use, such as investing in charities. But they don't.
The businesses keep the money for themselves and make money with fees. I think they should have a provision available to consumers to return the money to the spender, but I doubt they will do it. If a retailer did chose to give money back, think about how great of a marketing tool it would be.
Gift cards may be convenient, but they don't serve the purpose so buy a real gift. Next time you're tempted to buy, think about who will get that leftover balance when you're loved one only uses 80 per cent of the money you spent on them.
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