Partner Nintendo 3DS Central Social

Are gift cards a good gift?

Demon_Skeith

Demon_Skeith

Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
86,974
2007
4,371
Awards
30
Credits
24,724
Steal Penalty
You're Rich Money Bags Award
Profile Music
or is it a cheap gift which says:

I won't give you the money directly. I'll give you the kind of money where I completely restrict its range of use to you.
Click to expand...
So what are your thoughts on gift cards? Do you believe it's a good gift, something to save money for yourself (since some places sell them for a discount) or something else?
 
I think they're a bad gift. If you're gonna give someone money as a gift, either give them physical money, or a prepaid mastercard. Giving a giftcard to someone just means that if I want to buy something, then I can't look around for a better deal.
 
I think it's a great idea, cause then the person you give them to can buy whatever they want.  I certainly enjoy a gift card. :grin:
 
You can now spend Giftcards online at their website if you don't have the time to go to the store, so I would be fine with a Giftcard.

I think there are also Paypal giftcards, so you can just ask for a Paypal giftcard which converts into real money which you can buy stuff with Paypal, or deposit into your bank account to save, pay off bills, or spend at a latter time.

Plus, you can always use gift card to buy a gift for someone else's birthday, graduation, and Christmas.
 
Yup yup. :) Paypal gift cards?  Interesting.  How do they work?
 
To be honest, I prefer the dough. They're not a "bad" gift but if you know the person will use it effectively, then it's actually good.

With gift cards, you're limited to X, Y and Z. With money, yeah... ;)
 
I used Paypal and eBay for many years, and it had been very reliable as long as I buy from trusted sellers with many positive reviews.

I like eBay more than Amazon because it is easier to find hard to find items like discontinued video games on eBay, and stuff is rarely out of stock on eBay since there is always new "Buy it Now" listings, and auctions for bidding on stuff.
 
I'm not going to complain if I get a gift card. Also, it is a better solution when posting because money often 'gets lost' in the mail.

I probably will prefer money because it is more versatile and doesn't expire, but at the same time, if I get a gift card I know that is money targeted to getting a gift/something special whereas money I might get mixed with my regular budget and end up spending it on groceries or something.
 
froggyboy604 said:
I used Paypal and eBay for many years, and it had been very reliable as long as I buy from trusted sellers with many positive reviews.

I like eBay more than Amazon because it is easier to find hard to find items like discontinued video games on eBay, and stuff is rarely out of stock on eBay since there is always new "Buy it Now" listings, and auctions for bidding on stuff.
Click to expand...
I use Paypal for various on-line stores I've run over the years. Good stuff.
 
I think gift cards are more personal than money I guess.  It says "I know what kind of stuff you're into, but I can't decide what to get you and you know what you want more than me so here"

I love getting gift cards for JB Hi Fi who does DVDs, games, blu rays etc.  
 
I think people who mostly use the internet to shop would also be fine with receiving money as a Gift through Paypal to avoid paying the 0.50 cents service charge for sending money. Also, money sent to Paypal is harder to lose compared to Gift cards.

Plus, a lot of online stores now accept Paypal, and if you don't shop online, you can transfer it to your checking or savings bank account at your local bank.
 
I don't care for gift cards at all.
Just give me the money and let me decide where and how to spend it.

I mean it's great people want to try to get something special for me. But I really don't count gift cards as special. Rather I find them a bit insulting for the very reason they're like saying: "Here, have some money. But it's not quite money in that you can only use it at that one store I choose for you to use it at."

(To be clear, I'm not talking about pre-loaded Visa cards or paypal ecards because those are different. They're closer to money... And in paypal's case having money on paypal is little different from money in the bank anyway since if you have a ban account connected to your paypal you can just transfer the money right into your account anyway. It might take a few days... But it is still an option.)


And I know people want to get me something, but money is often better (for me at least) because I'm fairly comfortable. I don't have too many things I really critically need. (So it's not like I need more parts for my vehicle or new clothes or a new phone or etc...)
And most things that I want are big ticket (expensive) things that are usually just too much to put on a christmas list... and thus need to be saved up for. (Like a new laptop for example. Putting that on my list would be way too much. Plus I've been saving up for a new laptop on my own so this way I can buy the exact model I want when/where I want it.)


And really, I would rather have the money than for someone to try buying some sort of small token gift that I might look at once then stuff on a shelf and forget about. (Don't get me wrong, the thought is nice and I appreciate it. But in 6 months I might not even remember where that token came from or who got it for me.)


Plus to be blunt, I just hate carrying giftcards around. Unless I know I'm going to that store specifically, I probably won't even remember to bring that card.  (Since I don't like carrying giftcards since if they get damaged then they may not be replaceable.)



As for giving giftcards... I have in the past (and I hated doing it). Might be just my own personal feelings clouding it (they may have really enjoyed the gift card) but I still don't like buying or giving giftcards.
 
VirusZero said:
I don't care for gift cards at all.
Just give me the money and let me decide where and how to spend it.

I mean it's great people want to try to get something special for me. But I really don't count gift cards as special. Rather I find them a bit insulting for the very reason they're like saying: "Here, have some money. But it's not quite money in that you can only use it at that one store I choose for you to use it at."

(To be clear, I'm not talking about pre-loaded Visa cards or paypal ecards because those are different. They're closer to money... And in paypal's case having money on paypal is little different from money in the bank anyway since if you have a ban account connected to your paypal you can just transfer the money right into your account anyway. It might take a few days... But it is still an option.)


And I know people want to get me something, but money is often better (for me at least) because I'm fairly comfortable. I don't have too many things I really critically need. (So it's not like I need more parts for my vehicle or new clothes or a new phone or etc...)
And most things that I want are big ticket (expensive) things that are usually just too much to put on a christmas list... and thus need to be saved up for. (Like a new laptop for example. Putting that on my list would be way too much. Plus I've been saving up for a new laptop on my own so this way I can buy the exact model I want when/where I want it.)


And really, I would rather have the money than for someone to try buying some sort of small token gift that I might look at once then stuff on a shelf and forget about. (Don't get me wrong, the thought is nice and I appreciate it. But in 6 months I might not even remember where that token came from or who got it for me.)


Plus to be blunt, I just hate carrying giftcards around. Unless I know I'm going to that store specifically, I probably won't even remember to bring that card.  (Since I don't like carrying giftcards since if they get damaged then they may not be replaceable.)



As for giving giftcards... I have in the past (and I hated doing it). Might be just my own personal feelings clouding it (they may have really enjoyed the gift card) but I still don't like buying or giving giftcards.
Click to expand...
Quite a long post just about gift cards lol

My family isn't even doing presents at all this year.  We have decided not to feed into the unending blind commercialism the holiday seems to generate and instead focus on family and helping those in need.
 
zoldos said:
Quite a long post just about gift cards lol

My family isn't even doing presents at all this year.  We have decided not to feed into the unending blind commercialism the holiday seems to generate and instead focus on family and helping those in need.
Click to expand...
Sounds like a nice way to spend the holidays. I agree the holidays have become overly commercialize like on TV, newspapers, and the internet where there are a lot of ads about sales like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and After Holiday sales where it makes Newspapers, TV and the internet hard to read and watch because of the many ads on them with holiday music.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top