This is very hard to say without sounding like a jerk. “If as you read this, you start to take offense, please keep in mind that I’m doing this for your own good” he says, sounding jerkier with each syllable.
Don’t buy me gift cards. In fact, don’t buy anybody gift cards. Boycott.
Hey, I’ve been there. It’s the last minute (or even a month ahead of time) and you have no idea what to get somebody for whatever occasion it happens to be. You feel awkward shoving green bills into an envelope and calling it a day. So you buy a gift card. It’s likely for a specific store. Maybe it’s to Best Buy, because you *know* the person LOVES electronics, so obviously, there must be something they want to buy at Best Buy. It feels more personal – like you did your duty as a caring person in the recipient’s life.
Recent analysis shows that Americans spend about $65 billion of gift cards, annually. Of that, over 10% never gets spent. That’s almost $7 billion thrown away. You’ve experienced this first hand, haven’t you? I have $3.83 remaining on a $25 Amex gift card sitting on my dresser right now. That’s 15% of the card’s face value going to waste. If you factor in the $4.95 set up charge tacked on by Amex at the time of purchase, the total waste exceeds 35%!
The girl working the counter at Tony’s says she’s got at least 3 of similar remaining value laying around her house. I’m sure that most of you have at least one (please answer the poll). You’re not getting full value for your money, whether you’re the giver or receiver.
But all of that’s kind of beside the point. It’s more about freedom. Now, I’m not suggesting that gift card-ing is un-American, but there’s something I don’t like about being forced to spend at a store that I didn’t choose. Maybe I’m saying up for something big. I like to shop around. I like to find the best price. The aforementioned set up fee on American Express gift cards outweighs any freedom they bring to the table, and if I’m locked into a given store, I —once again— can’t get full value for my money.
“But, it’s not ‘your’ money, you ungrateful jerkface,” you say. And you’re right. It’s not my money, and I’m an ungrateful jerkface. But still, can we get over the unfair stigma placed on giving cash? There’s not logic to it. It’s not like giving a gift card is ANY more thoughtful. To me, it’s less – because it’s the self-serving illusion of thoughtfulness.
Some suggest that by giving a gift card rather than cash, the likelihood that you’ll actually “treat yourself to something” is higher. Maybe – and it’s a noble cause that I can get behind – but that falls apart when the cards are for stores like Target or Costco. I guarantee you that money is going to toilet paper and gasoline. Either way, it all balances out. If you can satisfy your needs with your gift cards, you free up cash for your wants out of your normal budget. But why not just give cash in the first place and save the recipient the shell game.
It’s not more thoughtful. You’re not saving face. You didn’t know what to get me. That’s OK. Cash is fine. Hell, nothing is fine. But for the love of God, don’t buy me a gift card.
Addendum: Gift certificates don’t carry the same negative feelings for me. That is, so long as they’re gifts for a specific service or good – like a 1 hour massage or a movie ticket. In that case, you chose to give someone a specific gift, you simply allowed them to redeem it at their leisure. But certificates carry their own risks, like of expiration. In CA at least, gift cards are not allowed to expire. Though, strange things are afoot…
Also, gift cards are a good idea for distribution stimulus money if you’re the federal government and you want to force people to spend rather than pay down debt.
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