What do I do with a gift certificate that I have no use for?

Question

I won a gift certificate from a hardware store and it says that it is for expensive sunglasses $100 value. The sunglasses are all over $100 and I don't wear sunglasses. How can I get the best value for it? Buy them and sell it on Ebay?

Answer 1

give to someone else or try to return it

Answer 2

Sell the gift certicate on Ebay.  Since you won it, you don't have any money invested in it so whatever you get for it is money in your pocket.  If you buy the sunglasses and try to sell them on Ebay you might end up losing money.

Answer 3

POST AN AD ON CRAIGSLIST 4 BARTER"TRADE" OR SELL IT 4 CASH HALF OF WHAT ITS WORTH! MAN I'M TELLIN YOU IT WILL BE GONE IN A FLASH!

Answer 4

That is what the enterprising store owner wants you to do. So long as someone buys his/her overpriced sunglasses he/she doesn't care who it is.

Answer 5

Ebay is not a bad option.   You might want to consider a gift card exchange website like http://www.cardavenue.com .  Here you can buy, sell and trade gift cards.  This way you can try to deal your card for a giftcard you might actually use at a different store.  Be warned, that you will probably lose about 5-15% of the face value of your gift card during the exchange. (i.e. your $100 gift card will probably only be sellable at around $90 or so).

Other similar sites - but not as reputable are:

http://www.certificateswap.com

http://www.plasticjungle.com

By the way, be sure to look up the gift card policies to see how long you have before a gift card expires.  Additionally, know your state's legal regulations regarding gift cards and certificates.  For instance, in NJ, gift cards are required by law not to expire for at least two years.  You can look up all the state's info at this website:

http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/core_f...  (I don't claim it is accurate though)

By the way, this isn't quite the question asked, but if you do find a gift card you like and want to spend it online, make sure you go to http://www.retailmenot.com first and look for coupon codes!  (there are other sites like this out there, but I like this one best).  Basically, you enter the name of the website you're buying items from and then a list of coupon and promo codes that other users have found and used will show up.  Many don't work, but I've had success with it occasionally.  Give it a shot!  I've saved ridiculous amounts of money using it.  Try it for sites like Six Flags, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.

Good luck!

Answer 6

Donate it as a raffle prize to your local village or school fete.