81–90 of 141 posts
I keep wondering why people buy Amazon/Netflix Gift cards. Great, you converted 50$ into 50$ that can only be used on Amazon, and people may end up not using at all. This is also financing with negative interest rate.
> But the only way to cash out of Starbucks balances is to buy a coffee--a promise that Starbucks can always keep! By the way this isn't true in California: by law all stored value and store-credit cards last for 10 years and can be cashed out.
But how does one cash them out?
15 or so years ago, my manager at WalMart Stores Information Systems Division was previously a programmer on one of the many finance related teams. Specifically, she worked with gift cards, and one time I asked her how different state laws affected how much money WalMart could recover from those cards. She was delighted to elaborate! I don't recall the particulars of the answer, but it was eye-opening. She said that…
A nice Google search proves why this can be so complicated: it's actually very important and the best blog post about it is this one https://blog.agilenceinc.com/making-sense-of-unused-gift-car... (it's not very good)
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I'm curious if a rules engine [1] could be used instead of implementing the logic in code for something this complicated? Could fuzzy logic be used to build a case when the laws become contradictory? Maybe after the case is built it could be passed on to legal counsel for approval. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_rules_engine
I'm wondering if constraint programming is better suited to such cases? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constraint_programming
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Just be cautious here... in some countries, Starbucks has to operate as a seperate entity and use a different gift card system. For instance, Malaysia Starbucks is a different entity and the gift cards do not work between other non-Malaysia Starbucks. (At least when I was there a few years ago.) This post from 2012 says where the gift cards must be used and redeemed in the same market: https://customerservice.starbuc…
I'm surprised FR, DE and ES can restrict the use of the card in the rest of the EU.
But even if it were the same company they could give out gift cards valid only in a single shop or something. Conditions have to be clear, though.
Also why would Starbucks form an alliance with McDonald's? They compete in the same market. They both sell coffee and breakfast sandwiches... Would be a bad idea for sbux.
I've always thought that the main reason for Starbucks to push their card and reward program is to save on per-transaction credit card fees. By my understanding, in the US, typical merchant fees to accept a card are a flat $0.20-$0.30 transaction fee, plus 2-3% of the total dollar amount. The article mentions the interchange fee (the 2-3%), but for small purchases the transaction fee is more significant. I assume the…
This is a great example of a HUGE competitive advantage Starbucks has over regular merchants that's very unfair. Smaller merchants don't get the scale advantages here...
Although, having tried Starbucks coffee, I have to say it's terrible!
Maybe it's the way it's made with an automatic machine and a disinterested barista, or perhaps the beans are over-roasted and mass produced in a factory. Just about any small coffee shop makes better espresso based coffee than them, especially in Sydney, Australia, where Starbucks continues to struggle to gain a foothold.
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Starbucks coffee and espresso drinks are "will do in a pinch" for me. I'd much rather frequent a local coffee shop with better espresso than what Starbucks serves. I think Starbucks makes more money these days from its sugary cold drinks than its hot coffee/tea/espresso.
For me too. Starbucks is train station or airport "ehh, what did I expect?" coffee.
I keep wondering why people buy Amazon/Netflix Gift cards. Great, you converted 50$ into 50$ that can only be used on Amazon, and people may end up not using at all. This is also financing with negative interest rate.
If it wasn’t for that I would just pay Netflix directly.
One use of Starbucks gift cards not mentioned in the article: cashing out foreign currency. "When you’re leaving a foreign country and still have some of the local currency, take it to a Starbucks and load it onto a gift card. You can use the card later in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Mexico, and the Republic of Ireland." https://lifehacker.com/put-leftover-foreign-currency-on-a-st...
Useful tip, thanks! Related is sending Amazon gift cards from the Amazon of their country to people who live in a different country, so that you can effectively send cash without actually sending cash or requiring the receiver to sign up for Paypal etc. The only gotcha is you have to do it using the flavor of Amazon that is the receiver's Amazon, but since Amazon ports your user account and payment information betwee…