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More than you want to know about gift cards

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Re: More than you want to know about gift cards

#51

Post by Symbiote »

lmkg wrote: post #34
winternett wrote: post #10

I still don't understand why it faux-pas to just put cash in a nice card... I just do it anyway. It's a more universal gift card without fees and expiration dates... Anyone who tries to put me down for doing so will simply not be receiving a gift from me next year... Screw stressful stores. plastic cards, and standing in line, my method is much more "green"... :P

I mean, it's all cultural. But the idea is that a gift is personal , and that cash is impersonal . The universality is exactly what makes it impersonal. The ideal gift (again, in US cultural context) is one that reflects something unique about the giver, or recipient, or the relationship between them. An exchange of cash is something that happens between strangers on a regular basis.

This is generally solved with a note alongside the cash.

"Please treat yourself to a meal at my favourite restaurant, X."

"I think you can buy some plants for the garden."

Re: More than you want to know about gift cards

#53

Post by Symbiote »

brewdad wrote: post #35
airstrike wrote: post #24

Conversely, here's really "All you need to know about gift cards": think about the interest being generated from all that cash sitting idle on some issuer's account while the recipient of your gift card decides how to spend their money. > Most retailers do not have sufficient gift card liabilities and do not have sufficiently sophisticated treasury teams to make a meaningful amount of income off an investment portfol…

My brother gifts us AmEx gift cards every year. I think he gets them at a discount so it does allow his gifting budget to go further but they are a pain in a-- to use. Unlike a store gift card, they are almost impossible to stack with other payment methods (at least online). Additionally, the test charges a store does to ensure the card is valid places a hold on some of the funds of the card (typically a dollar) maki…

Wouldn't it be easiest to use the money for routine spending, perhaps somewhere where splitting a bill is normal?

For example, next time you take the family to a restaurant. "Could you put $50 on this card please, and the rest on this one."

Re: More than you want to know about gift cards

#54

Post by Symbiote »

snarf21 wrote: post #17
pezzana wrote: post #2

> Personal financial columnists and comedians do not understand the jobs that gift cards do. They are not cash-but-worse-in-every-way. Closed loop cards allow a giver to personalize a gift to the recipient. A Barnes and Noble gift card to a favorite niece tells that niece that you remember she is a reader, unlike those uncreative family members who would just give her cash. The article doesn't actually explain the jo…

Gift cards are about signaling. People are very brand loyal. Cash isn't brand loyal despite its flexibility. Cash and a card to say "buy books" feels less personal than a B&N card for some reason. There is the other part where the gift card is reserved money. Cash gets put into a pocket and spent on gas. A gift card is reserved and people feel anticipation of what they could go buy on their next trip. There is also t…

> A gift card is reserved and people feel anticipation of what they could go buy on their next trip.

Growing up in England, my aunt occasionally managed this with cash.

She would give me Scottish banknotes at Christmas, which look different, but can be spent without much difficulty almost anywhere in Britain.

(The aunt lives in England, so acquiring the Scottish banknotes probably took some effort.)

Re: More than you want to know about gift cards

#55

Post by smokey_the_bear »

winternett wrote: post #40
cmckn wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t think it is, at least not in my family. Cash is no more of a faux pas than a gift card, at least. I happen to think either is a pretty lame gift. Instead of a gift card to LUSH, for example, just buy me a bath bomb or whatever. Maybe I won’t like the scent you choose, maybe I’ll love it—that’s the nature of receiving a gift. Besides, gift cards are rarely enough to cover an actual purchase with taxes and etc…

Pro Tip: Cracker Barrel Country stores are great... They have tons of low-cost and quite universally likeable throw-away nick-nacks that you can pick up and keep in a closet of your house until an awkward "I don't know what to get this person" situation comes up. :P

I don’t like getting Knickknacks, but my favorite kitchen accessories make good gifts for many people. Instant read thermometers, silicone oven mits, etc

Re: More than you want to know about gift cards

#56

Post by r00fus »

pezzana wrote: post #2

> Personal financial columnists and comedians do not understand the jobs that gift cards do. They are not cash-but-worse-in-every-way. Closed loop cards allow a giver to personalize a gift to the recipient. A Barnes and Noble gift card to a favorite niece tells that niece that you remember she is a reader, unlike those uncreative family members who would just give her cash. The article doesn't actually explain the jo…

I bet you more money is exchanged on Lunar New Year Day than Christmas. It is significant beyond cultures to have a day of gift giving.

Re: More than you want to know about gift cards

#57

Post by lostcolony »

cmckn wrote: post #31
winternett wrote: post #10

I still don't understand why it faux-pas to just put cash in a nice card... I just do it anyway. It's a more universal gift card without fees and expiration dates... Anyone who tries to put me down for doing so will simply not be receiving a gift from me next year... Screw stressful stores. plastic cards, and standing in line, my method is much more "green"... :P

I don’t think it is, at least not in my family. Cash is no more of a faux pas than a gift card, at least. I happen to think either is a pretty lame gift. Instead of a gift card to LUSH, for example, just buy me a bath bomb or whatever. Maybe I won’t like the scent you choose, maybe I’ll love it—that’s the nature of receiving a gift. Besides, gift cards are rarely enough to cover an actual purchase with taxes and etc…

My wife did something amazing this year that I think is relevant here. She had a baby shower to go to. She didn't know what to get the mother to be.

So she bought an Amazon gift card. And then she created a wishlist of items she thought the mother might need, doing the research to find reputable brands, unique solutions to problems, "best mom gadgets", etc (such as the pacifier that you can put liquids into; it lets you get liquid medicines into the baby, like cough syrup, without stress). She sent the gift card, and the link to the wishlist with an explanation.

It was both a pragmatic and thoughtful approach, without the risk of buying something she already had, or didn't need or want.

Re: More than you want to know about gift cards

#58

Post by cosmojg »

winternett wrote: post #10

I still don't understand why it faux-pas to just put cash in a nice card... I just do it anyway. It's a more universal gift card without fees and expiration dates... Anyone who tries to put me down for doing so will simply not be receiving a gift from me next year... Screw stressful stores. plastic cards, and standing in line, my method is much more "green"... :P

The opposite is true in my circles. Cash is always appreciated while gift cards will earn you dirty looks from bystanders and an awkward, "Erm, uh, thanks!" from the recipient.

Re: More than you want to know about gift cards

#59

Post by agentdrtran »

throwaway413 wrote: post #41

Idea: “unlocked” public bitcoin wallets with autogenerated key pairs that can be given to someone without them needing a pre-existing wallet. 1) transactions are instant and free, ie giving over physical ownership of a pub/private key pair (this could be done via scan of a QR code) 2) no prior onboarding necessary (avoids the repeated question “do you have this wallet/app?”) Before, if I didn’t have cash, to tip a va…

transactions are very much not free when paying with bitcoin, and this has been tried in a few forms already but none have been successful. how can they spend what you give them? are you going to sit there and explain bitcoin to the waiter?

Re: More than you want to know about gift cards

#60

Post by Ntrails »

lmkg wrote: post #34
winternett wrote: post #10

I still don't understand why it faux-pas to just put cash in a nice card... I just do it anyway. It's a more universal gift card without fees and expiration dates... Anyone who tries to put me down for doing so will simply not be receiving a gift from me next year... Screw stressful stores. plastic cards, and standing in line, my method is much more "green"... :P

I mean, it's all cultural. But the idea is that a gift is personal , and that cash is impersonal . The universality is exactly what makes it impersonal. The ideal gift (again, in US cultural context) is one that reflects something unique about the giver, or recipient, or the relationship between them. An exchange of cash is something that happens between strangers on a regular basis.

Lets be clear, a gift card is just as shitty a gift - it just manages to be a mite less crass
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