Are you constantly looking for the best shopping deals? Have you considered buying discounted gift cards? By buying unwanted gift cards from an online marketplace and be able to save a few dollars on every purchase. Using discounted gift cards are an amazing way to save a few dollars during Christmas time or really any time of the year.
What Are Discounted Gift Cards?
Have you ever received a gift card for Christmas or your birthday to a store or restaurant you never visit? Instead of just “regifting” it to another friend or family member, people sell them online for cash.
Discounted gift cards are a combination of unused cards with even balances (i.e. $15.00 or $50.00), and, partially used cards with uneven balances (i.e. $33.33 or $12.61). When you buy the gift card, you get the
When you buy the gift card, you get the entire amount, but you will pay a slightly lower price. For example, you would pay $18.00 for $20.00 gift card with a 10% discount. You save money and the seller earns some extra cash, it’s a win-win solution!
Related: Secrets to Save at Amazon.com
How Much Money Do You Save with Discounted Gift Cards?
By buying discounted gift cards, you can save anywhere from 1% to 35% depending on the retailer. Typically, your average savings rate will be between 3% and 10%. It’s also possible to find larger discounts with higher balances, $100 compared to $10 for example.
While saving 3% per gift card doesn’t seem like a huge initial savings amount, if you use this money saving strategy to replenish your Amazon, iTunes, or Starbucks balance, you can easily save hundreds of dollars each year.
You can buy discounted gift cards online for your nearly any of your favorite stores, restaurants, gas stations, and other online-only retailers.
How Are Discounted Gift Cards Delivered?
When you buy a discounted gift card, it will most likely be delivered electronically, although, some are mailed to you free of charge.
Electronic Gift Cards (ecards)
When a gift card is delivered electronically, you will usually have the ability to print the card if you want to redeem it in person or you can transfer the balance to a digital wallet to be used for a future online purchase.
Some ecards can only be redeemed online and they will need to be transferred to your shopping account to be used.
Physical Gift Cards
These are the exact same cards you might receive as a gift or buy in the checkout aisle at your local store. These cards are delivered using the Postal Service, most exchanges won’t charge you (the buyer) a shipping fee. Instead, the seller pays the fee and that is why the majority of gift cards are delivered electronically. To keep selling fees as low as possible.
Are Discounted Gift Cards Safe?
Yes. If you buy from one of the recommended exchanges listed in this article, you have a money back guarantee (45 days to 1 year) with each purchase. Also, the exchanges will not list the gift card until they have verified the balance as an added security measure.
Arguably, buying from these exchanges is more secure than buying from eBay or Craigslist where you might not be able to verify the balance before purchasing them.
Where to Buy Discounted Gift Cards
These are three of the best online platforms to buy discounted gift cards.
Raise
Pros: $10 sign-up bonus, a really wide selection, and lots of seasonal sales
Cons: Not always the steepest discounts
Raise allows you to buy gift cards from almost any retailer. They have a 1-year money back guarantee for all purchases and you can find discounts of 1%-30% on most cards.
First-time users can also receive $10 back on their first $25 purchase. Sign-up bonuses from gift card marketplaces are almost unheard of, so this goes a long way to helping Raise become the best place to buy discounted gift cards.
They also have an Apple and Android mobile app available for mobile purchases as well.
CardPool
Pros: Wide Selection & 1-Year Purchase Protection
Cons: No sign-up bonus & only has an Apple mobile app
Cardpool also has a wide selection with good discounts. They might even have better deals than Raise for certain retailers. If you have an Apple mobile device, you can also shop for cards with the Cardpool mobile app as well.
Another benefit that helps ensure Cardpool has a large catalog is that anybody can trade-in cards for cash at select local retail stores & they also have self-serve kiosks located across the country as well. To sell on the other marketplaces require sellers to individually list each card like a 3rd-party Amazon or eBay product listing.
CardCash
Pros: Ability to Trade Gift Cards & Partnerships with several large retailers
Cons: Only has a 45-day money back guarantee and no mobile app platform
CardCash prides itself on being the largest gift card exchange. In addition to buying and selling discounted gift cards, you can also trade gift cards.
Another advantage of CardCash, is that they partnered with CVS, Wal-Mart, Amazon, and United Airlines allowing you to buy discounted gift cards directly from the retailer instead of combing through the product listings!
The trading feature and retail partnerships might be the two largest advantages of choosing CardCash instead of Raise or Cardpool. Otherwise, they have the shortest money back guarantee and do not offer a mobile app.
GiftCardGranny
GiftCardGranny is like the Kayak for discount gift cards. It acts like a search engine and combines all the offerings from the major discount card sites. GiftCardGranny partners with sites like Gift Card Zen, Gift Card Spread and others to pull their data feeds into one location. The site also offers money-saving tips, a rewards program, and has a Chrome Extension to help find you deals.
Summary
Using any of these three marketplaces will allow you to save money with any gift card purchase. Whether you buy them to save money on a home improvement project or to replenish your Starbucks balance, you will save money. So, why not start saving today?