ALT-1 Why Gift Cards Aren’t Great Gifts
You're "Gifting" Gesture Could Have You (or your gifted) Going for Broke
Everyone gets one at least once in his or her lifetime. A gift card. And as I see it, there are two main reasons why someone might only give someone a gift card. Either the person giving the gift card feels as though he or she genuinely wants to give the gift receiver a gift but does not know him or her well or well enough to know what to get. Or the gift card giver feels somewhat obligated to present a gift but does not genuinely want to present either a personal gift or any gift at all to the person in question.
That being said, some gift card receivers argue that getting the gift card really is no gift at all. Why? One, because the gifted feels as though they were not thought of enough on a personal level to be worthy of a more individually tailored gift. If your gift receiver feels this way, it is likely that he or she might cast aside the gift card (basically abandoning it) and hence, not remember to use it for a period of time. If this occurs in your case, you as the gift-giver run into your second and more pressing problem which is that the more time that elapses before your gifted uses the gift card, the more chance you run as the gift giver that the gift card (and thus the gift) will expire. That's right, folks. Some retailers gift cards are in fact, slated to expire after a period of time that is wholly unknown to both the gift giver and the gift receiver. Even worse, the store who has encoded its expiration date into what is usually a magnetic strip on the reverse of the gift card, usually forgets to remind the gift giver (their customer) just exactly when the "gift" will actually be gone. So, you, the consumer, might very well find yourself throwing hard earned cash down the drain instead of at your favorite friends and family. And, ultimately, this is no gift to either your pocketbook or the person in question. So, buyer beware! Check with your retailer of choice or your on-line store to be sure that your cents are secure.
If they are, there might still be some hope for the gift card. It might make a new friend out of a current acquaintance and it might also give someone you love dearly the freedom to choose exactly what he or she wants at his or her favorite retailer instead of being trapped by your taste. In short, don't necessarily stop spending your "cents," just use some good 'ol "common sense!
