6 months later, all three cards have expired, so all three companies get $25 of free revenue, and no one really got anything for Christmas.
Gift cards are a fucking scam
Gift cards expiring isn’t legal in Canada. We just expect you to lose them, and there is still plenty of profit in that, apparently.
They don’t expire here, 3ither, but I found a 10-year-old gift card after a move and the company had switched to a new gift card system, so I had to spend an hour calling around to get my ancient gift card converted to modern store credit. It was not worth it for $20.
I wonder if prices being 24.99 makes a difference here too.
That would mean that for each gift card where the full amount is not spent, the company keeps 0.01. That 0.01 is technically owed but it doesn’t prevent the company from earning interest on the unspent cash (I don’t think).
I don’t understand them either, just give people cash
It can seem more thought out to give giftcards than just money.
yeah but I’d honestly prefer to get cash more than a gift card
it’s tru deau
Gets $25 gift card
Regifts it to friend
Friend regifts it to another friend
That friend gives it to me
Gets $25 gift card
Regifts it to friend and so forth
So yeah, we’re basically keeping the economy afloat.
sorry, I’m a little slow today. how is this seemingly keeping the economy afloat?
Movement of money = economy
Gift cards are just fancy plastic money
Ergo, OP is doing
God’sthe invisible hand’s work.Source: I am not an economist
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Gift card?! why don’t you just slit my throat?
What happens when you can’t give up the christmas gift card no more
One of them loans you $25, then you regift it.
What happens when you can but the other guy is broke including homeless now. Do you murder the economy just because the “mutual” “giving” dies on one end?
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The one area where gift cards are nice is when you for sure know that someone is going to be shopping somewhere and will use it up. My husband and I recently gained two nephews through his brother’s fiancee’s previous marriage. There’s a local game store that the boys love, so we got them gift cards paired with an outing to the store and lunch. My brother-in-law and his fiancee just had a baby, our niece, so it’s also a way to give them a little bit of a break. It wouldn’t have been existing for them if it had just been cash.
The velocity of money and its effect on economies is pretty neat.
