How to Get Rid of Your Unwanted Christmas Present (or How to Never Pay Full Price Again)

You know you're going to get at least one for Christmas this year. They're the easiest gift to give and consumers will buy $17 BILLION of them this holiday season. They are gift cards and they're big business. The problem with gift cards, however, is that there's some likelihood that you're going to get one to a place that you rarely go (at best) or you absolutely hate (at worst). Remember that year that Aunt Edna gave you the gift card to the Chinese Buffet with the C sanitation rating? That's the problem with gift cards. Fortunately, you're in luck! Three new sites offer consumers the chance to buy, sell, and trade gift cards. Trade that Chinese Buffet card for a Home Depot card or sell it to someone with an indiscriminating pallet that doesn't mind getting salmonella.

CardAvenue.com requires that gift card owners include the toll-free number for their card and that sellers check the balance before offering it to others. CardAvenue charges a 6.25 % fee from the seller and a 50-cent closing fee only if a sale or trade is completed. If the card doesn't attract a new owner, the seller isn't out any money.

Swapagift.com charges a $4 flat fee to list a gift card for sale or swap. If you just want to get rid of a card, they will also pay you 70% of face value and then resell it themselves.

PlasticJungle.com charges a 10% commission fee to sellers for every gift card sale. They also buy gift cards and pay anywhere from 55% to 65% of face value, depending on which retailer the card comes from.



So...now you know how to dump those unwanted Christmas presents. But what does this have to do with never paying full price again? Well, if you think about it, almost every store known to mankind offers gift cards. If you could go to one of these three sites and buy a gift card for Target or Wal-Mart and get it for 10% off, why wouldn't you do that? You know you'll use it up over time and it's instant savings. It's like going with a % off coupon everytime you go shopping. If you really wanted to get fancy, you could buy a gift card on one of these sites, shop online using one of the rebate sites I've discussed, and apply an online coupon that you can get from one of the coupon sites I've discussed. You could be looking at 30% off every time you shop. Now that's a good deal. Check it out!