How do you feel about gift cards?

[TwinFoxes]

Lots of talk about gift cards...just wonder how people feel about them. For me, it kind of depends on the person. I'd rather give a present, but sometimes it's hard to figure out what to get them, and I know they'd rather just have a gift card (like for my 16 year old nephew who lives 3000 miles away.) As for getting them, I'd much rather get one than some of the "lovely" clothes my MIL has gotten me.

[hollybloom24]

It is a tough call for sure. Sometimes I think they are the best gifts - like for my teenage cousins. Of course they'd be happy with cash too, I suppose.

I personally don't love to receive them unless it is to a place I frequent often, like Starbucks. Everyone knows I love going! Otherwise, they end up in my wallet or a drawer. My husband hates everything about gift cards.

What I don't like is a gift card that forces me to shop somewhere I wouldn't normally shop, OR if it is a gift card for an amount that would never buy me anthing on it's own. Like a $25 gift card to Tiffany isn't going to do anything except cause me to spend my own money to buy something I may or may not want!

[SnuggleBuggles]

I absolutely love to get them!!! Love it! Maybe because people who get me gcs know my tastes and they buy for stores I frequent. We are wish list people too so I have no trouble directing people to the ones I would want and use.

Give them? I try to find a real gift instead. However, my dad is like me and loves gift cards so though it may seem a cop-out, it's what he really wants. There are others in my family like that (SIL) so I am happy to oblige.

Beth

[arivecchi]

I personally hate giving and getting them. The only ones I like are Starbucks ones because I am a Starbucks addict and feel guilty about paying so much for a drink and baby store ones when I was pregnant. I just think gifts are for the more part cooler to give and get as more thought goes into them (most of the time).

[missym]

I don't mind getting them as I know I'm difficult to buy for (I can never come up with a wish list). But I don't like giving them. I feel better about a gift if the other person can tell I put some thought into it. But with my teenaged nieces and nephews, sometimes I bend to the reality that they'd just rather have the gift cards than whatever lame gift I'd pick out. ;)

[brittone2]

I like them, but my hangup is this...I have 4 brothers. They hate to shop, and hate to wrap. 3 are currently married, and they tend to hold their wives responsible for the shopping. In the past, what most of them tended to do was to buy Home Depot gift cards for everyone in the family. A different brother/spouse would buy Lowes GCs for everyone in the family...and so on. So honestly, the whole gift exchange felt like a giant generic GC swap.

Most of my family prefers swapping names or would prefer to skip the adult gift giving entirely. However, 2 of my siblings insist on still buying for everyone even when we supposedly agree to swap names. It is very awkward, so we have stopped swapping names to appease the 2 that insist on buying for everyone. The 2 brothers with the hang up about stopping adult gift-giving (or at least doing a name swap) have their spouses do all of the shopping. My SILs have expressed that they'd like to stop the gift exchange for adults or just swap names, but their own spouses insist on keeping it going (even though they are the ones that refuse to shop and stick my SILs with the gift-buying duty).

So I feel like they are all hung up on continuing the gift giving even though (IMO) my siblings buy a generic GC for everyone in the family (meaning, IMO they aren't putting a lot of specific thought into the individual recipient's preferences). If it was about the thought/act, I would think they'd do the shopping themselves (instead of forcing their spouses to do it) or put more thought into it instead of giving everyone a GC to the exact same store, kwim?

I think the above makes me sound like a b*tch :( I don't dislike the GCs, I just don't feel like anyone in my family puts much thought into the whole gift-giving thing and it feels like a giant "I'll trade you a $100 gc to Home Depot for your $100 GC to Lowes" vs. a thought-out, personalized gift. I think GCs can be thoughtful and are a great gift, but I feel like when everyone in my family buys GCs exclusively year after year, it just feels weird to me somehow.

[wellyes]

I think gift cards are a burden. It's like cash but forcing the person to only spend it at a certain store. I know for some people that's a benefit.... they have to treat themselves vs using the money for gas, for example. But to me it's not polite to restrict the use of a gift like that.

Thoughtful gifts are the best option, with a gift receipt so it can be exchanged or returned for cash. If you don't know the person well enough to buy a gift, give cash. If you just don't want to be bothered to shop, give cash. I don't like to give cash but it's a totally acceptable gift, and preferable to a gift card IMO.

[daisymommy]

I LOVE to receive gift cards! But for some reason I always feel cheap, or like I couldn't think of anything original when I give them.

[citymama]

I LOVE to receive gift cards! But for some reason I always feel cheap, or like I couldn't think of anything original when I give them.

Me too! I love getting gift cards to places I actually shop at. Please don't get me one for Walgreens though. I loved getting a $100 gift card to the Gap last year, but then I lost it with over $50 on it. (sob sob) I hate giving them except to people I don't know well (babysitters, DCPs, etc) but even then, I get a sense that cash would be more appreciated.

[alien_host]

I voted other....

I don't mind giving GC to those who like GCs...my BIL (obviously based on my other thread) LOVES GCs...DD's teachers I'm OK with it too. oh and the teenage nieces/nephews like GCs and I'm ok with giving it to them.

Otherwise I prefer to pick out a thoughtful gift for the person. I sort of don't like people to know "exactly" how much I spent on a gift.

As far as receiving, it's a mixed bag. I still have part of a Barnes and Noble GC that MIL gave me for my birthday about 4 years ago. I've been slowly using it but I rarely shop there b/c I prefer Borders due to coupons or Amazon.

I rarely ask for a GC but if I get one I'm generally OK with it but sometimes they don't get used promptly.

My DH hates it when people give him GCs (mostly his family) because he feels they are being lazy and don't want to figure out what to get him so they toss him a GC. The last one he got I had to go find something for him.

For DH's family we swap names for the adults so each person only buys one gift for the adults. I'm actually sort of happy I got the GC loving one.

[KpbS]

I like to receive them--provided they are to a store/company I like. I am fairly easy to please but some places I would never go or shop there b/c they are just not my style or everything is so expensive any purchase would require the gift card plus $$ from me.

I don't like to give them often b/c I feel like people may be less than enthused to receive them or expect more for a $ amount.

They are handy for cross-country shipment ;) and teens whose tastes are difficult to figure out.

[wellyes]

I still have part of a Barnes and Noble GC that MIL gave me for my birthday about 4 years ago. I've been slowly using it but I rarely shop there b/c I prefer Borders due to coupons or Amazon.

LOL I'm the same way. I'm so used to librarying, bargain shopping or even just Amazon that I can't bring myself to pay full price for a book.

I tend to re-gift gift cards.

[BabyMine]

I love both giving and recieving GCs. You can never go wrong with a GC to Target. I wish my IL's would give GCs to my DC so I don't have to take back clothes every time becasue they never listen when I tell the their size.

[jent]

I LOVE to receive gift cards! But for some reason I always feel cheap, or like I couldn't think of anything original when I give them.

My parents love to give gifts, but very often their gifts are a little off. And sometimes I'm unable to exchange/return them. I've tried to get them to not do gifts, but they want to and feel like they have to give a certain amount.

I do resort to gift cards, only b/c I hate to give something the giver can't use. I try to tailor the GC to the giftee. Like I gave my stepbro a Home Depot GC after he bought his house, and my stepmom an iTunes GC after my dad got her an iPod.

[Globetrotter]

I love to get them! The only one I had trouble with was a $100 Tiffanys GC. it was either some microscopic earrings/pendant or crystal items, but I found everything so overpriced (I'm used to the deals :D) that I spent ages trying to decide! I finally got a pretty crystal bowl and candlestick that I can look at to remind me of my friend, but all the time I was thinking i could have gotten four times as much stuff from Tuesday Morning :ROTFLMAO: Gotta love those blue boxes, though!!

I usually buy gifts for my friends and enjoy choosing something appropriate, but I tend to give gc when I don't know the person too well or if I know they would prefer it (as a lot of people seem to do nowadays). Sometimes I pair it with a small item. American Express GCs are a great option because they don't limit the recipient. However, a GC is still a lot more flexible than a gift (even with a gift receipt) so I think they are more practical, unless it's someplace they would never go otherwise.

[dotgirl]

I don't have an opinion on *getting* them ... usually I only get them from work-events (a lot of people say "Thanks for your help" with a SB card or something). DH has gotten me "Spa Treatment" GCs in the past, but that's about all - although I did *love* that.

As for *giving* them, it all depends on the recipient. For my DD, I'm all about GCs as stocking stuffers or suggestions to people for her - iTunes, B&N and SB are the big ones.

For other people, I try to do them as part of a "theme" - for some friends one Christmas, we gave them a GC to Claim Jumper, the local movie theater, and a homemade certificate for "one night of babysitting" - sort of a "Date Night" theme.

[desertmama]

I have really mixed feelings on GCs. I lean more toward the don't like them side, especially for giving them. I don't mind getting them for clothes/shoes shopping, but I still like if people buy something and then include a gift receipt. ;)
I know it's cliche (sp?), but it just doesn't seem very thoughtful...

[MamaMolly]

I much prefer receive gift cards than more stuff I don't need/want. We move a lot and rather of packing up things we'd never use and shuffling them here and there, we tend to give them away. I cringe to see how much money my family wastes on junk! My sister detests gift cards though, and thinks they are the coldest, least thoughtful gift you can give. So it is all about perspective.

[gobadgers]

I voted that I don't like to give or receive them, but I have to admit I'm starting to come around on them. I still don't like to give them, especially to family - I'd prefer to find that perfect, thoughtful, original gift. But occasionally (haha) that doesn't happen so I've given GCs.

I've come to realize that sometimes, a gift card IS that perfect thoughtful gift. For example, my brother gave me one for Great Harvest Bread Company. He knows that I love the bread, but won't really ever go spend 6+ dollars on a loaf. So to me, that's a gift card success.

[vonfirmath]

In our family, when there isn't a physical gift to give, we give the ultimate gift card -- a check. So we don't tie the person down to a particular store, or even everything at one store.

[roobee]

Someone on another board I frequent said - gift cards are a great way to f#$* up perfectly good cash. I completely agree.

I guess there is a place for them, and I do like getting Starbucks GC's - but for the most part I get them and then never spend them, no idea why I do this.

[s7714]

So honestly, the whole gift exchange felt like a giant generic GC swap.

That's about the way I feel about how things work out with DH's brothers too. Kind of makes me feel like "why bother" but I play along anyway. This year I'm actually thinking the GC thing will be a good option though--my BIL and I were talking about his favorite local restaurant and commented that SIL doesn't like to eat there very often because it's spendy. So if we get him a GC for the place he'll get to eat there a few more times, LOL!

I like receiving GCs and tend to use them asap. And unless I know a person specifically likes to shop at a certain store, I just get Target GCs, because nearly everyone buys stuff there. (Although I noticed my niece's mom had over 20 unused Target GC just thrown in with stuff when she was packing up to move. These were GC she'd gotten at her big babyshower, and subsequent holidays for over 2 years. She sits there griping about how she doesn't have enough money to buy diapers, etc. and yet she has at least $500 in Target GC sitting there. :duh: )

[klwa]

I'm going to vote "Necessary Evil." :) It's probably what I'll end up getting my 16 (by then 17) yo DNiece, but I'd rather buy her something. I'll end up with some from MIL to a shopping center I USED to go to regularly but don't get to go to as often since DS was born. Can't convince her I'd rather get one to a place nearer by. But I'd MUCH rather get the gift card than the gifts she gives "me". (Thinly veiled gifts for DH with my name on the box....)

[MoJo]

I voted "other." I love to get them from co-workers, but not from family. I almost never give them, because I was always taught to buy a thoughtful gift, and because I'm a pretty good shopper, so I can often get something nicer at a discount.

On my side of the family, we do gift lists. (I'm the only one with a child, so we still buy for all the adults.) But DH's family is a challenge. I could have written this:


In the past, what most of them tended to do was to buy Home Depot gift cards for everyone in the family. A different brother/spouse would buy Lowes GCs for everyone in the family...and so on. So honestly, the whole gift exchange felt like a giant generic GC swap.

That's my ILs exactly. Except usually, they give us cards to the restaurant DH calls "Crapplebee's," even though there are lots of other chain restaurants close to us that he would enjoy, or Wal-Mart, which is about as generic as you can get. So it definitely seems like a no-thought gift. Plus, we are at a disadvantage because we usually can't spend as much as they do. And they live in the middle of nowhere, so any place we would get them a GC to would be someplace they'd have to drive an hour just to use the GC.

Now the Red Lobster card was a hit. And a Big Lots card was even on DH's wish list for a few years, because he likes to shop there and that gave him free play money.

And, after a previous thread a few weeks ago here, since I know ILs will all buy GCs for us, I'm considering asking them for one to Lowe's so maybe I can get the dishwasher I really want and need (because I get sick almost every time I try to wash the dishes, and DH won't do it even though I've asked him multiple times.) They never ask where we'd like a card for, and I'm not sure if it's too forward to ask, but I was thinking of saying something like, "If you were going to get us a GC this year, we'd really like one for Lowe's."

[egoldber]

Interesting. I had no idea some people felt so strongly about gift cards!

Some people are really good gift givers, but truly some people suck at it and GCs were made for them! I think I am a good gift giver if I know the person well. But if I don't, then I would prefer to give them a gift card to a place they will actually use.

I don't mind getting them and definitely prefer them to another thing that I don't need and will clutter up my house! I have a Borders GC from last year for $50 that I have not yet spent because I walk in there and get overwhelmed at the amount! I almost wish it had been $10 instead of $50. :p

[MelissaTC]

Love giving them and love receiving them. They are especially helpful for people like my in-laws. They live in a 900 sq ft co-op apartment with limited storage. They have everything they need. We see them maybe once a year and it is never long enough to figure out gifts. So I send them a basket from Harry & David which they now look forward to, and a gift card to Kohl's, their favorite place to shop. Works out well all around. They have used the gc towards anything from a toaster to clothes.

[Snow mom]

Someone on another board I frequent said - gift cards are a great way to f#$* up perfectly good cash. I completely agree.

This sums up how I feel.

[ellies mom]

I love to buy gifts but sometimes gift cards are just the way to go (thinking of teenage nephews) and they are much cheaper to ship.

I do like to get gifts but right now with me in school and money tight, my hands down favorite gift is a starbucks card. Then I can go sit at the coffee shop and study without feeling guilty (I hate studying at the library). There are a few people that I really wish would just stick to gift cards (thinking of MIL here) but most of my family is pretty good at getting gifts that I really like.

[ha98ed14]

I love to get them, but I always feel a bit unsure about giving them. As tho the gift receiver will think I put no thought into their gift. But chances are it's ok because who doesn't like free money?

[bluestar2]

I would say I like them, but honestly, I am okay with not getting anything either.

[lorinick]

When I get gift cards they are usually Visa of American Express gift cards I can use them anywhere anytime. I love them. I wouldn't be happy if someone gave me one to Starbucks. I hate coffee. I give them alot for ds friends from school and to my sitter. She loves books so I always give her one to Barns and Noble. I've never been upset to get one. I will always use them.

[ThreeofUs]

I voted other, too. I think there is a time and a place for gift cards, but don't like to see them as the default gift.