A few years ago, I discovered the joy of discounted gift cards. I found that it was possible to a buy a $25 gift card to a restaurant by paying only $15. I also found gift card marketplaces in which recipients of gift cards were willing to sell their cards for cash. You could pay 80 cents for each dollar. You get a discounted gift card that can be used as cash at your favorite restaurant or store, and the seller receives cold, hard cash. Everyone wins.
However, the downside to the gift card marketplace was the fact that you would have to wait for the gift card to be shipped to you. Additionally, there are always concerns that you could get scammed. The seller might send an expired gift card that’s useless to you while pocketing your cash, or send a card that didn’t actually have any money left on it. All of these limitations resulted in delays in terms of accessing the cards.
Now, though, there is a gift card marketplace that is offering instant access to your discounted gift cards. Raise allows you to take advantage of discounted gift cards immediately, thanks to an app on your phone. Here is what a representative of Raise has to say about how the process works:
The iOS app is an on-the-go extension of the full Raise marketplace, which enables users to sell and buy gift cards and store credit to/from each other at a discount for cash. You can now buy a discounted card while standing in line at checkout and redeem it instantly at the counter. On other sites, buying previously owned cards requires both time (shipping) and trust. With the app, it’s verified, insured and instantly redeemable. So the next time you’re at Starbucks (or 3,000 other stores/brands), you can buy a card for 84 cents on the dollar and use it to buy your coffee a few seconds later.
As you can see, this is an upgrade over the previous experience. According to Raise, this type of app could save shoppers $10 million during the 2014 shopping season if they use it to best effect.
Advantages of Discounted Gift Cards
I love discounted gift cards because they save me money in a number of ways. First of all, you save off the face value of the gift card. This means that you get more bang for your buck — as long as you use the gift card according to your regular budget and you don’t use it as an excuse to spend extra money.
Discounted gift cards are also great during the holiday season as gifts. You can provide loved ones with a $15 gift card, but only pay $10 for it. This saves you money and gives you the chance to give a bigger gift. As long as you use a reputable marketplace that verifies and guarantees its transactions, you can get these advantages with comparatively low risks.
If you want to save money, it helps to be on the lookout for a deal. Consider which stores you frequent the most, and then see if you can find a discounted gift card for that store so you can make the most of your money.
