Why do people dislike giving gift cards?

[SDFgirl]

For some reason, I HATE giving gift cards. I always feel like I do it because I can't think of something the person *really* wants.

But, on the other hand, I LOVE to receive them! It's like a little treasure in my wallet, to be saved for a rainy day. What's up with that?

 

[disneyeveryyear]

I think some people don't like to give them because the recipient knows exactly how much you have spent on his/her gift.

 

[SRUAlmn]

I am the same way. I hate to give them because I feel like the person will think that I didn't put any thought into the gift. Also because then they know exactly how much I spent.

On the other hand, I absolutely LOVE to get them. So strange

 

[daisyduck123]

I don't know. I love giving them as gifts...maybe because I love receiving them also.

 

[gradtchr]

That's how I feel about giving them so I always put more on there than I really should but spending them is so much fun!

 

[scoutsmom99]

I know that a lot of gift cards go unused and once upon a time a lot of retailers had expirations on them! Of course nowdays most places don't have those policies, but I think some people think they are impersonal.

 

[icebrat001]

Lots of people do not like to give giftcards because they are so generic, no one took the time pick them out an actual gift. When friends give gifts I like gifts but when it's from an employer or a parent (pre-school teacher) I LOVE gift cards.

 

[ItsonlyExperiment626]

When you buy a person a gift, do you give a gift receipt along with the gift? If so, then I don't see the difference between giving them a gift card and giving them a gift which they will return. They end up seeing what you had spent on them anyway. When I give a gift card I give a good thought to where the receiver usually shops. If she usually shops at a particular store then I will get her a card from that store. Every year I give our kid's bus drivers gift cards to the grocery store and I know it's appreciated since everyone goes to the grocery store and it helps with the holidays.

 

[ChrisnSteph]

For some reason, I HATE giving gift cards. I always feel like I do it because I can't think of something the person *really* wants.

But, on the other hand, I LOVE to receive them! It's like a little treasure in my wallet, to be saved for a rainy day. What's up with that?

You don't like giving them because you feel guilty for not thinking of something more creative. You like to get them because they're so awesome to have!!

 

[minkydog]

I like giving gift cards when i know the gift card is for something they like. For instance, my DS19 just about swoons if I give him a Hot Topics card. Likewise, DD12 is ecstatic if she recieves Limited Too cards. Home Depot just wouldn't do it for them, but DH would think he had died and gone to heaven.

Last year someone gave me three gift cards for Outback Steakhouse. I gave them to my three sisters for Christmas because I knew they would love it! And they did(and I am the favorite sister now!)

 

[Aidensmom]

I give gift cards to family members that I know like them, and my family members do the same to me (they know I love to shop).

I just gave one to my neice for her 8th birthday, because I knew she was in a stage where she loved to pick out her own things. At her birthday party, it was the gift that she made the biggest deal out of, because she knew it meant she got to go shopping.

 

[Planogirl]

I LOVE gift cards! I think that it's so much fun to receive and use them, and I always assume that other people feel the same way. I love them so much more than something that doesn't fit or doesn't work for me or so on. I know that it's the thought that counts but I have tons of stuff put away that I've gotten as gifts but I just really don't have any use for.

 

[SRUAlmn]

My mom wanted to do a 'Gift Card Christmas' last year because we had all moved away from home and we weren't close by enough anymore to know what people had or how they decorated their homes. I liked the idea, but it bummed me out a little because I LOVE that excitement of Christmas and all the boxes under the tree and figuring out what they all are and opening them. It just wouldn't have been the same with a bunch of envelopes. My mom said she could wrap the gift cards in different sizes boxes if I wanted Always the smart alec!

 

[monarchsfan16]

My dad doesn't like to give them because he thinks it's an impersonal gift. But since we (my sister and me) do all the shopping (including our gifts) for him, all his gifts are technically impersonal anyway. I personally think that as long as you take the time to think about what would be well used or appreciated the most, it takes the impersonality out of them. But then again I'm the type of person who doesn't have the patience to think about gifts. I, too love to receive them (but hey, I'm a teenager). I must say nothing was better at Christmas last year than opening up that gift card to Exxon/Mobil from my aunt and uncle. THAT was a thoughtful gift.

 

[golfgal]

When you buy a person a gift, do you give a gift receipt along with the gift? If so, then I don't see the difference between giving them a gift card and giving them a gift which they will return. They end up seeing what you had spent on them anyway. When I give a gift card I give a good thought to where the receiver usually shops. If she usually shops at a particular store then I will get her a card from that store. Every year I give our kid's bus drivers gift cards to the grocery store and I know it's appreciated since everyone goes to the grocery store and it helps with the holidays.

The gift receipts that stores around here give have a bar code on them and no price. Unless someone returns the gift, they don't know how much you spent on them.

I like getting gift cards and we often give them as gifts for birthday parties to which the kids are invited. If we are giving a gift with a set limit then I don't mind giving them. We will sometimes give them as wedding gifts, too. I don't like giving them to DH's staff because I don't like them to know how much we spend on gifts because I don't want them to be obligated to give a "matching" gift.

 

[nativetxn]

Gift cards are great. They are especially helpful for me with my grand nephews because they are 12 and 15 and I have no idea what they want or even need because they live in Texas and I don't. Best Buy cards are great for them because they love to buy cd's or gameboy stuff.

Be careful, though. I bought my (at the time future dil) dil a gift card for her trousseau. $300 worth purchased online and mailed by the store. She never got it. It was delivered one block away and the people who lived there, took the card and spent every penny.

It worked out alright. I had charged the gift card to my American Express and they went to bat for me. I didn't have to pay that $300. The people one block over enjoyed quite the windfall

The point is that these gift cards are cash money. There is no way to require id or anything to prove you are the owner because there is no name on the card. I found that out the hard way.

Katholyn

 

[mommaU4]

I like to give gift cards (and recieve them) but I do it a little differently.

I put them in with other items in a gift basket.

You can get cute baskets cheap at the dollar stores along with the stuffing and cellophane wrapping or shrink wrapping.

Here's one example: For my DB's b-day one year, I know he's a movie freak so I got him a gift card to blockbuster and put it in a gift basket with theatre snacks from Target (junior mints, milk duds, ju-ju bees, etc), some popcorn, some Cokes in the old-fashioned glass bottles and some mixed nuts. It makes a nicer presentation, it's easy and fun to put together, and seems more personal because you actually took the time to make it.

I did one for my mom once who like to bake. I got her a card to the grocery store so she could go buy supplies then stuck a few things of my own in there. Some recipes, cookie cutters, sprinkles, etc.

And for my friend's b-day I got her one to Cracker Barrel restaurant and picked up some items to put in there from the Cracker Barrel store along with a note telling her I'd babysit when she and DH wanted to use the card. She loved it.

It's really alot of fun to do and it does give it that extra touch. And with so many gift cards now to choose from the possibilities are endless.

 

[WDWHound]

First off, let me say that there is nothing wrong with giving gift cards if that works well for you. It doesn't work for me. The reason is that I feel there is something important in gift giving that goes beyond the gift itself. Have you ever received a gift that absolutely thrilled you, not so much for the gift, but because of the fact the gift giver clear put a lot of time and thought into it? I try to give gifts that fit the person. Something they would not buy for themselves or never realized the needed, and yet fits their personality. Its hard to describe, but its a very personal process. Sometimes a gift card fits the bill well here, but usually it doesn't, at least for me. I enjoy receiving gift cards, but I rarely give them.

 

[mommaU4]

Be careful, though. I bought my (at the time future dil) dil a gift card for her trousseau. $300 worth purchased online and mailed by the store. She never got it. It was delivered one block away and the people who lived there, took the card and spent every penny.

Katholyn

One more word of caution..... ALways keep, or give with the card, the reciept telling that it was activated and the amount.

My MiL bought one for my SiL when she got married for Sears for $500 so she could put it towards a new refrig. When they went to pay the card came up with a zero balance. Nothing on it!! They had to call my MiL who luckily still had the reciept to prove it and she had to go down to the store with the reciept. Such a hassle. Luckily it worked out.

 

[princess pooh]

I love giving gift cards and receiving them. I have some friends who are super picky and difficult to buy for, so I gladly take the easy way out and get the gift card