As the amount of their pre-Christmas business has expanded substantially in this sector, the merchants are happy to have the money in hand, with the merchandise still on hand to be viewed by potential customers right up until Christmas itself.

However - as there is a large amount of value out there stored in cards which they have issued, they do not want to part with too much merchandise in exchange for all of those dollars, after Christmas when people come in seeking merchandise.

So, though they do the same advertising with regard to the blowouts and huge savings to be had in after-Christmas sales, there are far fewer items so offered.

So it is more important that customers evaluate prices carefully when attending those sales, to see whether the items that they are seeking really are being sold at reduced price.

As always - it's "Buyer Beware!".

They also said that only about 2/3 of such certificates/cards have been redeemed after three months.

That makes retailers happy, as well - they have the money ...

... and they still have the stock in hand.

That looks like a win-win situation, wouldn't you say?

Hope you are having a good time getting all of the loose ends tied up before the year ends.

Next year is the year that you're going to get serious about making those francs/lira/dollars/escudos/yen work harder - for you, rather than the guys that you lend them to, right?

Right!

I hope that you all have a happy, healthy, prosperous New Year.

ole joyful

We are using a $50 Olive Garden card for dinner tonight. Kids are gone for the day and I'm NOT cookin'!

I didn't suggest that people not use them - just be careful when attending those supposedly big-saving after-Christmas sales.

Be careful also if you received a gift card - check to see whether there's an expiry date.

Don't you just love the idea of a store reaching into your pocket and making some of your dollar bills just go ...

... "Poof!" ...

... and they've disappeared into thin air?

If you don't watch your dollars - nobody else'll watch 'em for ya.

They may pinch 'em, though, when you're not watching.

ole joyful

Don'tcha just love that - "If you want to give me $50.00 - I'll charge you $5.95 for the privilege".

And I, the retailer, get the money now - and don't have to part with the merchandise till later. Sounds like a win-win, to me.

Heck - if you want to give me $50.00 - I'll take it at no charge. Glad to do so - any time.

If you want to give me $5.95, I'll send it, later, to whomever you choose.

At no further charge.

None of this $5.00 extra per month baloney!

What do you figure - do they hire folks to stay up late nights, thinking up these money-erasing/whittling schemes ... or do it themselves?

Glad that you decided to simplify the giving system. With no penalty payments along the route.

After all, the recipients can use those dollars in any of 3,000?? stores in the city, rather than just one.

Surely all of these efficiency experts should consider that a good idea, what'cha think?

Hope that you have a really satisfying New Year, everyone.

ole joyful

However, for me they weren't money savers. Not to give and sometimes not to receive either. I tend to buy presents on big discounts, thus the actual amount I spend per person looks rather small on paper, and when given to someone else with the limitation of being able to spend it in just one store, it doesn't actually go that far. For example I can hunt around the stores and buy my sister a really nice jumper for perhaps £12.99, but if I give her a £12.99 gift certificate limited to just one store she won't be able to get a really nice jumper without adding at least another £10 to it. The certificates are often issued only by major retailers and most of them are quite expensive places to shop. The lower range of certificates such as £10 or even £20 will not entirely buy anything in many stores now.

On the receiving end I don't mind certificates as I get to choose for myself, but often they mean going to places I wouldn't normally shop. This can be a positive thing, but other times it reaffirms why I don't shop there. Either I don't like the items or I don't like the prices. Prices shouldn't matter when you have a certificate, but often you have to make up the total price for an item with more money. I've had a few smaller certificates for £5 or £10 for shops, which I've been to only to discover that with the certificate the cost to me of any items I could use/want are only just starting to become average price, and honestly I haven't bought anything at average price for years. I almost never buy outside of sales. I live in a big city and have the internet, every day is sale day somewhere! Why be shopping anywhere else? I feel bad not using a certificate, but when it means I have to shop somewhere I find excessively expensive and I have to find the extra money to afford something, then it seems to be a bad financial choice.

I have savings to build for university, I can't afford bad financial choices. I'll just pass the certificate on to someone else and hope they find a better use for it.