One of the things I’ve been doing during the COVID-19 Stay at Home order is cleaning out my office. I’ve got a lot of things squirreled away and it’s been interesting to see what sort of things are turning up. One thing I was surprised to find was a few old gift cards that hadn’t been used. Normally, I’m all about the gift cards and use them quickly, but these were for stores that I don’t really shop at. So I decided to investigate whether or not there was a way to turn gift cards into cash – because who couldn’t use a little bit more cash?
Sell Gift Cards to an Online Service
A quick Google search showed me a couple different sites where I could sell my gift cards and turn the gift cards into cash. The one that intrigued me the most was Cardpool. With Cardpool, not only can you sell your gift card to them online, you can also go to one of their kiosks or cashier locations and get cash (or a cash-like debit card) immediately. You can also sell them online (by transferring them the codes) and get paid by Amazon gift card or paper check sent by mail. Unfortunately, they don’t have any kiosks near me, so I couldn’t check them out in person – not that I’m doing much in-person shopping right now anyway. They do have local cashier assisted locations near me at Target Electronics Departments, so that’s definitely a nice option for quick cash.
I also checked out CardCash and CardKangaroo, both of which have good reviews online. The best part about all of these sites is that you can check out which one will give you the most money for your card and then make your choice.
In my case, Cardpool was going to give me the most cash for my gift cards (and I really like the Amazon gift card option because I shop there a lot), so that’s the route I’m going to use.
Auction off Gift Cards
Another place to sell cards for cash is through an auction site called Raise. You can list your card for whatever you want, and unlike with eBay, you don’t have to pay any sort of fee to list, so you can give it a shot without risking any money. This is probably a good option for cards that aren’t accepted on the other sites or if you aren’t happy with the amount you’re being offered. That said, this is the sort of option that requires you to keep track of your cards until they sell – so if you have an instant option, I’d definitely recommend that.
Personally, I wouldn’t recommend eBay – there are just too many risks involved, plus eBay charges fees on both ends. But that’s really your call.
Sell those Gift Cards for Cash
If you have gift cards sitting around and haven’t used them, this is a great time to sell them, especially if they are cards that can be used online. People are doing online shopping right now, and they might be looking to get a deal on a gift card, so why not get some cash for your cards?
Megan is a 40-something government employee in the Washington, DC area. She got interested in Personal Finance when she got out of college and realized that her paycheck wasn’t going to go as far as she had hoped. Since starting this blog, she has managed to buy a house and make a solid start on her retirement goals, and hopes to help others do the same. Here is her story:
In 2007, I was a gainfully employed 20-something with no debt but not a lot of knowledge about personal finance. It was a co-worker’s comment about Roth IRAs that sent me to the internet, searching for information. It was then that I realized that I really didn’t know a whole lot about personal finance and that my current financial situation was due a lot to inherent frugal tendencies, generous family members, a fear of debt, and good luck. While that was working for me, clearly I needed a better plan.
While I had no debt, I was also pretty much living paycheck to paycheck and not worrying about going over budget (I say this as if I had a real budget) because I had an emergency fund set aside to cover any overages.
Except that’s not what an emergency fund is for.
So I did a lot of research, read a lot of blogs, and decided that I needed a plan. I needed to budget. I needed to know what I was spending my money on. I needed to prepare for the future.
I decided to create a blog not only to make myself accountable to others but also to share the knowledge that I gained along the way. I’ve learned so much from my fellow bloggers, and I hope that my readers can find something useful in what I have to share as well.
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