Gift cards account for about 55% of the budget we allot to gifts each year. In other words, there’s a pretty good chance you’re going to receive at least one gift card from a friend or loved one this year.
What happens if you don’t want to use a gift card? What if you’ve received a gift card for a store you don’t shop at? What if you bought a gift card at a discount and now want to redeem the full cash value?
What you’re looking for, in these situations, is a gift card exchange. Fortunately, there are a few solutions if you’re hoping to exchange your gift cards for cash.
Read on to learn some of the ways that you can exchange gift cards for cash.
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In-Person Gift Card Exchange
One quick and easy way to get cash for your gift cards is by finding an in-person gift card exchange location. If you’ve never traded in gift cards for cash, you probably don’t realize that these places are willing to do so. Let’s take a look at four of the best in-person locations to check out to sell gift cards for cash.
Gift Card Bin
Gift Card Bin is a gift card exchange kiosk, exclusively. You’ll need to use the Gift Card Bin locator to see if you’re nearby one of their 600 partner locations. If you’re in luck, make sure they take the gift cards you’re trying to sell.
Gift Card Bin does accept gift cards from about 700 different businesses, so chances are, you’ll be able to exchange your gift card with Gift Card Bin.
ByteFederal
Looking for a gift card exchange location that does more than just gift card exchange? ByteFederal ATMs allow you to buy and sell gift cards, convert your cash into bitcoin, and more. Learn more about how to find your nearest ByteFederal ATM and start turning your unused gift cards into usable currency.
Target
A lot of people don’t realize that they can exchange their gift cards for cash at their local Target. Where do they offer this gift card exchange service?
Head over to the tech desk and let them scan your gift cards. They’ll make you an offer and you can say yes or no–and keep in mind, the offer may be lower than the value of the gift card.
Coinstar
That big green machine at the front of your grocery store? The one people dump all their coins in? Turns out Coinstar gift card exchange is a real thing–Coinstar isn’t just for coins.
Online Gift Card Exchange
What about exchanging gift cards from the comfort of your own home? Is that an option? The answer is yes–as long as you’re willing to send your gift cards in the mail.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the most-used online gift card exchange services.
Gift Card Granny
Gift Card Granny is one of the original online gift card exchange services and, by most accounts, the leader in the gift card exchange marketplace. (In other words, it’s where most people seem to send their gift cards for cash–not necessarily the place that offers the best exchange rates.)
To get started with Gift Card Granny, enter the retailer and dollar amount on your gift card and receive an offer. You can receive payment directly online–but not until your gift card arrives at the Gift Card Granny center.
Raise
Raise is a little more up-to-date than Gift Card Granny, although it isn’t as well known. Created in 2013, Raise comes with an app that you can download to your smartphone or tablet. From there, you enter into a sort of online marketplace.
What that means is that you don’t sell your gift card directly to Raise. Instead, you list your gift card on Raise and wait for someone else to buy it. The good news is that Raise has a solid security rating, so your information is safe and sound.
CardCash
CardCash is one of the better online gift exchange options when it comes to exchange rates. None of the online gift card exchange options listed here will yield 100% of the card’s value in cash, but CardCash gets pretty close. Depending on the gift card, they may offer up to 92% of the card’s value.
eBay
Do you feel like trying your luck on the original online auction house? Believe it or not, eBay isn’t just a place where people sell rare items and collectibles. You’ll also find people looking to buy and sell gift cards.
One nice thing about selling gift cards for cash on eBay is that you can set your own price. However, there are two potential setbacks. The first is that people go to eBay looking for deals, which means they may want you to lower your asking price, and the second is that eBay does charge a seller’s fee any time you complete a transaction.
Last but not least, we’ve got the corner of Reddit devoted to buying and selling gift cards: Reddit Gift Card Exchange. This isn’t a bad community to tap into if you have a lot of gift cards to sell. However, because they do have their own set of rules and regulations, it’s probably not worth navigating if you’re only going to make a single sale.
Don’t Sit on Gift Cards You Won’t Use
We tend to receive at least a few gift cards a year and not all of them are for retailers that we genuinely enjoy. The good news is that you have several gift card exchange options, meaning that you don’t need to sit on all those gift cards you won’t use.
Looking for more tips and tricks that will help you amp up your cash flow? Take a look around for the content you need.
