New Life For Old Gift Cards

Gift cards are supposed to make it easy to choose something you really like, but it doesn’t always work out that way. How many times have you wound up with a gift card from a toy store when you’d rather be shopping for clothes? What if you just don’t like anything at the store? What good is a gift card to a specialty store that’s nowhere near where you live?

Billions of dollars are tied up in unredeemed gift cards every year. It’s a huge waste of money at a time when many of us are carefully watching our wallets. But we’ve found a convenient solution, thanks to Tina Henson. When Tina heard about a friend who couldn’t use a $1,000 gift card, she had the idea to create a company that lets people trade in their unused gift cards for cash or a different card. Her venture is called Plastic Jungle, and it couldn’t be easier to use. Simply go online and enter in your gift card details. Plastic Jungle will offer a cheque for up to 90% of the verified card balance. Or, you can exchange your unwanted or partially used gift cards for an Amazon gift card, or donate them for the benefit of your favorite nonprofit organization. You have to mail in your gift card to redeem the value, but Plastic Jungle provides a printable shipping label (at no cost to you) to make it easy. When we tried out the service, Plastic Jungle sent us a check in less than two weeks. It was easy, thrifty and rewarding… the best kind of shopping!

— Ann