

Can Cardpool (YC W10) Solve the Unused Gift Card Problem? - anson
http://gigaom.com/2010/03/01/can-cardpool-solve-the-unused-gift-card-problem/

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japherwocky
I know the cool way to pitch a startup is "solving a problem", but ... is the
Unused Gift Card Problem an actual thing?

I have never in my life had to deal with an unused gift card. I.. don't know
anyone who has this problem, I've never heard anyone reference it.

Yet somehow, there are five funded companies in this space?!

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amalcon
You clearly don't have anyone who insists on giving you, for example, $20 gift
cards to Crate and Barrel: the gift that actually costs you money. You want to
be able to tell them what you spent it on (to be nice), but there's _nothing_
at Crate and Barrel that you can buy for $20.

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jmackinn
Some stores calculate the the value of gift cards very carefully to be below
or above the mean/mode (depending on stores and price distribution) to ensure
that either money is left on the card, or more money must be spent to make the
purchase.

As a consumer, gift cards are never a very good idea.

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quan
The ultimate solution to this problem is getting rid of gift cards altogether.
Just give cash. People complain that giving money is not thoughtful. Like
going to the nearest CVS and paying $105.95 for $100 American Express card any
more thoughtful.

Gift cards only give the illusion of being thoughtful. I'm not sure why people
are offended when receiving cash. There's really no up side compared to cash.
It's less convenient for both the giver and receiver.

I guess it's a cultural thing (I'm Asian). I've always received cash from my
parents and relatives and love it. I can spend any where, any amount, or not
at all if I want to save it.

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robryan
I think there is also the point of trying to restrict what the card receiver
can buy. Most people when giving a gift card do it so hopefully the person
buys something that is a gift like a dvd rather than food/rent/alcohol ect

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ryanwaggoner
Yeah, which is fucking stupid. If you don't have the relationship to know what
the person actually wants or needs, why bother with giving them something
that's kind of like cash, but can't actually be used to pay for what they want
or need?

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rlpb
Gift cards are bought and sold on eBay in high volumes already.

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blasdel
There are a lot of fungible goods that get sold on eBay just to perform
arbitrage on discounting and get around sales tax.

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vashthestampede
In California, where I live, gift cards do not expirs, and are redeemable for
cash if the amount left on the card is $10.00 or less. I got a blockbuster
gift card one time, went to blockbuster, asked for two $10.00 cards and one
$5.00 card. The next day I went in and cashed all the cards in. Maybe a bit of
work, but since I will never use them, it was worth it for the cash in my
pocket.

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carol
wow, why didn't someone come up with this idea sooner?

i had a linens n things gift card that i hung on to for about a year bc i
couldn't use it. then they went bankrupt and...well, then i just had a card,
and no gift.

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_delirium
The general idea's been around for a decade or so, and a new site starts up
every few years aimed at it:
[http://www.google.com/search?&q=sell+gift+cards](http://www.google.com/search?&q=sell+gift+cards)

One problem is that a large portion of the market is already taken by eBay,
which does a brisk business in gift cards: [http://gift-
certificates.shop.ebay.com/Gift-Certificates-/31...](http://gift-
certificates.shop.ebay.com/Gift-Certificates-/31411/i.html)

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jmtame
yes, technically they can: <http://jmtame.posterous.com/cardpool-the-real-
deal>

