How to Sell Unwanted Gift Cards for Cash NOW!
Did you know GEM Pawnbrokers takes gift cards for cash? Now you do. So, what are you waiting for? Get rid of that pesky plastic and get money in your pocket today!
If you’ve survived the holiday season without amassing a mountain of gift cards, consider yourself lucky—or, at least, unusual. Most of us have more gift cards than we know what to do with. They fill our drawers; they stuff our wallets; sometimes they even find their way underneath sofa cushions and beneath bookshelves.
Of course, gift cards can be a blessing. It’s great to have free money to shop at your favorite retailer or to get a month’s worth of free coffee, but what happens when Aunt Sally gives you a card for a clothing store you wouldn’t be caught dead in? Or what if your friend gives you credit at a sporting goods store 50 miles away? In short, what do you do with all those unwanted pieces of plastic?
It’s simple: You exchange your gift cards for cash. After all, why leave money on the table when you can easily walk away with money? Don’t be one of the cardholders contributing to one billion dollars of gift card value left unclaimed each year.
Where Can You Sell Your Gift Cards?
The good news is that you have plenty of options when it comes to selling gift cards. The bad news is that it can be hard to figure out where to go to get the best deal. The first thing to remember is that, no matter where you sell your cards, you’re never going to recoup the face value. Customers won’t pay the full $80 for an $80 gift card they buy secondhand. That being said, it’s better to get 75 percent to 90 percent of the card’s value than to get no money at all.
Typically, people sell their gift cards in one of four ways, through one of the following outlets:
- Pawn Shops: Few people know that they can sell gift cards at their local pawnbrokers, and that pawn shops happen to be one of the best options when it comes to convenience and profit. Not only are they more reputable than individual dealers you can find online, but they also give you immediate cash, rather than making you wait for a check. Finally, you won’t have to give a cut of the sales to multiple third-party sites like eBay and
- Online Gift Card Resellers: With so many people deciding to offload their old gift cards, a number of sites have popped up across the internet to serve the growing market. Typically, gift-card-only sites require sellers to send in the card via mail, which can take a bit of time. Some of them allow users to provide a code and PIN number electronically.
- Online Auction Sites: Most people who want to sell gift cards turn to online auction sites. Unfortunately, it might be one of the worst options when it comes to making a profit. For starters, people on eBay tend to buy gift cards at a significant discount, which means you stand to make less as a seller. Not only that, but online bidding sites take a percentage of the sales price in the form of both insertion fees and final value fees. That’s in addition to the percentage that PayPal will charge for transactions.
- Mall Kiosks: Some malls have kiosks that deal exclusively in secondhand gift cards. Usually, a machine or a cashier checks your card and then makes you an offer. If you accept, then you can walk away with cash. There are only two problems with this method: 1) you have a find a kiosk near you, and they’re not all that common; and 2) they tend to pay significantly less for cards than other buyers.
- Classifieds: Finally, you can sell your cards through online classified ads like Craigslist, but beware! Most of these sites don’t have fraud protection like more reputable dealers. That could leave you vulnerable to scams.
Select Your Payment Options
So, how do you decide where to sell your cards? First, decide how you want to get paid. Then decide how much a discount you’re willing to sell the card for. That may help you determine which venues give you the greatest combination of security, convenience, and profit. Possible payment options include:
- Instant Cash: Most people would prefer to get paid in cash as soon as possible. If that sounds like you, then you only have a few choices. Out of those, the most reputable by far is a local pawn shop.
- Trade-In: Instead of getting money, you can trade your unwanted plastic in for a more valuable gift card—one that you’ll actually use. If you go to a pawn shop, you’ll usually find a sizable inventory of secondhand gift cards from which to choose.
- Check: If you sell online or through another type of third party, you might be able to receive a check in the mail. Waiting for a check typically takes longer and involves some extra steps (not to mention added risks), but some people don’t mind the hassle.
- PayPal: When it comes to convenience, nothing beats PayPal. You can receive a payment from an online buyer at the push of a button, from the comfort of your home. Unfortunately, expediency comes with a price. Depending on the type of account you have, PayPal may take up to 2.9 percent plus $.30 for each transaction. If you’re also selling through an online site like eBay or one of the many gift card trading sites, then you’ll have to subtract additional fees to keep them happy. At the end of the day, that can lower the value of your exchange.
The Step-by-Step Guide to Selling Unwanted Gift Cards
Now that you know all about the what and the where, it’s time to talk about the how. Fortunately, it’s easy to replace unwanted plastic with instant cash when you do business with GEM Pawnbrokers. Here’s a step-by-step guide to selling gift cards at a pawn shop:
- Check the Balance: There are many ways to check the balance on your card. You can either contact the retailer, register on their site, or even visit one of their locations. If you bought the card and haven’t used it, then you should have a receipt which shows the balance. If you received it as a gift and haven’t used it, then the amount should be printed somewhere on the card itself.
- Get Verification: The person buying the card has no way of determining whether you’re being honest. You say it has $100, but what if it only has $75 left? In order to win the trust of buyers, you’ll need to provide some sort of verification, like a receipt. That’s true whether you’re selling the card yourself or doing business through a third party.
- Find a Pawn Shop Near You: How do you find the nearest pawn shop? You could hit the internet and type in “pawn shop near me.” If you live in the New York area, there’s a simpler way. Just visit our location page to find pawn shops near you. With 24 convenient locations in and around New York, you’ll never have trouble getting those gift cards off your hands.
- Bring Your Card and ID: Before you head over to a local store, be sure you have both the card and a valid form of identification. That way, the buyer knows you have the legal right to sell the card.
- Walk Away with CASH: We’ll take a look at the card and make you an offer. When choosing a price, we’ll consider at least two things: 1) the value of the card; and 2) how much a customer is likely to pay for it. Remember that, in order to turn a profit, there needs to be a difference between the buying price and the eventual selling price.
Why Sell Your Gift Cards at GEM Pawnbrokers?
It’s easy to take advantage of great deals when you sell your gift cards to the largest pawnbroker in the New York area. With GEM Pawnbrokers, you get convenience, reliability, choice, and INSTANT cash. Walk away with money in your pocket or trade in your store credit for another, more useful gift card.
GEM Pawnbrokers has been serving the local community for more than 70 years. Over the decades, we’ve grown from a humble operation into one of the biggest privately held chains in the country, not to mention the world. As the largest, most reputable pawn broker in the New York area, we take the stress out of selling and buying. Locate a pawn shop near you to find out where to sell your gift cards before the holiday rolls around and a new batch comes piling in!
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