Discounted Gift Cards?

[bjl584]

I'm looking to make a fairly large purchase at Home Depot.
I already have a Home Depot credit card, so I can't take advantage of the 10% off for your first purchase for new customers promotion.

I was going to stop by the supermarket and pick up gift cards to get the gasoline discount, but I'd rather buy the gift cards at a discount if possible.

I know that there are sites that resell gift cards. What are a few good ones that I can check out?

Thanks in advance.

[disneysteve]

Don't you read my threads?

Go to giftcardgranny.com. That is the site that links to all of the other sites that actually sell the cards. I just checked and Home Depot cards are going for 9.14% off today. Pretty close to the 10% offer.

[DaveInPgh]

Steve, without backtracking, is SaveYa one of the sites you have bought from? That is the site I got the Lowes card from.

I am surprised the discount is that much better for the Home Depot cards.

[disneysteve]

Steve, without backtracking, is SaveYa one of the sites you have bought from? That is the site I got the Lowes card from.

I am surprised the discount is that much better for the Home Depot cards.

Yes, I've used SaveYa, Cardpool, CardKangaroo, Giftcard Zen, Giftcard Spread, and others. They're all fine. I've never had a problem.

If you are going to shop regularly, sign up for Giftcard Granny's rewards program too.

As for the difference between Home Depot and Lowe's, I think that's just a supply and demand and timing issue. The discounts vary over time.

[Jluke]

I just wish these sites would tell you if you are getting an actual gift card or "merchandise return card".

I've had a cashier make a comment when I used a merchandise return card from one of these sites.

[DaveInPgh]

Yes, I've used SaveYa, Cardpool, CardKangaroo, Giftcard Zen, Giftcard Spread, and others. They're all fine. I've never had a problem.

If you are going to shop regularly, sign up for Giftcard Granny's rewards program too.

As for the difference between Home Depot and Lowe's, I think that's just a supply and demand and timing issue. The discounts vary over time.

Yeah, I signed up for the rewards program when I opened the account.

Crazy how these deals come and go, and they seem to try to match each other's best deal. Had I waited another hour, I could have got a $500 gift card for that same discount. More than I need, but still a total I can live with. However, if I combined this current offer with the $200 I already purchased then I am just asking for my wife to hit me over the head with a frying pan.

[disneysteve]

I just wish these sites would tell you if you are getting an actual gift card or "merchandise return card".

I've had a cashier make a comment when I used a merchandise return card from one of these sites.

Fortunately, we've never had a problem using those. The JoAnn Fabric cards we get are usually merchandise return cards and DW hasn't had an issue.

[DaveInPgh]

I just wish these sites would tell you if you are getting an actual gift card or "merchandise return card".

I've had a cashier make a comment when I used a merchandise return card from one of these sites.

I still have my first transaction pending review, so I am just making an assumption here.

When I see a gift card listed as "in store only," I am assuming it is a merchandise credit. And I have seen several listed that way.

[phantom]

I just wish these sites would tell you if you are getting an actual gift card or "merchandise return card".

I've had a cashier make a comment when I used a merchandise return card from one of these sites.

The resellers would rather just avoid getting the merchandise credits into inventory in the first place. But, sometimes they have just as much trouble figuring out exactly what they're buying as you do.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I just wish these sites would tell you if you are getting an actual gift card or "merchandise return card".

I've had a cashier make a comment when I used a merchandise return card from one of these sites.

I ran into that once. I forget if it was at Lowes or Home Depot, but it did matter when I was trying to do something or other. I can't even remember what ordinary thing I was trying to do. It might have been that I needed to return or exchange something I had bought with the card, and could not do exactly as I'd intended because of the card being a refund card rather than a real gift card. Whatever the issue was, though, we worked out something acceptable with no drama.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

[QUOTE=DaveInPgh;437189 When I see a gift card listed as "in store only," I am assuming it is a merchandise credit. And I have seen several listed that way.[/QUOTE]

Oh, that's interesting, and sounds plausible. I only buy physical cards, not e-cards. Maybe some of them have been for in-store only. I'll have to pay attention.

[phantom]

When I see a gift card listed as "in store only," I am assuming it is a merchandise credit. And I have seen several listed that way.

If you're referring to SaveYa, they say all of their plastic cards are "in store only" and they say all of their eGifts are "online use." They currently make that designation at a merchant level, although they've been through phases where they sell a mix. The rule tends to be: if cards work reliably as egifts, they'll buy and sell them as egifts, and if they won't, they'll deal in plasitcs.

There's no industry standard when it comes to this sort of stuff, but these companies do an awful lot of copying off of each other when they see competitors doing things that seem to be working.

[msomnipotent]

I would call your local Home Depot before buying any cards, and verify which if any) cards they will take. My HD and Lowes will not take cards starting with certain numbers anymore unless you have the store receipt from when the card was purchased or the credit was given. I bought over $1,000 worth of gift cards for HD from Card Pool and Card Cash, and it turned into a hassle. I had to get a manager's approval, and then was told to stop buying discounted gift cards for their stores. It has to do with fraud, but obviously, I'm not the one that is stealing from their stores.

Just as an FYI, the last 4 out of 5 cards I bought from Card Cash had problems. One from Petco said it was stolen, two had zero balances, and another was so old that it had the wrong gift card numbers on it. I'm not using them again, and I bought maybe 30 cards from them before.