Physical vs e-gift cards for resale

mec

Silver Member
I'm considering buying some gift cards to sell on cardpool.

I have never sold a gift card before but thought I'd try a few to get to know how the process works.

In the cases I'm considering I would buy the card(s) and set a sale price.

I'm wondering if there are distinct advantages to physical gift cards or e-gift cards that impact their saleability.

I know that I usually seek out e-gift cards because when I decide to purchase something I don't want to wait for the card to be shipped to me. Is it possible to convert a physical gift card to an e-gift card?
 

GettingReady

Level 2 Member
There's a lot to learn about reselling GCs and the different exchanges. It depends on the brand if a physical card can be sold as an e-card. Most of the time they can, but exchanges have a "Do Not Buy" list and specify limitations based on the brand. You need to know the market, if it's saturated or not, what does and doesn't sell based on the time of the year, the listing fees that can be as high as 12%, etc. You might want to research giftcard reselling before jumping in and/or go with a bulk buyer.
 

DrAwesome81

Level 2 Member
Had a bad experience the very first time I tried to do this. Did the math and saw that I could get a $200 worth of gift cards at a discount from one site, then sell them at another for a small profit. I purchased 2 gift cards for Icing, but when they arrived, they were both for Claire's. I complained, and was told that the Claire's gift cards would work at Icing because they were run by the same company. That's probably true, but the site I had targeted to sell them to was paying a lot more for Icing gift cards than for Claire gift cards. I requested a return and full refund, and finally got it after threatening to file a complaint with the FTC over false advertising. Lots of headache, lots of time wasted, nothing gained.
 

GettingReady

Level 2 Member
Most places won't take cards that have been listed elsewhere. They want "clean" cards that have been purchased directly from stores.
 

spottedcat1234

Level 2 Member
Most places won't take cards that have been listed elsewhere. They want "clean" cards that have been purchased directly from stores.
This is my understanding as well. Although I have never actually tried to do it, I would be hesitant to purchase a GC from one exchange, such as CardPool, and then attempt to sell it to another exchange site, such as CardCash. My understanding is that they would likely flag and reject it. I typically only list and sell GCs that I purchased directly, whether purchased from the vendor or from a 3rd party seller of the vendor's GCs (ex. buying a Macy's gift card from Staples.com)
 
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