Gift cards are great, if you get the one that you want–or at least one you know you can use. But if you know immediately that this is one you are not likely to use (ever), then do something about it right now! Don’t stick it in your wallet for months hoping to feel differently, trade it in for another card or for cash.

Exchange Unwanted Gift Cards

There are many ways to turn a gift card into cash. You won’t get the full value of the card, but getting a high percentage of cash back is better than holding the card indefinitely and getting nothing. Below are two gift card swap sites I’ve used personally:

• Plastic Jungle: Sell your gift cards for cash! Get up to 92% of the balance. You can opt to get paid by check, PayPal, exchange for an Amazon.com gift card.
• Cardpool.com: Sell Your Gift Cards For Cash at Cardpool.com! You only receive payment by check, but you can actually sell the gift card electronically–meaning you can cash it in without sending the physical card.

Sneaky Alternative

If you received a gift card to a store that has a kiosk, then go to the store and use your gift card to buy a new one. For example, if you received a Michael’s Craft Store coupon and you’re crafted out from the holidays, go to Michael’s anyway. But a new gift card from their kiosk and pay for it with the Michael’s gift card. Totally works. Totally legit. More legwork than using a swap website, but you get full value for the card.

And don’t forget to check out my other advice: Eight Ways to Use Your Gift Cards.

What is STILL in your wallet?

So out here in California, the clocks are turned forward, the tulips are pushing their way up, and my husband is engrossed in the Big Dance. I love this time of year. The rain still catches me off-guard but it’s mixed with enough sunshine to get my tennis game on. Love it.

But This is Madness

The holidays are well behind us and I’m betting that you still have gift cards in your wallet from Christmas. Be honest with yourself. If you haven’t used three-month old gift cards by now, my friends over at Tango Card say you just might not use them at all. And that’s silly. It’s Madness really!!!

Stop the Madness

So crack open your wallet or that secret gift card hiding place in your drawer and get to work. While watching the Final Four, you have time to do the following as well:

• Get organized. Download the Tango Card app and enter the gift cards you still plan to use. This handy app will send you reminders and let you check gift card balances (my favorite part).
• Go shopping and use the gift cards you have. Seriously. Or send them to me and I will. Lots of great spring sales out there.
• Cash ‘em out. Why hold on to gift cards that you’re not going to use? Go to one of these after-market gift card sites and sell your unwanted cards for cash. You may not ever use those gift cards, but I’m pretty sure you can find a way to use the cash. (Or send it to me and I will.)

Now let’s not have this same conversation in another few months. If you have gift cards, track ‘em, use ‘em, or sell ‘em. Don’t let well-intentioned gifts sit in your drawer another day. It’s time to stop the madness.

I started this site because I want to show people how to gift card without feeling guilty. But I discovered that most of us need a little more help than that. We need to know what to do with unwanted gift cards, what to do with the balance left on a card, how to avoid gift card fraud, and so forth.

To meet this need, we added the “Solution Center” to our site. This is where I’ll put advice and information on some of your biggest concerns, such as:

• Gift cards are too impersonal.
• Not sure what to do with unwanted gift cards.
• Givers don’t want recipient to know how much they spent on a gift.
• Gift card fraud, expiration dates, and hidden fees can ruin the gift card experience.
• Kids and gift cards create a new set of problems.

As I navigate the gift card industry, I’ll update this page with ways to help you avoid gift card pitfalls so you can gift card with confidence instead. Check it out: Solution Center.

I just got a check from GiftCardBuyBack.com

I received a $15 check in the mail today for a $20 gift card I sold on GiftCardBuyBack. I’d carried this card in my purse for over three years thinking one day I’d use it. But the store isn’t in my area, and being a specialty shop, I knew I’d have a hard time redeeming the gift card without spending my own money. An article in Entrepreneur magazine prompted me to consider selling the gift card instead. Here are the places referenced in the article that I checked out:

• GiftZip – This site only allows you to buy gift cards, e-gift cards in fact. So this site provides an easy way to buy downloadable gift cards, but you can’t sell one of your own.
• PlasticJungle – I could sell my card on this site for cash, but they only take cards worth $25 or more. My card had $20 on it.
• SwapaGift – Same story. Minimum $25 requirement on cards turned in.
• Three sites all part of the same company, so it’s a little confusing:
  • GiftCardBuyBack – here is where I sold my gift card. After entering the gift card data and committing to sending my card to the company, I received instructions on where and how to mail the card. They promised to send me a check within 10 days…and they did! I got a check for $15 today.
  • GiftCardsAgain – you can buy discounted gift cards that other people (like me) sold on the previous site. Buying discounted cards to stores you regularly shop is a great way to save money. If you’re going to Jamba Juice everday, for example, buy a discounted Jamba Juice card and drink your smoothies for less. The only downside here is that not every card is available–only the ones people turned in.
  • GiftCardDonor – On this site, you can turn into your gift cards and donate the proceeds to charity. I actually started on this site thinking I might do a good deed. But I got confused when the registration form asked me for the month/year the gift card was purchased. I didn’t know. I later figured out that I could leave this field blank…but realized it too late.

You know I love the gift cards and normally I have no trouble spending them.  But $15 cash is signifincantly better than carrying around unused plastic.  I have to tell you – I’m feeling pretty good about this!  For the cost of a stamp and forfeiting a card I’ll likely never use, I received money to spend however I see fit.  Love that.