Ok - so probably not a scam, thats an exaggeration, but got your attention.
How many people grab a gift card for say $100, buying it via a % off deal but then only spend $95 at a shop they’ll rarely buy from again.
I did it for kmart and have $4 left but can never be bothered to remember to bring it along or the myer card with $5 left but never really shop at myer.
First world problems and poor planning is probably the answer.
Lolol
True Ozbargainer
I had $0.01 balance on a Rebel gift card. My wife refused to stay in the line with me when I used it.
For big chains with self checkout there's no reason not to use it all. Just split payment and pay a single cent if that's what you have left.
Potentially the win for retailers is actually people that have $95 of stuff they need but don't want to leave $5 left on their $100 Myer card so add a $25 item and end up buying $120 of stuff to use it up…
Thats where i am with myer. Bought $100 gc with 3% off and only spent $95 so now stuck with a $2 cost. Essentially i paid $97 for a $95 product.
Also, yes, i get it, it’s just $2. More a conversation about residual value and wha people do.
Splitting payment is definitely key rather than falling into the trap of buying something you don't need.
I never buy giftcards and I never give giftcards.
(Yes, some are discounted, but naaaah).
I was in the same boat and looked for solutions. Found this app CardSmash and all my gift cards rest in there, now I don't forget that I have $0.1 left in some card, no need to carry gift cards along etc.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.astrumcomp…
Looks interesting. How does it compare with Stocard? Should I go with both or can I use just CardSmash?
@MrHyde I think Stocard is just for loyalty cards and you can't load gift cards into it. I downloaded it few times and deleted afterwards as I mainly use Samsung Pay to keep all loyalty cards.
In other giftcard apps, gift cards are loaded in app which are bought from within that app i.e. Preezze. Whereas in cardsmash, you can load any card bought from anywhere.
Card Smash I am using mainly for gift cards, It generates barcode, once you enter the giftcard no, that you can scan for payment. There are different barcodes options available and I think the 2nd one works for coles and you can save that barcode to be used automatically next time.
Moreover, after using giftcard, you can enter how much you spent in the transaction and it calculates the balance remaining.
It also sort giftcards by Merchant, if you enter multiple gift cards of same retailer, which helps in managing.
Its really nice app, give it a go.
Shows all available cards, e.g. jb hi fi 5 cards with total worth of $305.
https://imgur.com/f6sZ3iq
Shows Archived cards which have been used.
https://imgur.com/gl4ek2B
I usually put a note within card that from where and why i bought it and where it was used for remembrance.
And there is also dropbox backup option to sync cards and thr balance between family members. I haven't used it but it seems a nice option.
Thank you for the detailed information. Very very useful and I'll definitely give cardsmash a go.
It's very profitable for businesses.
Those few dollars add up to a lot of money. In fact a lot of revenue for some businesses used to be made up of expired gift vouchers. Laws have changed with minimums now, but it used to be extremely profitable since it's literally free money . How do I know? I used to work at a very popular "experience" company in Aus and they factored this into their projections for profit.
scam
like the never ending story and all you can eat places. totally disappointed in both.
scam
This (amongst other reasons) is why I don't buy gift cards, other than Colesworth ones at a discount.
Whether it's the residual balance you can never use, or the need to spend more than the value of the card on something you don't want … the scheme operators know all of these lurks (and others).
Cold hard is always the best to hold … after that it's Visa/MC/EFTPOS gift cards, then Colesworth … then really just not worth it. I would never buy a gift card for somewhere such as Myer unless it was on a serious discount and only then if I had a particular purchase lined up that would eat up the gift card in totality.
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/breakage.asp
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakage_(accounting)
its a massive part of the economics of the industry
We need to have fewer click-bait titles.
While i kid around the scam/not scam, we spend a lot of time talking about 3% discounts on gift cards and i wonder how widespread residual value is. I have bought 2 gift cards over the last few years for $200 and have $9 residual that im not using which is 4.5% face value.
I bought one at 3% discount and one at 5% discount, so i paid $192 and used $191. So I actually didn’t realise the discount value and actually paid more than just buying the product with cash
Gift cards are a scam. Just give cash.
Hard to call not spending your card fully a scam?
Happens to me on occasion, usually able to get gift cards down to 10c or less. Not a scam, just not fully utilising the card.
Having those few cents left on the card are perfect for redeeming the many 1c deals here on OZB
Part of the scam
You think because you're a little smarter than average, and don't fall for the laughably obvious scams that you're immune to them, but your not.
Even if you are smarter than 99/100, that still means there is 250,000 people just like you in Aus alone. Someone out there has your number, and if there's a way to wring profit out from you they will try, and their clever enough to find your vulnerabilities and prey upon them.
This particular one is clever, because at a certain point you realize the time spent going out of your way to use a card, is worth more than the >$10 value that's usually left on it. So you reason that you'll spend all of it in one shop so there are no tiny remainders, but that leads to buying things you wouldn't otherwise and longer browsing times.
Eventually, I think you come to realize that a 5% discount really isn't all that much.
Which savvy person buys 5% discount GC at discretionary stores?
The real scam is that you are becoming an unsecured creditor.
(I have probably said too much). lol
Only GCs worth holding for me:
Requires significant discount:
* DJs - price matching, occasional good, deep clearance discounts
* Kogan - if you have free Kogan First; when they are overstocked and have to clear things you need, price errors, etc.
Any thing else?
Post your small balance card details in the classified section and OZB vultures will help you.
Thats the point though. Couldn’t be bothered.
Also, completely accept thats on me.
You think that's a scam, I didn't finish eating my sandwich at lunch a few weeks back and I put it in the fridge on a plate but forgot to put glad wrap on it and a few days later I remembered and guess what lads
that's right
bread is rock hard, sandwich contents are awful, sandwich ruined
S C A M
Wow, that is pretty much what Subway offer. lol
Bloody hell, now there’s a scam
I once had $0.07 left on a Coles group gift card. Found out a friend was headed to officework for something and I insisted I come along and they use the gift card despite their protests. She was embarrassed to say the least and explained to the cashier I was making her do it LOL. I've never not used the full value of a card.