What Everybody Ought to Know about Buying and Selling Used Gift Cards

Since I've learned there are actually companies that buy and sell old gift cards, it's opened up a new world of savings to me.

Like most people, I am always on the lookout for ways to save money when it comes to my grocery bill. The way I've been doing it, and I'm sure most of you do the same, is by using coupons and buying what's on sale.

But did you ever think about using a grocery store gift card to save even more?

Most families easily spend $100 on a trip to the supermarket. If you're going to spend that much anyway, why not buy a $100 discounted gift card?

For example, on Raise they're selling a $100 Walmart gift card for $96.60. Your savings is $3.40, which doesn't sound like much, but that $3.40 adds up over a year's time.

According to a 2012 Gallop poll, Americans spend $181 a week on groceries. That's $9,412 a year! If you used a discounted Walmart card (or another grocery store gift card) every week, at the end of the year you will have saved $320.

That $3.40 doesn't sound so small anymore, does it? Combine that savings with the couponing you and I are already doing, and the savings really start to snowball.

As I started browsing through these sites, I realized there were gift cards to just about every company imaginable.

Surprisingly, they're not all in odd dollars. You'd expect they'd sell partially used gift cards, but that's not always the case.

Then I was hit with a sneaky thought.

I could buy gift cards and give them as Christmas or birthday gifts, and no one would ever know I was being cheap.

The trick would be to know how not to look cheap when it came to giving used gift cards.

The first rule of thumb to remember when buying used gift cards to give as gifts, is to buy one that has a nice, round number. You wouldn't buy a friend a gift card and put just $43.22 on it instead of rounding it up to $50.

I mean, unless you are really that cheap.

So let's say we've got a friend who loves Rue 21 and we want to surprise her on her birthday. Luckily for us, there's several different amounts to choose from.

We don't want to give her a halfway used gift, so we're going to choose the one that's $50. But look at the next column. The price of the $50 card is only $37. And guess what? We saved $13 just like that!

If you have a lot of people on your list that's hard to buy for and you usually buy them gift cards anyway, just imagine how much you can save during the holidays if you buy them cards from sites like giftcards.com.

So I'll keep your secret if you'll keep mine, and we'll buy everyone used gift cards for Christmas gifts this year.

I have to admit, the idea of buying gift cards to home improvement stores for home repairs wasn't mine.

I happened to be reading through a forum and a woman was explaining how she and her husband saved $1,500 on a remodeling job just by using discounted gift cards to stores like Home Depot and Lowes.

That's a considerable amount of savings, but is it really possible to save that much money, or is it a scam?

From what I've seen, to really save the big bucks, you'll have to do some comparison shopping across several sites to get the best deal on your cards. Here's my example:

On Cardcash, I found a $273.34 Home Depot card for $254.21. That's only a savings of 7%. Let's see if we can do better.

On Raise, there's a $277.30 card for $255.12, giving us a savings of 8%. Better, but not great.

At Giftcardrescue, there's a $279.40 Home Depot card that's only $252.86. That's a savings of 9.5%.

If you were doing a big project on your home and were expecting to spend $1,000, that 9.5% saves you $95, which is pretty impressive when you're doing something as simple as buying used gift cards.

The lady in the forum didn't specify how much she ended up spending altogether, so we don't know what her percentage of savings was. Even so, the fact that you're saving any money at all without using any kind of coupons or sales is amazing.

1. Buy a discounted gas gift card to save at the pump
2. Have a cheap date night with restaurant and movie theater gift cards
3. Save on your next vacation with an airlines or hotel gift card
4. Used gift cards to stores that sell electronics is a great way to save on your next device
5. Pay a little less to have your car serviced by using cards to businesses like Jiffy Lube or Pep Boys
6. Feel a little less guilty about indulging in your caffeine habit. Buy a used Starbucks or other coffee shop gift card

Unfortunately, no site is going to give you $50 for your $50 gift card. It would be nice, but it just won't happen. They have to make a profit to stay in business.

Most of us didn't buy our gift cards anyway, so whatever we make selling it is just a bonus. I was happy to get rid of my gift card, even if it meant I got a little less than what it was worth.

Most sites will pay you up to 92% of the value of your gift card. Theoretically, that means you'd get $46 for your $50 gift card. $46 in your pocket is a lot better than $50 going to waste in the back of your drawer or at the bottom of your purse.

Again, use the same caution selling your gift cards as you would when buying them. Check out the website's policies before sending them your old gift card.

This video below shows you how easy it is to sell your card to Giftcards.

Remember, don't get scammed. Use good judgment when buying or selling used cards, and always check out a website before you do business with them.

So go dig through your purse and drawers and find those old cards you're not using, and use the money you make from selling them to buy the gift cards you'll use or give away.

Ah...it's good to be cheap.