Yeah, I’ve never heard of this, either. All gift cards I’ve had/have heard of don’t charge any sort of fee. There is a little bit of natural depreciation in the form of inflation, but unless you’re sitting on your gift card for a decade or so that shouldn’t be that big a problem.
When I was in college, the cash gifts I got for my birthday and Christmas amounted to 10% of my extremely-meager yearly budget. Those cash gifts could pay for two trips home, or 3-12 movies (less as time went by, specially after the two-for-one theater closed down). I can assure you they were much appreciated, and I can assure you my grandparents and godmother very much intended to help support my lifestyle. A gift card to the local equivalent of Sears wouldn’t have done anything for me, as they didn’t sell anything I needed.
Gift cards are a stupid gift, but of course I’d never say that to someone who just gave me one. They just go in a drawer or closet like any other gifts I get that I’ll never use.
I measure my life success based on how little time I spend in stores shopping. Giving me a gift that can only be used by shopping is actually a negative gift. Plus, the only chance I’ll ever use a card comes if I keep it permanently in my wallet so that I’ll have it when I just happen to end up in the establishment in question. And I don’t need more shit in my wallet which means I don’t put it there which means it is just a source of aggravation when I end up in a Williams Sonoma for the first time in five years and then remember I have a card in a drawer at home.
So if this commercial prevents just one lame gift card from being “gifted” this year it was worth it.
And all of that doesn’t mention the economic stupidity of essentially giving massive corporations interest free loans that they’ll never have to repay in full.
Sears and J.C. Penny did until 2003.
Exactly, that practice was discontinued as soon as it came to light. Gift cards are for the face value.
Well, I haven’t seen this particular commercial, but it may be an example of a very odd advertising trend that I’ve noticed recently – ads where there’s a decent person and a jerk, and the jerk is the one using the product that’s being sold.
Bears repeating.
Some companies still charge fees on gift cards that have not been used for a year after activation. Others have even more questionable practices.
I dislike shopping, and so loathe gift cards. I especially hate a $20 gift card to a place that sells nothing for less than $20. Please, if you must give a gift card, make sure it’s in an amount that can actually buy something useful at the store it’s for. Or at least one entree+drink if it’s for a restaurant.
This is why it is absolutely essential that you think about the recipient. This year I told several people who asked me what I wanted that I would like a gift card to a specific store, and they were somewhat surprised and wanted to get me something better. When I thought about it, I realized that I prefer gift cards because I love shopping. To me, a gift card is like giving me hours of my favorite entertainment for free. I might like the sweater you pick out, but I’d love to be able to spend all day in the mall trying them on, knowing that I could buy the one I wanted without worrying about the cost. The key is knowing whether your gift recipient likes shopping.
How very true - which is why I always ignore wedding registries and hand out Harry & David gift cards.
That’s a pre-paid debit card, not the same thing.
On the other hand, in a gift exchange, if one person goes to the trouble of finding a gift the other will almost clearly like and that person gets a gift card to some specific store/restaurant without knowing the person will like it when this is not all that hard to determine in most cases. That second person is kind of a dick.
Person A knows Person B likes to DIY and picks up a card to Lowes, Home Depot or Sears, that is fairly thoughtful. Person B just decides that a gift card to E&B Games is something everyone would love without knowing if the person likes video games at all is fairly lame, especially if it turns out the person does not like video games. Now Person B looks like a **mostly **thoughtless jerk.
No, that one is pretty much accurate. As are all of the problems people have doing simple, everyday motions without the aid of some wonder device shown in infomercials. 
Ditto here, and I’m a guy. A guy who loves to get away from the wife and kids and stroll through a store (I ask for cards from bookstores).
Yeah, same here.
My wife has been buying gift cards for her nephew (who is now 9) for years. It’s expensive and impractical to ship stuff across the country, especially if it can be purchased locally.
His mom takes him to the store, he picks out something to get with the card, and knows that it’s a gift from Aunt D. Then he calls her to excitedly describe what he got and to thank her. I think it’s pretty cool.
This is a situation in which I like the use of gift cards.
I totally disagree. All gifts should be given without expectation of reciprocation. Gift giving is not a tit-for-tat. If you give a gift, you should give it without expecting anything back at all.