The big advantage of a gift card is that you’re getting someone something from a store they like, and you’re not trying to guess what items in that store will interest them.
My wife, for instance, loves gift card from a certain clothing store. If I bought something for her, it’s only a guess whether she’ll like it or if it will fit correctly. If she uses the card, she’ll get what she likes and it will fit. No returns. And she loved to be able to choose what she wanted.
Because my father is a pill and tells me not to get him anything.
I got him one book he wanted, but I wanted to get him more. Cash is rather crass, so I got him a gift card to Home Depot. No expiration date, no activation fee, and he can get what he needs for his woodworking and other crafts.
I think gift cards are fine. The giver knows your tastes and hobbies, and gives you the opportunity to get what you want.
I’ve also gotten Ivylad a gift card to Best Buy. Same reason. I don’t know what speakers he wants, or what computer games, or what wire hookups. He does, and he can browse at his leisure while I hit Michael’s next door. 
I love getting gift cards. Impersonal, my ass. Many of the people who give me gifts, like my in-laws and siblings, usually don’t know what I want. So either I get some random object which I won’t value as much as they spent on it (and may drop it off at Goodwill the next day if I can’t return it) or I get an opportunity to go to Borders and buy a bunch of books. Sure, maybe they put more thought into whatever random gift they bought me than a gift card, but I could give a shit. I don’t look at gifts as tests of one’s character.
To me, receiving a gift card says “I care more about making sure you get something you actually want than feeling like Mr. Thoughtful”.
Maybe he’s talking not about particular store gift certificates/cards, but about gift cards that are good anywhere (the Visa gift card, for example). This is just like cash and requires no though as to what store to go to. And if indeed a service charge is deducted, you don’t get the full value on the card the way you do at a store.
And fathers! 
Mine is getting a Best Buy gift card this year, because he’ll never tell me what he’d like and he’s difficult to buy for (and his birthday was just 2 months ago). I’ve only had to cop out like this once or twice before: usually I can think of something to get him, but lately it’s been coffee table books and I’m sure he’s as tired of getting them now as I am of giving them. I actually have an idea for his next birthday already, but it’s really a better birthday gift than Christmas gift. So he’s getting a gift card.
He can’t complain about it being impersonal, because I never get gifts from him: I get a check every birthday and Christmas (which I appreciate and look forward to!).
I like gift cards- if they can be used and the merchandise can then be returned for cash to pay bills. Also, they keep my(well-intentioned but clueless)grandmother from buying me something my teenage cheerleader cousin would wear. My style is about ten years older than I am, so the results can be pretty disastrous.
Too true. I got two checks for my birthday this year and kicked in some of my own tips for something that I never would have spent the money on without the checks. I’m a very happy camper. I also got a gift card to Kohl’s which I used to by sorely needed jeans which I’ve not bought because my own clothes shopping is usually limited to work clothes and doesn’t happen all that often as it is. I promised myself not to spend on my kids which is what I usually do. It was a close call though.
Last year, from my mother-in-law – her track record indicates I must be a complete enigma to her, god love her – I got a china cake service (a serving plate with flat cake utensil) despite the fact that I don’t own a lick of china and I never bake cakes. I keep wondering if it’s some sort of message that I’m not domestic enough. If it ever occurred to her that an Amazon gift certificate might be more appropriate, I’d be happy to assure her that I wouldn’t consider it less personal than the previous gift. I feel a bit guilty for dissing her gift on top of that and I sure hope she didn’t run herself ragged finding that perfect gift. It’s still in the box in the recesses of my cupboard.
Incidently, thanks for the reminder, Misnomer. I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out what to get for my dad (halfway across the country with extremely expensive wishes) and you’ve sealed it for me. An Amazon gift certificate is probably the way to go. Books and music are totally up his alley, but his tastes are eclectic.
I’ve resorted to giving photographic memory style gifts (mousepads, mugs, calendars) to my in-laws. They’re grandparents. They must appreciate pics of the grandkids, right? Maybe everyone ought to just get and receive gift cards. It seems like it would remove much of the stress on both ends.
I’ve often scoffed to myself about the concept of gift cards, too, especially when pitted against the Gift Of $. But I’ve changed my tune. They really do say, “Here, go treat yourself.” Many of them can be used online to order things that can’t be found at the local branches of a certain store. Etc.
If someone gave me 100 bucks for xmas, it would go towards textbooks for my Spring semester, without a doubt. But a $100 gift card to Sephora would go towards some much-needed frivolity in my life.
The same goes for small denominations. Getting a twenty dollar bill is a little less ‘special’ than getting twenty dollars specifically towards a book or CD. A whole lot less special, I daresay.
What I -really- don’t get are these adverts I’ve been hearing on the radio for In-N-Out Gift Certificates. Whole-milk Tapdance Flamenca? Those meals cost like four bucks. To each his own.
I asked for gift cards from Home Depot, Lowe’s, and the evil Wal*Mart. I can use stuff from those places. I yearn for stuff from those places. Those places carry all manner of treasures with which to treat myself.
I am also giving my mother a gift card from JC Penny for Christmas. She yearns for stuff from JC Penny. She swears by their selection of petite women’t clothing. She’s going on a cruise at the end of January and stores start putting out Spring stuff in January. She will outfit herself in style for her cruise with a JC Penny giftcard. As an added bonus, she will drag my sister to the mall and torture my sister with her endless hours of shopping. See, I get something out of it too!
I love gift cards and in fact asked for them. Why? I love to shop and don’t get to do it very often. Gift cards enable me to do what I love best and that’s all I really want. People who know me don’t mind. (Seriously- my mom asked me what I want for Christmas this year and I said shopping. It’s been a while due to the lack of job and things.) I do like actual gifts also, but if it’s easier on people to get me gift cards- all the more power to them. Often, it saves a lot of money on shipping as I live far away from most of my family. It’s practical.
My brother is getting either a gift card to Best Buy or WalMart this year. He’s broke and this will help him buy stuff he needs/wants. He’s never been uhappy about it.
I do genuinely dislike shopping. I hate it…except at the handful of stores that has stuff i like. Best Buy, Border’s, yes. Clothes shopping? Bleh.
And this reminds me. For years my aunts used to buy me very expensive designer clothes that looked like they came straight out of a bad 70’s movie. So they were spending all of this money on me, and I was hard-put to smile at these awful gifts, knowing I would have to wear them when they came over. They meant well, but ugh. I would have loved getting gift cards - but then again, I wasn’t allowed to have a job as a teen, and had no money!
Yeah, that’s exactly what I mean. I’m well aware that there are plenty of people who detest clothes shopping; I’m one of them. But I can spend hours at the gourmet shop or the bookstore. In my experience, people who dislike shopping for stuff related to their particular hobby or passion are rare.
I have nothing to say in response because you’re right. I just wanted to say how much I loved your username.
I just bought four for my son’s teachers.
Giving them cash seems crass. Maybe even insulting, like I was paying them, and paying them a lot less than they are worth. So a gift feels better; more of a gesture of respect and gratitude. Unfortunately, I don’t know them well enough to get a personal gift, and you can bet I don’t want to spend money on some apple-related cliche-ridden “Great teacher!” plaque or mug. So I’m giving them gift cards to a bookstore, along with a note saying how much we appreciate that our son has learned to love reading in their classroom.
My BIL is also getting one. It’s a way of letting him get what he wants, generally speaking, while still sort of directing the gift (Use it on music! Take yourself out to this restaurant! Spend it on books! Etc).
I love gift certificates.
The last two presents I’ve given my mom were $50 gift certificates for her favorite fabric store. She’s a quilter and fabric is her life, practically. But I don’t know what she wants or needs. I could go to a fabric store and pick out some stuff I find beautiful, but she’s always working on something new and despite the fact that she has two closets stuffed with fabric, she always needs something new. Also, because we live 2000 miles apart, it’s easy to ship! (Although I had to call them early enough, pay over the phone, wait for it to arrive, and then promptly put the certificate in a card and mail it back, so it still takes planning.)
Mom says that when she got the second gift certificate, she said to my dad and sister, “Kyla understands me.” I. Rule. So you will never convince me gift certificates are lame.
Gift cards are truly the ideal gift. Since having the WinnieBaby in August, rarely can I justify buying something for myself. That little black sweater at the mall is adorable, but then again there’s diapers, formula, clothes, daycare expenses, and insurance to pay for so my own frivolity gets put on hold. Gift cards give me the chance to go to Old Navy, the Gap, Target, whatever and buy things just for ME without any guilt. For me, that becomes an event where I get to go shopping by myself and have cheesecake for lunch while Mr. Winnie stays home with the little guy.
My mother-in-law is 85 years old. She is the same size she was in 1935 and has more clothes than she can use. The last thing she needs is something else to dust. Hobby? Does breathing count? She likes Wal-Mart; she’ll spend hours and hours just walking around the store. So we’re getting her a big honking Wal-Mart gift card. If she uses it to get groceries or tires or detergent it’s fine with us.
My mom likes Olive Garden. My dad refuses to pay for bad italian food. Mom’s getting a gift card that she can use whenever she wants.
This will be the only time this year I’ve gone to either Wal-Mart or Olive Garden.
I don’t like giving gift cards because the price tag is right there, so to speak.
You buy gift cards with cash? Most often, I’m seeing them bought with credit cards. You can’t very well give someone a $50 slice off your Visa, can you?
What kind of store does this? My store gives a return store credit if a gift card was used to purchase items. Not cash.