able Posted December 26, 2005 Posted December 26, 2005 i never heard of such a thing but...i went to a local mall here (in connecticut) and it was last minute and decited to buy mall gift certificates for teenagers in family.and they CHARGE you to buy them.now yes it is my own fault for waiting till the last minute. but i just couldnt believe it.i was curious to other peoples opinions.or if this is normal.i could see maybe a discount on them but to charge you?so to get 100$ in gift cert. i had to PAy an EXTRA 10$ ..you can use them anywhere in that mall only.
VonnegutFan Posted December 26, 2005 Posted December 26, 2005 I always buy mall gift certificates as Christmas presents for my teenage cousins... My mall charges a $2.50 "protection fee" in case the cards are lost or stolen. But anyway, yes, $10 dollars is very steep.
malachitecat Posted December 26, 2005 Posted December 26, 2005 here it is $2 per card for 'administrative expenses'
sheli Posted December 26, 2005 Posted December 26, 2005 I have heard of this before but I would still be pi$$ed to pay for the "privilege" of giving them my money.
Marcster Posted December 26, 2005 Posted December 26, 2005 I have heard of this before but I would still be pi$$ed to pay for the "privilege" of giving them my money.Amen, after all, you are already committing to spend the money with them... plus, if the recipient loses the card, it's pure profit for them!
Mommie2one Posted December 26, 2005 Posted December 26, 2005 I know my father in law paid a $4.95 fee to purchase the $50 GC he got me. I can't believe he did! It was an American Express one
laffnatu Posted December 26, 2005 Posted December 26, 2005 I didn't realize that they charged a fee for them also. It's been awhile since I've bought any GCs. Doesn't some GC lose some of their value as they get older? I've heard of this, but I've never had this problem, because I use 'em as quick as I get 'em. lol
queenofshopping Posted December 26, 2005 Posted December 26, 2005 most dont, but yes, a lot of them do lose value (more profit for the stores, how novel!)...stay away from those amex gcs, we got my grandma one once & the fee was outrageous, plus online there's a shipping cost & there were lots of other little hidden problems..never again! & i would never buy a gc w/ a fee! (the amex my mom had me order) i think that;s just obscene
Mommie2one Posted December 26, 2005 Posted December 26, 2005 I think Im telling my father in law to go back to the $50 Walmart GC he usually gets at christmas for me!
sheli Posted December 26, 2005 Posted December 26, 2005 AmEx gc is one that loses value, 12 mo after purchase it begins to accumulate monthly fee, it could easily drain itself down to nothing...
gisellerol Posted December 26, 2005 Posted December 26, 2005 MY BANK EVEN CHARGES FOR A VISA GIFT CARD EVERYONE TRYING TO MAKE A BUCK
lews11 Posted December 26, 2005 Posted December 26, 2005 most dont, but yes, a lot of them do lose value (more profit for the stores, how novel!)...stay away from those amex gcs, we got my grandma one once & the fee was outrageous, plus online there's a shipping cost & there were lots of other little hidden problems..never again! & i would never buy a gc w/ a fee! (the amex my mom had me order) i think that;s just obscene Then I am seriously screwed:eyepoppin My family just got those GC's from relatives this xmas.
eve Posted December 26, 2005 Posted December 26, 2005 yep our mall charges also i have no idea how much becouse if i have to pay even 1 cent i'm not buying it
dessenma Posted December 26, 2005 Posted December 26, 2005 Westfield Malls charge a $2.00 fee per card for a gift card purchased. I have already decided that I am not purchasing any next year. I will just give cash to my girls to us there. As a previous poster stated, we are already committed to spending the money there. As long as people continue to purchase these items, they will continue the practice of charging for the cards.
goldie Posted December 26, 2005 Posted December 26, 2005 I didn't know -- and I wouldn't pay for it. I got my MIL a discover card gift certificate for free (they mailed them) -- they look like a credit card. She can use it anyway she want... better than the mall GC!
leasey Posted December 26, 2005 Posted December 26, 2005 I also live in CT and I bought two $50 giftcards at westfarms, they charged me 2.50 each. but if you signed up for the VIP (email list) you got six free coupons. I also thought that 2.50 was crazy, what mall did you have to pay 10?
kranky Posted December 26, 2005 Posted December 26, 2005 If it's an actual credit card thing (magnetic stripe, individual account number on the card) I can see charging a couple of bucks for that. If it's just a piece of paper with an amount printed on it, I don't think that merits an extra fee. I think a $10 fee for a $100 mall gift card is incredibly high. Expect to see most places implement a monthly fee on their gift cards that begins 6-12 months after the card is bought. Many do already. The Visa gift card I got this year from work has a $2 monthly maintenance fee beginning 6 months after it's issued. The reason is that companies, with the huge growth in gift card buying, don't have a good way to track the money on their books. Accounting rules do not let them take credit for the sale until the card is used. So they have millions of dollars they have taken in but can't take credit for the sales. Over time, that is a huge number, and they don't want to have to be perpetually liable for every unused gift card.
Kayakmom Posted December 26, 2005 Posted December 26, 2005 Wow! Would you mind me asking which mall so that I can avoid it? I usually go to the ones that are Westfield malls, but I honestly didn't even realize there was a cost for the gift cards! I thought it was just to help business within the malls. My mil bought us Visa gift cards at AAA according to my hubby. I know that I had considered one for my mom because I couldn't get movie passes for her local theater online, but the fees were so outrageous that I sent her a bathrobe with free shipping instead. :) I wonder if AAA charges as much as buying them from the banks directly. I wouldn't doubt it, since mil often pays way too much for things. (I'm not complaining on that...she buys stuff she doesn't need, like electronics, and then we can go shopping at her house, lol.)
Kayakmom Posted December 26, 2005 Posted December 26, 2005 Expect to see most places implement a monthly fee on their gift cards that begins 6-12 months after the card is bought. Many do already. The Visa gift card I got this year from work has a $2 monthly maintenance fee beginning 6 months after it's issued.Connecticut actually has one of the strongest gift card laws in the country. There are no expirations on any gift cards sold here and also no inactivity fees. http://www.giftcardlaw.com/
Missy Posted December 26, 2005 Posted December 26, 2005 WOW! I cant believe this, i have never had to pay a fee for any GC i have ever bought here in Ga. I bought a few as Christmas gifts this year also but wasnt charged anything for them.
crazymommy17801 Posted December 26, 2005 Posted December 26, 2005 I would just stick to giving the good ol' CASH. No service fee with that.
Missy Posted December 26, 2005 Posted December 26, 2005 I would just stick to giving the good ol' CASH. No service fee with that.I would have to agree with you.
CG480 Posted December 27, 2005 Posted December 27, 2005 Are you joking they charge you to buy GC from a mall. My inlaws always give the kids one from the mall. Knowing them if the mall here does that they will not buy them.
*sparkles* Posted December 27, 2005 Posted December 27, 2005 Yeah I know..isn't it frusrating! Our mall charges also. I think ours is $2.50. I used to buy them for my teenage sisters but now I just go to their favorite stores. it's a lot cheaper that way
inluvstill Posted December 27, 2005 Posted December 27, 2005 We have a $2.00 fee on our "VISA" gift cards here. Our mall sells these "credit cards" that can be used anywhere that accepts VISA cards. We buy them every year. We are the favorite Aunt and Uncle because of it!!! LOL!! Our nieces and nephews love having their own credit card and can spend the money at any store they want. I think it is well worth the $2 fee charged for this kind of a card. Now, if I knew they would all shop at WM or Target, I would opt for the no fee GC from them. They are really cute this year!!! LOL
able Posted December 27, 2005 Author Posted December 27, 2005 ok maybe it was 2.50 on each..it would be ...it was 4 at 25$ each = 100 and had to pay an extra 10 bucks ...meriden mall...but in Ct they cant take $ out .and i dont think they can expire.they passed some law protecting that a year or two ago i think...i HOPe anyhow..not that these kids will NOT have spent them by then!!lol they will prolly spend them by 2006 in jan. i was just so shocked that there was a FEE because there is a scrpt thing the kids here have from there school where if you order gift cards from the school you pay the dollar price that your getting and the school makes a profit!!now THAT makes sence!!thats how it should be...your commiting to spend $ there
Diamond_girl Posted December 27, 2005 Posted December 27, 2005 I paid $2.50 for a mall gift card for my friend's little sister; I considered just giving her cash but I didn't want her to spend the money on stupid stuff like slurpees from the convenience store down the street. From now on I'm just giving her money, if she really wants slurpees then she should be able to buy them, and I'll save a few bucks too. My mom paid $4.95 each for the Amex gift cards she bought me. There were 4 for $50 each. Is $50 the largest denomination? She could've gotten bank gift cards for free since my sister works at a bank.
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