October 27, 2007
US Bank Issues 20th Millionth Gift Card
On October 25, US Bank stated that it has issued its 20th millionth gift card, doubling the number in slightly over one year. Last July, US Bank issued its 10th millionth gift card. This pace solidifes US Banks as the top Visa gift card issuer. Continue reading…
Comment now » | Filed under: Analysis
October 26, 2007
Gift Card Collecting
While the vast majority of gift card transactions on eBay are primarily for the purpose of reselling unwanted gift cards. There is a noticeable number of transactions related to the hobby of collecting and trading gift cards. Yes, people are collecting gift cards and based on our analysis of eBay transactions, the trend is growing. There are even gift card collecting websites out there. GiftCardCollector.com is one of the more popular sites.
Readers' Comment (3) | Filed under: Collectibles
October 25, 2007
Simon Loses Appeal on State Gift Card Law
On October 19, 2007, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued an opinion that affirms the State of Connecticut’s right to ban fees on gift card. SPGGC is a subsidiary of Simon Property Group, Inc., which operates shopping malls in thirty states, including Connecticut, and sells pre-paid gift cards. SPGGC’s gift cards are issued through banks and operated on Visa debit card infrastructure. SPGGC challenged Connecticut’s authority to ban fees because their gift cards are a form of debit card and are governed by federal banking laws, which supersedes state laws. Continue reading…
Comment now » | Filed under: Laws & Terms
October 24, 2007
Promotion Alert: $25 Kmart Gift Card for $20
Yup, that right! Kmart is offering a $25 gift card for only $20. What an amazing 20% discount. We have not verified this at any of the local Kmarts near us. However, some plugged in deal seekers on FatWallet have verified this to be true for stores in California. Continue reading…
Comment now » | Filed under: Promotions
October 23, 2007
Metabolix: The Future of Biodegradable Bio-Plastic
Yesterday, we pointed out green alternatives for plastic gift cards. One of the alternative was to substitute traditional plastic with biodegradable bio-plastic, such as Mirel. Mirel is produced by Cambridge, MA based Metabolix. Today, we are going to take a closer look at the barriers facing Metabolix with adoption of their biodegradable bioplastic and the competition they face from NatureWorks, especially in the gift card space. Continue reading…
Comment now » | Filed under: Trends
October 22, 2007
Green Alternatives for Used Gift Cards
It is estimated that 10 billion new gift cards are placed in circulation every year, which translates to a potential 100 million pounds of PVC, polyvinyl chloride, being converted to garbage. 100 million pounds is about the same weight as 5,000 adult elephants. Now that is a lot of PVC plastic. What alternatives are there to minimize the impact that 100 millions pound PVC plastic will have on our landfills? How about reusing, recycling, or substituting the plastic gift cards?
Comment now » | Filed under: Tips
October 21, 2007
Toys-R-Us Gift Cards Need Security Improvements
Yesterday, we had the opportunity to closely inspect Babies-R-Us gift cards that were recently purchased directly from the store. Unfortunately, we noticed that the gift cards are very susceptible to an old gift card scam, which we call the “backdoor”. The scam got so pervasive that gift card companies implemented a simple technology to successfully thwart the scam. What is difficult to understand is why Toys-R-Us, the parent company of Babies-R-Us, has not implemented this technology for their gift cards. Continue reading…
Comment now » | Filed under: Analysis
