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However, this year, every lazy man's favorite gift, the buy-20-bucks-worth-of-crap-at-this-store plastic credit, may be in trouble.
According to astory today on MSN Money, consumers are poised to lose around $75 million in gift cards this year due to rampant company bankruptcies. That's because when a restaurant or store chain declares bankruptcy, cardholders, for the most part, have no rights and card values are completely wiped out. So, anyone with a gift credit for a place like the Sharper Image, Circuit City, or Bennigan's, is basically carrying the worth of my student ID card from 1992.
That's the first reason to avoid gift cards.
The second is, even if the company remains open, in this incredibly shaky economy many of its locations may shut down, making it inconvenient for your gift recipient to redeem his or her card. Stores like Pier 1, Disney, Loews, Foot Locker, and even Macys are all rumored to close outposts this year.
But the last reason to stop giving gift cards might be the most important: People don't use them.
The MSN story reports that one in four 2007 holiday gift card recipients hadn't used their present by October 2008, and that an estimated $8 billion in gift cards sold last year has yet to be spent. Even when the cards do get cashed in, high fees and strict expiration dates often render them useless.
So, what does this mean for us lazy gift givers? Sadly, it appears we should all stop with the "thoughtful" plastic card ruse and just give cash in a cheesy Santa card. Or actually think about what we're giving this year and buy people something they might actually love and use. (See our gift guide for ideas.)
For an interesting list of major company's gift card rules, check out this survey from creditcards.com.
