Having Asperger's Syndrome tends to infuse a bit of extra thought into situations other people don't think much about. One of those things is the gift card. Why do gift cards exist?
Think about it. You give fifty dollars to a store in exchange for a card that can buy fifty dollars worth of merchandise at only that store. And depending on the store and the state you live in, it may expire. Despite the fact that gift cards are objectively worse than paper money, they are a very popular gift item for kids and adults alike.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that about 41 billion dollars has been wasted on gift cards the recipients never use. They may have lost the card. It may have expired. Or maybe they simply forgot the card existed.
Generally, I prefer money to gift cards. As someone who likes to think practically, an all-purpose, guaranteed-useful gift like money is perfect if the giver isn't certain what I would like that I don't already have. Unfortunately, the popularity of gift cards is due to the fact that people generally don't think giving money as a gift is very socially acceptable. It can seem lazy. Honestly, I'd prefer lazy over potentially worthless, but a lot of people don't agree with me.
However, I have found a use for gift cards recently: Shopping online without Paypal. If you use your credit card to buy online, you'll be in debt to the credit card company and have to pay interest. If you use a gift card, you can buy things interest-free. As someone who finds credit cards distasteful, I appreciate this method of dodging them. If you have an Amazon or eBay purchase to make and you don't have any Paypal funds (or don't wish to deal with them for whatever reason), buying yourself a gift card is a unique way to pay for your stuff. As a bonus, eBay gift cards never expire.
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/12/24/number-of-the-week-billions-in-gift-cards-go-unspent/?mod=google_news_blog
http://gothamist.com/2011/12/27/41_billion_in_lousy_gift_cards_will.php
No comments:
Post a Comment