I was chatting to someone a few days back and they were mentioning that a lot of gift cards and vouchers are never redeemed. That means that people are spending money to buy vouchers or gift cards for friends and family who never use them.
I’ve let free movie passes expire on occasions but I’m pretty good at using any other kind of gift voucher. Apparently there are an awful lot of people who never quite get around to it, which means that they never really get the benefit of their gift and the giver has handed some business owner a wad of cash for nothing.
In the light of my recent conversation it was interesting to read Seth Godin’s post this morning titled The $8 billion story/scam.
Last year, more than $8,000,000,000 was wasted on these cards. Not in the value spent, but in fees and breakage. When you give a card, if it doesn’t get used, someone ends up keeping your money, and it’s not the recipient. People spent more than eight billion dollars for nothing… buying a product that isn’t as good as cash.Along the way, we bought the story that giving someone a hundred dollar bill as a gift (“go buy what you want”) is callous, insensitive, a crass shortcut. Buying them a $100 Best Buy card, on the other hand, is thoughtful. Even if they spend $92 and have to waste the rest.
It’s certainly an obvious example of paying money for something without any real benefit but I wonder how many times we do something similar. I know that many health clubs and gyms are happy to sign people up for long term memberships knowing that a lot of people will turn up for a few weeks and then never return.
What about all the stuff that we buy and then never use? Just having a product in our possesion doesn’t mean that we benefit from it. In fact, if we buy something then don’t use it, not only have we wasted our money but we end up with a more cluttered home for no good reason.
Have you let vouchers or gift cards expire? What other ways have you paid for a product or service you’ve never used?
Just let me assure you, if you want to send me a gift voucher, I promise that I will use it, but if you prefer to send me some cash, I’m OK with that too.
Posted by Rodney Olsen
Technorati Tags: Gift Cards – Wasting Money – Gifts
Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading The $8,000,000,000 Give Away? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.
I try and use all of my gift vouchers on time. Some don’t have an expiry date which is great but, if they do, I’ve found putting them on the fridge is a good way to remember you have them.
I agree about the gym membership thing. I know so many people who have gym memberships they never use. When I ask them if they care about all the money being drained out of their account, they just shrug and it doesn’t seem to bother them much. I like to get what I pay for but I don’t always get to go to the gym as much as I want to.
I gave my brother a voucher for a short flight in a flume.
I will remind him from time to time to use it, cause I would really be angry if he would let it expire.
Certainly cause of the money I would “lose”, more because I gave it to him as a reminder that real life starts at age 30!
Everybody else suggested he is “old” now and I want him to have a good memory of it none-the-less.
Apart from that – no vouchers. I want people to know that I cared to find something special for them.
Send me a voucher and see how long it takes me to use it. That’s my challenge Rodney.
I got a $100 gift certificate to a classy restaurant in 2000. Haven’t used it; it’s probably not good. It’s a very common problem.