Save Money by Purchasing Discounted Gift Cards

How would you like to save 20% on the cost of a movie? Or 12% when buying your favorite books? Or 10% on a new video game? Or 11% on fast food at Wendy's? Well, it can be done. These were all recent offers listed on Card Pool -- a website that allows people to buy and sell discount gift cards (similar offers can be found at a whole host of similar websites.)

The sites allow people to sell (at a discount) their unwanted/unneeded gift cards (like ones I have received) and turn them into cash. The people who buy them get a card they want at a price lower than face value, allowing them to lock in some potential savings.

Now combine your gift card savings with the traditional ways of saving on a purchase and the discounts can really add up. For instance:

• $100 - Retail price for item(s) you want
• - $20 - Item(s) is on sale for 20% off
• - $10 - You have a coupon(s) that saves you even more
• - $12 - Savings from buying a discounted gift card
•  $58 - net cost

You save 42%! Wow!!!!!!

You might also receive additional benefits like frequent buyer points/rewards that add to this, but those are spotty so I didn't include them.

Anyone do this on a regular basis? I'd be interested in hearing how you do it -- the pros, cons, etc. It's clear that you certainly need to plan ahead and buy from reputable sites -- but are there other tips the rest of us should know about?

One no-brainer I can see is to buy discounted grocery store gift cards. If we could save 10% on our food bill, that would be HUGE! Alas, I couldn't find any sites offering discounts to grocery stores. Maybe I missed them?

Comments

[Rex]

Big box stores often sell gift cards at a discount. At the Costco in my area they have restaurants, coffee shops, and stuff like nfl.com all at 20 - 25% off. I often buy $50 in gift cards to my local coffee shop for $40. That's a nice 20% off, plus there is no sales tax on gift cards and no activation fee.

[FinanceFreak]

I've gotten cards at discounts of up to 20% off face several times.. few times from Ebay. My suspicion is that many are being sold be people who earned them by participating in survey sites and the like.. and would rather have cash.

[Carrie]

Discover lets you use your cashback to get discounted gift cards. A good one is a $25 gift card to Bed, Bath, and Beyond for $20. BB&B always has lots of coupons circulating (and they take expired ones) so it's easy to match a good deal with a coupon with a discounted gift card.

[Mary Kate]

Just this year I started buying gift cards from Plastic Jungle. I have purchased Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Target, Michaels, and Kohl's. Most of the cards I buy are not heavily discounted (usually 4% for Wal-Mart and Target). I do get 2% casback by using my Schwab Visa. There seemed to be more cards available after Christams. The cards for higher end places seem to be available at bigger discounts. Since I usually buy gas at Sam's Club using a Wal-Mart gift card I feel like I'm saving a little money. I have never had a problem with any of the gift cards I have purchased. Sorry this is rambling.

[Budgeting in the Fun Stuff]

I use Discover like Carrie. We buy the $25 Bath and Body Works card for $20 when we're know that we need more hand soap. Then we wait for a sale and strike, lol.

I also get one $50 Starbucks gift card for $45 so my husband can satisfy his very occasional Jave Chip cravings all year.

Oh, and the discounted Kohl's, JC Penny's, and Dilliard's gift cards are awesome for when I need to go shopping or need a gift for my husband's family (they shop at all three).