wlcm

Why is it that it gift cards/certificates are more socially acceptable than cash as gifts?

To me gift certificates are even worse than cash. Cash is much more liquid that gift cards. Gift cards are purchased at face value anyways, so its not like there can be anyway to disgusie how much was spent on it. They don't really show me that any thought was put into the present other than "oh i think i remember you liked shopping at this store but i don't really know why or for what."

Or even worse is the gift cards that are to the local department store. I mean that is just like saying yea i was at the store the day before i needed to give this to you and didn't feel like picking out a present so i just grabbed this on my way out.

I'd gladly accept cash over gift cards anyday. At least that says to me that they admit that they didn't realy have the time/patience/thought to pick out a gift for me, but here's something that i could use in any fashion that i want--including paying off the bills.

Any other thoughts on this would be much appreciated

cheerios

my family gives me certificates, to make sure i DON'T use money on bills. I HATE it. they give me things liek best buy certs, and i just don't shop there! or like Barnes and nobles, where I go once in a blue moon. it's so frsutrating trying to blow 50 bucks someplace that doesn't have anything you really WANT!

timmy701

Cash is king.

Certificates are okay if they for places like movie theaters or spiffy novelty stores... and if you're flat broke, grocery store gift certificates can keep you alive... (and mooch free)

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dimbulb

I hate it when i get 'gift cards'. Really pesky. I got a Best Buy one before. Except i do all of my electronics shopping online. Finally had to sell the damn thing at a discount.

Its a social taboo. Personally, I'd take a well written card or something handmade (by the giver.. of course.. ) to a gift. Cash, errrr, no... don't think i want cash, unless the giver tells me that
" yes, we know you've been eyeing *insert snowboard/computer/widget here*, but we don't know exactly what you want... so here.. take some of this cold hard cash and buy yourself one.... "

G5_Todd

gift certificates suck...i have 3 that i cant use because the stores went out of business......

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cliche

Sometimes it's OK to get a book token. I mean, if I get cash I'm going to do something exciting like spend it on food/living, whereas a book token forces me to spend it on myself.

Otherwise, tokens are a pain in the arse - rather than money that works in any shop in the country, you end up with a token that will only be accepted in "Our Price" or some such where the nearest shop is in the next town somewhere!

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ssander9

I just save it and give it back to them on their birthday or whatever the case may be.

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20330

I think the idea behind gift certificates is that the person put a little more thought into the gift instead og just giving cash. Of course, this often backfires as the person receiving the gift certificate has no use for it whatsoever. I prefer to give (and receive) cash so that the person receiving the gift (or myself) can do with it as we see fit. If we want to pay bills or get a hooker with it, that's our prerogative.

But perhaps a better debate would be gift vs. gift certificate? Who do you trust more to get something you want? Your family or yourself?

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wlcm

i think that most gifts are superior to gift cards since they do usually imply some sort of thought in them even if they might not be useful or wanted.

I asked the question because usually when i see gift cards, i see something that could have been cash, but not. And what little thought anyone put into getting a gift card is negated by its outright non-liquidity. i ask also because somehow an inferior gift such as gift cards could possibly be more socially acceptable than cash just boggles the mind.

Selling the gift card to a friend for cash is a good idea, but you almost never get the face value for it.

holtmate

I love getting gift certificates, and I have found that they are easy wedding gifts for people you don't know to well. You just buy a gift certificate from where they are registered, and then they can get whatever they didn't get, or even something else. Maybe that's just me, but they are all too easy for me to spend, since I am a consumer whore...

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saucy knave

I like them a lot, both giving and receiving.

Getting one as a gift is better than getting a gift I don't like. And similarly to what Cliche said, if I get cash as a gift I will spend it on stuff like food/gas. Que boring.

Giving a gift certificate is enough to show thought (as long as you get one from an appropriate store). And you can be sure that whatever they do get will be spent on something they like.

The_Dude

i just graduated and i got both cash and gif certificates.

some of them were from foley's (which did not have a place in my town).

i would've preferred cash.

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djtestudo

I remember they did an episode of "Dilbert" about this topic.

My opinion is that sometimes people, especially relatives, tend to buy things that you really honestly truly do not want. So unless I give a specific gift request, I usually just ask for gift certificates from Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, etc.

Only people who don't are my one set of grandparents, who buy me clothes, which I tend to like, and leave large sums of money in the pockets

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jibs

I'll take cash over gift certificates any day. I remember when you used to get MONEY BACK when you didn't use an entire gift certificate..

hobo

I would rather receive cash, and rather give it out. Unfortunately, society has decided that buying gift certificates is more acceptable because it means that you at least went out and bought them something. Just giving cash means that you didn't bother looking for anything but just pulled some money out of your wallet.

I still think cash is more useful though.

Cynthetiq

the gift cards have a lifespan and if you don't spend them the computer system deducts a "management fee" of like US$1.00/month after the first year.

sucks...

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wario

I prefer gift certificates. When I get cash I tend to just hoard it and use it for groceries and bills and such. But when I have a gift certificate to somewhere like Best Buy, I have to use it on something I want (until they start selling groceries...)

Jonsgirl

I like certificates better. Cash gets piddled away before I can go shopping. Gift cards also say that they at least know you well enough to know where like to shop, and cash is like they almost forgot about you until the last minute.

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more fire

my relatives always give me gift certificates not cash because they don't want me spending there money on drugs. How shit is that?

ktthequeen

my relatives (save my parents, thank god) seem to think a gift certificate/card is more personal, for hwatever reason

Slims

Because gifts are supposed to be about the thought that went into their selection, and the gesture, rather than an envelope full of money.

A gift certificate is not as good as a well chosen present, but it is better than cash, since some effort had to go into selecting the store.

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wlcm

i think everyone should to the chinese custom and just give out red envelopes of cash. Everyone likes cash and there is no need to be discouraged that they didn't put thought into the gift. Regular cash may seem inappropriate, but when it appears inside a red envelope, it is just the thing to do.

wario

It'd kinda take the fun out of Christmas if everybody did it.

daoist

my parents usually give me gift certs for one very special reason: they don't want to mess up getting me exactly what I want.

If I say "I want a 120GB Maxtor internal EIDE Hard drive with 8mb cache." (for example), they'd say "oh, umm...you mean a $150 gift certificate, right?"

some families have a taboo against asking for things for holidays or asking what people want. I say that's BS. when xmas rolls around i tell people what I want, and I expect the same. Why pussyfoot around?

gift certs are okay from relatives who don't know you very well or if you're too picky to pick out an easy gift.

If I asked for a specific CD and instead I got a $20 GC i'd be upset.

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onetime2

I think gift cards show a slight bit more thought than cash does. When giving gift cards I pick out places that I know the recipient likes. Maybe Barne's & Noble or arts and craft stores if they're into reading or crafting.

I have also been known to do cash but try to be a bit more creative than just stuffing some $s in an envelope. e.g., for my girlfriend's birthday I gave her a spending limit and said I'll take you clothes shopping. So, I took her to the stores, gave her my opinions on things, and paid for everything when we went to the check out. I had fun because we picked out some sexy stuff and she had fun because she wasn't shopping alone and got a ton of new clothes.

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onetime2

Oh, one other thing about gift cards:

IT SUCKS WHEN THERE IS NO STORE WHERE YOU LIVE!!!!!!

I got a gift card from work for Border's and it's been almost a year and I haven't used it. I never come across one. I tried to use it online and the code didn't work or some crap. So it will probably expire before I even get to use it.

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gnort

Just think, cash is a gift certificate to EVERYWHERE!

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cliv

My family, that lives at a distance, used to give me gift certificates when they couldn't think of what to buy, which I think is fair. But since not all stores are in every area, they started giving me AMEX gift checks. That's even better, they are good as cash everywhere and they can be turned into cash (I think) if necessary.

If I received money, like several have already said, it would probably go to pay bills, buy groceries, etc.

s8ins child

I always get gift certificates from my gran and it sucks,i never say that to her face lol.it just means that you have to buy something from that shop but on the other hand if you were given cash you could save it or buy anything you wanted within the price.

giblfiz

If your the one doing the giving, and you don't know what to get them, take them to a mall and tell them that your going to get them there gift right now. Its a lot more real and personal than either cash or a gift card.

That said, cash is better. I hate gift cards, and I hate pre-made cards (aka Hallmark) I would rather have a plain piece of paper that said "I love you" with a signature on it than some cute piece of crap that they paid someone else to think of for them. If you really care you will write them a bad poem...

Comical Haiku
are Oh so simple to do
and so much fun to

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MacGnG

gift certificates only if you KNOW they are going to use them at that place.

some may say it's not really appreciated, but im a college student, and it always is...

braisler

In my experience, people give gift certificates/ gift cards when they don't know what else to give the person, or don't know the person that well. In that limited way, it can be socially acceptable. I'll give an example. My wife's family is so large that they have instituted a holiday gift exchange so that everyone doesn't have to buy 20 gifts for everyone else. All the names go in the hat and you draw one out. I got the name of one of my wife's cousins that I didn't know that well. I didn't really know what she wanted, but she is a young, pretty woman who takes care of herself and cares about how she looks. My solution was to research a couple of high-end salons in her area and get her a certificate from there. </P>
I constantly get gift cards from my family and friends. It has become a social norm and I absolutely hate it. I know that these people know me well enough to know what I would like. When they give me a gift card, they are just saying that, "Hey, we didn't give a crap enough to go look for what you actually wanted. You go shop for it." It is actually worse than the social norm, as other people posting here have noted, it is now considered <i>more</i> socially acceptable than cash! What a crock! That, my friends, is what happens when we, as a society, allow advertising to do our thinking for us. These gift cards are a really great trick for the company selling them. Once the money is on there, it never, ever comes off. They know that you are going to underspend the card by a few cents or a few dollars and just throw the card away (in which case they win). Or you are going to spend more than what is on the card (in which case they win again). It is really clever (manipulative?) on part of the marketers. </P>
Here is what bothers me most about gift cards and the people who give them. I am a very, very careful shopper. Part of it is the way that I was raised, but I believe in straining every last penny out of every dollar that passes through my bank account. I research, I compare, I check shipping an return policies, I examine, and I finally buy knowing that I am getting the best deal. When I get a gift card from Best Buy or some other retailer, it really drives me nuts. I have to spend literally hours wandering around the store knowing that almost everything I see I could get at a better price somewhere else. If I had gotten the cash instead, I could shop where I want and get the most for my money. Wouldn't you rather your friend/loved one/work associate/gift recipient get the most out of your gift? </P>
Alright, I am almost at the end of my therapeutic rant here. I'll end it with another experience of my own from my personal treasure trove of bitter disappointments. It is an anecdote that, I think, trumps anyone else's story of a bad gift situation. Here's the background: I was getting ready to graduate from college. My parents called to ask me if there was anything that I wanted as a graduation gift. I wasn't neccessarily expecting anything, but, hey they were asking... so I told them that there was some bike gear that I had been needing, and, yes, I would really love that for my graduation present. My dad said to email him a list of what I was looking at. We had done this sort of thing before without a hitch at Christmas and such, so it wasn't like he didn't know where to go to order or anything. Keep in mind that graduation was a couple weeks away so there was plenty of time. In fact, I almost didn't want to tell them about the gear I needed, because I was going to order it myself and have it there sooner. But, like I said, they were offering. </P>
So graduation day comes and they are so happy and proud. They drive all the way up for the ceremony (a ceremony that I went through only because it meant so much to them). Afterwards we meet up for lunch and they give me this card. Inside the card is a check, no cash, no card, no certificate, just a <i>personal</i> check for, get this, $73.06. WTF!! I didn't get what the check was about. They didn't enclose a note or anything. I thought that they would explain the significance of the amount, but nothin doin'. They just went on as if nothing strange had transpired. They were very talkative about how they had just bought a new minivan for themselves even though their old one was 'just starting to look a little old.' Their words not mine. Which of course made me look out to the parking lot to my 18 year old POS that barely ran and think how I would have loved to have had their 'old' van. But then they wouldn't have gotten the money for the trade in. All the time during this inane and one-sided discussion, I keep rolling around $73.06 in my head. What did it mean? was 73 for 1973? But I was born in 74! And then why the $.06? So, at long last, the day was wrapping up and I headed back to my crappy apartment. I was disillusioned, but I had learned not to expect too much from my parents. I thought, hey, I guess they decided not to buy the bike stuff, I'll go ahead and order it myself. So I go online and order all of the things on the list that I originally sent to Dad. I get to the checkout and the total is $146.12. It's rough, but I need the gear to get my bike working back to normal. Then it hits me!!! $73.06! That is half of $146.12. They gave me a <b>check</b> for <b>HALF</b> of the total of the things that I wanted, no needed, for my bike! That means, they went online, put all of things in their basket, saw the total and said, "Naw, screw that. We'll just give him that amount of money equal to half of what he actually needs to get this gear. After all, we need that extra money to put towards a CD changer in our new minivan." Hot Damn, I was mad. I am sure that I yelled and screamed enough to make my roommates think that the end was near. </P>
Moral of the story = If someone gives you a gift card, smile and say thank you. At least it isn't some f**king check for half of what you actually wanted. Bitter? Nah, not me. </P>
What do you guys think? Anyone else got a bad gift story to beat mine?

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Vyk

Gift cards are only good to give when you know the person will shop there otherwise cash all the way. It's a silly social norm but eh... people think it's better since you put some thought into it.

I think it's better to give cash since then they can choose what they want to spend it on. Just be sure to give a little note explaining your thinking so they know it's heart felt and you're fine.

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limited

I think that reason is rooted in what you state. Gift Cards are less liquid than Cash, which makes it a better gift for the giver. It shows that they actually put some thought into what to get you. Not enough to actually buy you a gift, but enough to choose the store for you. It's hard for my grandparents to shop for me, but they know I'm a nerd so they always get me a Circuit City gift card. You can give cash to anyone, and thats part of what makes it great, but when you're giving someone a gift the deeper meaning is what matter. Cash is cold and hard, no personality except for the creepy stare Franklin has. The giftcards show that the person put a little time in, making the trip to the store on their way home from work.

pagoda

I remember some of my cousins on the east coast sent me a gift certificate for a movie theater that doesn't exist out here. Now they know better and give cash...My whole family's pretty good about that, actually.

My rule is, if I don't know enough about what you'd like as a gift then I probably shouldn't be buying you one. I'd probably take them out to dinner or something if I couldn't figure anything good out. No cash giving for me.

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HamiC

At the end of the day, either is something more than what you started with.....and that's not bad.

Like most, I generally prefer cash. But it is nice from time to time to be forced to splurge on a gift (with a GC) instead of using the cash to pay the bills.

Either way, I'm just grateful that the giver has given.

Empty_One

I fucking hate gift cards. I got one for 30 bucks for Best Buy one year for christmas. I walked around the store for an hour, looking for something orth buying, with out spending any additional money, and couldn't find shit. I think I gave it to somebody else as a gift.

Shpoop

yea barnes and noble gift certificates are the worst... what are you gonna buy, 10 magazines? UGH i hate it... but one of my friends found a solution. You find someone who reads books/ magazines a ton, and give them the card for like 75%... you both win

wario

How could you not find something to buy at Best Buy? No CDs or DVDs you want? Or are you one of those people who refuses to listen to a band that people may have heard of? No videogames, headphones, batteries, nothing? I don't understand.

BigDonkey2

Cash is always the best way to go especially if you dont know what that person wants. Although it is sometimes nice to get gift certificates to the movies, since most people do go to the movies.