DON'T throw away your hard-eraned money!

Mike Thomas_2

The way around it all is so simple. Just put cash in an envelope. No fees, no expiration date, you can use it anywhere. Still makes everyone smile!

John R. Hall

Gift card ripoff

My wife and I were buying a number of different gift cards today at CVS (which is an excellent store and not part of this bigger story). When the cashier rung them up we noticed that we were being charged $3.95 for the "privilege" of purchasing a $25 VISA gift card. WHAT A RIPOFF. And the cashier further steamed me by saying that MasterCard and American Express do the same thing and the "privilege fee" goes up as the amount goes up.

My friends, don't make the mistake of feeding the three-headed monster. Buy a card from the local restaurant or retail store and keep the fat from getting fatter. I don't normally rant like this because it is a free market society. But sometimes you gotta take a stand. You can bet that these giants will be hearing from me -- a little fly in their ointment.

I'm so ticked off I misspelled "earned" in the title.

Perry_2

C'mon now... But the real scam is...

They goto make their money somehow:

Financial institutions make money by charging you for the privalge. Always.

What is the surprise?

But the other SCAM regarding gift cards is that the kind that have authorization numbers on them (i.e. Call a 800 # to authorize them by activating the code..). Turns out the most kindly of people are flipping through the cards in the rack and writing down the autorization codes. Then they call in and activate the card (which is still on the rack in the store); and can spend the card value with internet purchases.

People then buy the card and pay the register - only to find out that their card has no value after they authorize it. The retail stores selling the cards will not return the money they paid either. Big mess of we say they say. Who really used the card? Why is the stores selling cards that have already been electronically used. Why dosn't the store know the cards are now worthless.

Ain't it great !

ps: anyone want gift cards for XMass..

Perry

John R. Hall

Perry

Yup, they have to make money. But to charge 1/6 of the cost of the card? So some little child who has saved his money should be expected to scrap together even more to feed the bottomless pit? The point of the post is to steer people away from buying these cards.

Perry_2

Look at the educational opportunity..

John:

What a great way to teach the kids about the value (or lack of) of using another 3rd party agency in a transaction involving money. Also, the cost of convienience.

It is what it is. It can be used for good or ill; teach the young well the lessons involved so some good can come of it.

Perry