I Used to Work in Child Care.

Before I was a mom, I worked in day cares and preschools.  I remember when there was a holiday or it was Teacher Appreciation week, I would get gifts. Now call me old fashioned but the smile of a young child was enough of a gift to me.  I received all kinds of gifts from homemade cookie jars full of cookies to flowers and an occasional gift card or two. Sometimes, the gift card is for a place I don’t shop at.  I remember receiving a Starbucks gift card at one point and call me crazy but I am not a Starbucks fan.  I just have never been big on Starbucks so really it isn’t my thing. Another time I received a Talbot’s gift card, I have never found anything I was interested in there, their clothes are not my style, I am more of a t-shirt and jeans girl.  I really am grateful for the gifts I receive but sometimes I don’t know what to do with the gift cards. My mom loves Starbucks so I usually hook her up with those we will sometimes do a gift card exchange where she will give me one of her unwanted gift cards, or if a friend has one I can use we trade.

When you can’t find a friend or family member to trade with there are sites online that are happy to help you sell your gift cards. I have seen them on eBay before but I am very leery when it comes to buying things of value on eBay because they could go and spend the balance between your purchase and send you an empty card. Those sites come in handy if you don’t have a bank account and you can’t use PayPal. I remember a time that I wanted to order some clothes from Victoria’s Secret and I had to go to the store and buy a gift card, it was a pain to make an extra trip. I know with a gift card exchange site they work hard to verify the amounts, so you can not only sell your gift card but you can also buy them. 

What is the craziest gift card you have ever received?

Father's Day Ideas from Plastic Jungle.

Father’s Day is right around the corner, it seems like I was sitting here writing about Christmas coming. Time is really flying by it seems.  With any holiday that you receive gifts their always is a present you don’t really want.  One year my ex’s aunt and uncle gave me a Sears gift card for my birthday.  I was very grateful that they thought of me, but I didn’t shop at Sears.  I remember thinking later, what will I do with this? I remember scouring Sear’s trying to find something I wanted to get. This was before I was a mom so; I couldn’t use it on kid’s clothes.  I think I ended up buying some pajama pants and some picture frames with it.  Oh and my ex got some kind of tool. It was really hard for me to find something to buy.  Thankfully, they didn’t repeat the same gift at Christmas.  I am sure I am not the only one who received gift cards that they didn’t really want or could use.  I am sure tons of gift cards are wasted every day by putting them away and waiting to find something to spend them on.

I was introduced to a website called Plastic Jungle. It’s really cool because you can sell your gift cards. You ship them your gift card and they even pay for shipping.  They will verify your balance on the card so there isn’t any dispute and you know exactly how much is on there.  They take gift cards worth $25 or more. You can receive up to 92% of your verified balance. That is pretty awesome. You can turn the unwanted gift card in to cold hard cash or an Amazon Gift card. Sometimes if I have a gift card that I don’t want I will sell it to like my mom or sister but sometimes it is for a store that they don’t shop at.  You could always try online bidding sites but those usually take forever and this way you don’t have to worry about messing with paying for shipping.

You can also buy gift cards at Plastic Jungle. You can save up to 35% too! You don’t have to worry if it is a scam or if the person really will send it because Plastic Jungle takes care of all the shipping and verifying. You can buy discounted gift cards from Plastic Jungle without going through a bidding war and without hoping that the money you paid wasn’t lost forever. I have browsed gift cards on those bidding sites and honestly, I am not sure if I would trust any of the sellers. You can’t verify it before you buy, you could really be conned easily. Plastic Jungle offers free shipping and all of the transactions are guaranteed. You know what I love? You can pay with Paypal. So, those stores you shop online that don’t accept Paypal, you can use Paypal to buy your gift card and use it at that particular store.

 I have been browsing Plastic Jungle and their deals are awesome.  I think that instead of taking the time to go to the mall or the store to pay full price for a gift card for Dad this Father’s Day, why not check out Plastic Jungle? They have plenty of cards dad would love like Sears, Best Buy, Target, and Gander Mountain.  You will find something that brings a smile to your dad’s face this Father’s Day.

I received a sample gift card for my post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.