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The Solution To Your Gift Card Woes Is Cardavenue

December 29th, 2006 - - Filled in: Business/Consumer

I have the solution to my previous post about the amount of unused gift cards…and for getting the gift card you really wanted: Cardavenue.com. Not only can you purchase gift cards from a handful of retailers, but you can sell and trade your not-exactly-the-one-I-wanted gift cards. One’s garbage is another’s treasure…or however that saying goes. When buying and/or trading gift cards and gift certificates, Cardavenue has a guarantee system in place called CardAssure. The process includes verification of card values as well as a $100 guarantee per transaction…with a $10 deductible. Trade your Dave & Busters card for a Blockbuster Video card, or your JCPenney card for a Best Buy or Circuit City card.

This screen shows the summary of information. This user wishes to trade this $100 Home Depot gift card for a Bed Bath & Beyond or Best Buy card. The thing that sticks out in this whole service are the fees, particularly for trading gift cards. Below is the schedule of fees:

Auctions
Cardavenue charges the seller of an auction:
3.95% of the auction’s closing price, plus a .50 cent closing fee to sell a gift card.

Cardavenue does not charge Buyers of gift cards.

*Note to sellers: If you decide to accept credit card payments, PayPal will charge PayPal Premiere members 2.9 percent + .50 per transaction.
Trades
Cardavenue charges each person involved in a trade:
3.95%, plus a .50 cent closing fee to complete a trade.

Let’s assume for a second that you want to sell your gift card. We’ll use a $100 gift card, with an ending auction price of $90. How do Cardavenue’s fees stack up against eBay?

Click here for eBay’s schedule of fees.

Bottom line in my opinion…when it comes to trading gift cards, sure you pay a fee, but what’s the difference in selling your gift cards for a fraction of the value anyway. Looks like Cardavenue is the new marketplace for gift cards.