Tis the season for hustle and bustle, but it doesn't have to be stressful and expensive. If you have folks that are hard to shop for one of the best things to give are gift cards. They fit perfectly in a card, no gift wrap required. The best part is that there are a lot of places this year offering gift cards free with a purchase of either merchandise or other gift cards. That means that if its a store you like you can keep the bonus for yourself or you can send the windfall on as a gift to someone else and make your dollar go even further.
If you live by a CVS Pharmacy, they currently have a promotion going, for every $25 worth of gift card by Email (eGift Card) purchased, the purchaser receives a $5 eGift Card, they will send you just one gift card based on your total purchase, so if you spend $25.00 you will get a $5.00 E-card, and if you spend $150.00 on gift cards you will get a $30.00 E-card.
Best Buy is currently running a promotion on their DVDs, if you buy 5 DVDs totaling at least $50.00 from their extensive list they will give you a $25.00 gift card.
Got an outdoor person on your list? L.L. Bean is offering a free $10.00 gift card with a purchase of $25.00 or more, note here that you will not get more for spending more so your best bet is to stick to the $25.00. The $10.00 gift certificate is only good until February 16,2010.
Applebees is offering a $10.00 bonus card when you spend $50.00 on gift cards, but you can not buy them on line, you need to go into the store.
If you live in the Duluth area our local Black Woods / Black Water restaurants are offering a deal if you are a member of their diner club. Buy a $100 gift certificate and they will give you an additional $25.00 gift certificate. You can mix and match these which is really nice. I got the 1st card to Black Woods because I know we love it and we go quite a bit with my niece, and I got the $25.00 card to Black Water because we haven't been there and have wanted to try it, this will get us to go and it will be close to free.
There are a few ways to get gift cards at below cost. First you can always check eBay, however there are even less expensive venues out there. My friend Bernie found a site I hadn't seen before that I am very excited to order from its called Plastic Jungle and they ship for free! If you have ever used it yourself I would love to hear about it. There is also the Gift Card Rescue, where you can sell, exchange or buy discounted cards, they also have free shipping. Also, if you live near a Costco they sell gift cards for all sorts of places at below face value. (Super saver tip: If you can get a discount Costco gift card and use it to purchase discounted gift cards to other stores you can save up to 60%!)
Finally, if your looking for a great way to present your gift instead of just popping it in an envelope then check out the Gift Card Girlfriend for a ton of wonderful and creative ideas!
Hope you are all having a wonderful week!
C.Q.
Cool tip about the Costco thing. Thank you so much!! Good for us to know. I will have to check out the link for Gift Card Girlfriend, new ideas of how to wrap stuff is fun!
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