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Archive for April, 2011

You have a list of folks you want to send gifts to. Many are out of state. Then there are your immediate siblings. Some you know well. Others? You just don’t have a clue as to what half of them like? So you consider giving them a gift certificate. After all money doesn’t grow on trees. The fact is with the cost of gas doubling over the past few years, inflation on our heels and the growth in family reunion attendance, offsetting the cost of gift giving by finding low priced items that every body loves has become an even greater challenge then it ever has been. Thus the growing popularity of gift cards.

The National Retail Federation anticipated $17.24 billion worth of holiday sales last year in gift cards. The reasons gift cards are so frequently bought in place of other items are numerous. No one wants to give a gift that is not appreciated. In addition, who wants to burden down an aging relative with having to drive several miles to a store she nevers shops in order to exchange the gift.

Mark Askew says, “Folks once thought that with a gift card you couldn’t go wrong trying to please. And this seemed logical at the time. Thus as gift cards gained popularity many merchants jumped on the bandwagon. But until recently gift card weren’t all they were thought to be.”

All too true. For instance, what if you give a gift card from a sporting goods store to someone who’s not into sports? Or a gift to shop a jewelry store to someone who lives too great a distance from the store to even bother to shop there.
But has the gift card changed all that much over the past three or more years? Perhaps. Prepaid gift cards issued by VISA and MasterCard offer a way to use a gift card anywhere credit cards are accepted. Prepaid debit card issuers and 60 percent of store gift card issuers offer the potential to obtain a replacement card with the remaining balance if the original is lost or stolen. But getting a replacement may require the purchase receipt and the card number. Some companies may accept other proof of purchase. The gift card recipient would have to have all these papers to obtain a replacement. No wonder a significant percentage of gift cards have gone unredeemed. That said, when buying a gift card, look carefully at the pre-purchase disclosures of terms and conditions on the web site and the packaging in the store. If terms are not given or appear too cryptic to be complete don’t buy.

So when a recipient receives a store issued gift card from a store they don’t like obviously the card just sits in a dresser drawer until it’s long past the expiration date? Are merchants pocketing the cash while the gift card purchasers just throw away money? That was once the case. But companies like Sears announced it is eliminating expiration dates from all gift cards issued beginning December 17, 2003. Other card issuers have been quickly following suit.

In addition to less expiration date worries there are now a handful of companies dedicated to redeeming major retail gift cards for recipients of unwanted, unredeemed gift cards. One site, thegiftassistant.com, offers gift card ordering, redemption programs as well as gift card exchanges. Many of these companies offer services for such card issuers as Best Buy Starbucks and Outback SteakHouse. Still with all the recent changes in favor of the recipient losing the impersonal commercial stigma associated with gift cards has been a challenge.

Some gift card websites have gone to great lengths to overcome this obstacle. Now you can upload your own images and add your own text to create a custom card. Embossed text gives the card that engraved look, a very personal touch.
Still with all the work to personalize a gift card they still seem to need help to stand out in the crowd of greeting cards and gift bags. After all a gift card is four times smaller that a simple greeting card and weighs only a few ounces. Does this mean that gifts card don’t have what it takes to stand out among large presents? Some issuers compensate for this by upping the monetary value of gifts cards. Some cards values far outweigh any large dominating boxed gift. From $200 to $300 or more. With the advent of prepaid debit gift cards from VISA, MasterCard, American Express and DiscoverCard folks can give a gift card valued at $500 to as much as $3000 dollars depending on the provider. Perhaps big things do come in small packages.

Important gift card tips:
Retain a copy of all the purchase receipts and the card numbers. Mail original receipts to recipient. Papers including instructions and card use should also be sent to the client as some cards do not have expiration dates printed on the card itself.

With all the attention gift cards have been given these past few years it would seem they are here to stay. Just make sure you can find them once you’ve put them away. And above all exchange or redeem the non-debit kind.

Finding the right gifts for a particular occasion is always a challenging task. Sometimes it is nice to make a gift for someone, this gives the gift an air of uniqueness and personality and shows the recipient that you took the time to create a truly special gift. This method can also backfire however as it is easy to get in over your head and not be able to complete the gift project on time or in the fashion you wanted to. In other words it is easy to mess up the creation of a gift and be left empty handed or worse yet with a gift you don’t feel good about giving.

On the other hand, many people like to give and receive pre-made gifts for their convenience and so that they know they are getting something that will have at least some value to the recipient. This works especially well if you know just what the person wants as a gift. If you are not sure about what the person you are giving to wants then you have to make you best guess. In this case be sure to look at their tastes and not let your own preferences interfere with your decision. This is also a perfect opportunity to combine the best of both handmade gifts and manufactured gifts by using a professional gift company. These companies specialize in gifts that are both personalized and meaningful as well as professionally produced and of top quality.

Baby gifts are one of the most common types of gifts to give, where you need to find something cute and adorable yet practical. Luckily for you when it comes to babies play time is considered a practical use. This is a gifting area that will certainly benefit from the added value of a personalized gift. Adding the name of the special little one and/or an appropriate theme to the gift will make it significantly more special. Look for a company who will make a hand painted piece of children’s furniture for you or create a themed baby gift basket.

Anniversary gifts are another common gift category that often keeps the giver guessing when it comes to knowing what the recipient or recipient couple would like to get. This is another place where professionally personalized gifts can be a great choice. Personalized anniversary gifts have the feeling of something special and they allow the gift giver to participate in the gift creation process. In the end you have an exceptional gift that both warms the heart and is easy and fast to get.

Finally, perhaps the most difficult and important of all gifts, Valentines Day gifts are almost always better when personalized. More than any other gifting occasion, Valentines Day requires a high level of gift intimacy. This doesn’t mean it needs to be a risqué gift, only that the recipient expects that you have given the gift much thought. It will almost always significantly increase the emotional value of a gift if it is personalized to match the recipient. Additionally, the giver should be able to articulate why the gift was chosen, making the gift that much more special. And, if you can, you should send this message on the gift itself, making the personalized Valentines Day gift one to treasure.

In the end most gifts will benefit from the personalized touch a professional gift provider can create for you. These are just three common examples of how a personalized gift can meet the challenges of a specific gift-giving occasion. For only a nominal increase in cost you can achieve a significant increase in the meaning that the gift can convey.