In an effort to keep my Christmas costs low, I decided to use discounted gift cards in as many cases as possible to pay for gifts. I’ve never really thought about using them, because I like my money to be in my account offsetting my mortgage. However, the rate of interest on my mortgage is around 4%, and I can get a discount of 5% or more on the gift cards. As it’s Christmas and gift giving is in the season, I know that I can spend the gift cards almost immediately on things I would have bought anyway.
What’s that you say? I should be only giving frugal, handmade gifts? Before you start digging into me for buying new things, let me tell you that for the first time this year, I have successfully made cookies and bought second hand glass jars to give them to family members. I’m also intending on contributing home made crackers to a gift basket for my boss at work.
LEGO and beer supplies were things that we would normally buy anyway. LEGO is very rarely cheaper second hand, because most collectors know how much it goes up in value the longer you keep it. The way to get new sets is to buy bulk lots of unsorted LEGO – but we are currently still trying to sell the last three lots we bought. Beer supplies are in fact cheaper, as we use them to make beer and it is a regular purchase.
When I purchased our new Bluetooth sound system for a cool $300 at The Good Guys, I lept for the Concierge Package for an additional $75 because it provided comprehensive warranty on the speakers for 3 years (even if we blow out a speaker, they will replace it). The other point was that they offer a selection of discounted offers, and I chose the one related to gift cards. The majority of offers are 5% off. I thought to myself that I could probably make the $75 back by using them. Then I discovered that it’s [apparently] easy to get discounted gift cards if you bide your time…
My first foray into buying gift cards this year was for RedBalloon. I’ve never used them before, but the idea caught my eye from The Good Guys list of cards. However, I was able to find a better deal as eBay was having 15% off those cards. I am still waiting for them to arrive in the post, but I am certain they will come before Christmas. I’ll eventually review the experience I purchase (no spoilers here!).
I then wanted to purchase some LEGO from BigW which was having a stacked 20% off sale. Off I went to find discounted cards. Again, they were offered at The Good Guys, but not as eCards, which I needed to complete the transaction before the deal expired! So I went to trusty Google, and found CardHub. I purchased two $100 eCards for $188, at a discount of 6%. Mistakenly, I thought that the card codes would arrive almost immediately by email. Instead, I spent a tense couple of hours waiting for the codes. In the end, I received an email from the company telling me their site was cancelled! So that was a waste of time.
The following day, I checked my eBay listing to make sure that that gift card had been posted. Low and behold, the seller had turned out to be a scammer. Thankfully I had ordered through PayPal, so I am hopeful of receiving a full refund.
The end of this story? Well, it’s not hopeful yet. I’m hoping for a refund from eBay, and in the mean time I might contact my bank to see if I can get a charge back on my credit card. I’m going to buy those damn gift cards through the Good Guys and be done with it.
EBAY AND PAYPAL COULD NOT ASSIST – APPARENTLY THE TRANSACTION WAS NOT COVERED BY BUYER PROTECTION. DISAPPOINTMENT FROM ME, AS I AM OUT OF POCKET $175. CONSIDER THIS A FAILURE OF AN EXPERIMENT – AND THAT THE GOOD GUYS CONCIERGE PACKAGE IS GOING TO BE WORTH MY TIME.
Be First to Comment