Comment by soylentcola | Hacker News Reader

Comment by soylentcola | Hacker News Reader

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My (to be fair, minor) issue with gift cards is that they're essentially saying "hey, have some money...but you can only spend it at this one place of my choosing, not yours".

I'm aware that this is pretty low on the list of problems you'd hate to have but it's there nonetheless. Let's say a relative has heard me talk about some Arduino project I'm messing with or something to do with building a computer. They don't know much about either of those things but they know I like "techie" stuff and gadgets so they get me a gift card from Best Buy, as that is the only electronics store they're really aware of.

Now I've got a $100 gift card to a store that either doesn't sell any of the things I'd want to buy or charges a hefty markup over what I'd normally be willing to pay. Sure, I could sell the gift card to some bargain hunter for $95. They'd get $5 off, I'd get most of the value to spend elsewhere...

...but that's a hassle and not at all what the gift-giver would want to necessitate anyway. The other major option is to just suck it up and either buy something I don't really want/need out of the available Best Buy catalog or maybe buy that $100 item that I would've just found for $70 at Microcenter or Newegg.

I think you nailed it when you pointed out issues of perception and tradition. Giving cash to someone other than an aging/retired parent or a young child comes off as odd. It's almost like you didn't care enough to think of a gift that they would actually enjoy or shows that you know them. I just think gift cards are about the same in that regard, only less desirable or useful.

>"hey, have some money...but you can only spend it at this one place of my choosing, not yours".

In some circumstances, that's actually an advantage, and works as a positive for the recipient.

When I was in college, money was tight. Had to be very careful with every dollar. When relatives would give me money for holidays, it would just go into the general fund and had to be treated with the same care as the rest of it. That money was certainly appreciated and made my life easier, but not a lot of fun was had with it.

But when I'd get gift cards to Amazon or Best Buy or Borders, suddenly it was a license to go crazy. To recklessly buy electronics, books, and luxuries I couldn't otherwise justify. It wasn't just a gift of money. It was a gift of money without worries attached.

Agreed, and I sometimes give gift cards with that in mind. Though I try to make it a gift card at a store that I feel certain the recipient will appreciate.

That's why I'm buying my grandparents a Subway card. You can reload it online and they love Subway they just don't want to splurge to go there whenever they go in to town. I know if I load this up for them they'll have a treat whenever they're out to a doctor's appointment. It has the added benefit of me being able to reload it when they run low.

I loved US gov EE savings bonds. LOVED THEM. I could say, "Here. I'm giving you a gift of investment, that will grow over time." It's almost impossible to buy the paper version now unless you're using your tax refund to do so.

No its definitely impossible and a tax refund can only get I series paper bonds unless its changed yet again. Also the rigged CPI-U is lower than the real world inflation rate, so you're basically buying a piece of paper for $100 today that can be sold for $90 years later plus you get to pay federal income tax on the inflation protection part (So $100 stuck in a mattress would be worth $80 in a couple years so you get to pay $10 worth of income tax).

Isn't giving someone an actual gift the same only more so though? Like, if the relative gave you an actual specific electronic component, you've likely got something you'd never normally buy, at a heavy markup, and you can resell it but you're going to lose more than $5 on that deal.

> My (to be fair, minor) issue with gift cards is that they're essentially saying "hey, have some money...but you can only spend it at this one place of my choosing, not yours"

It's often a lot easier to know someone well enough to know which store gift card is something they'd be likely to use by choice than to get a more specific gift right.

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