Number of the Week: Billions in Gift Cards Go Unspent

It amazes me that gift cards are ever purchased by anyone. The only possible benefit is to the vendor, in every scenario, and this should be obvious:

- If you spend less than the card amount and don't use the rest, the vendor wins.

- If you spend more than the card amount, the vendor wins.

- If you somehow spend the exact amount on the card, the vendor still wins because they made you buy something at their store instead of a competitor's. Also, the card amount influenced the decision of what to buy, which wouldn't have happened when using cash.

It is also not only an unimaginative gift but a bad gift, because:

- You are compelling the recipient to shop at a particular store (a store that may not have what he or she really wants).

- You are probably compelling him or her to spend money that wouldn't have been spent otherwise, because the card may not cover everything (in this way, it's like a tax). And if more money isn't spent, the "gift" is worth even less than it was supposed to be.

- You are stating pretty clearly what you think the person is worth. If I receive something nice, I might not think "this is worth $5", but when I am given a gift card I feel "oh, they think I'm only worth spending $5 on".

It would be nice if people would just identify gift cards as a massive scam and start giving real gifts again (or at least get over the apparent stigma carried with gifts of cash).