Posted on 12/22/2010 5:40:25 PM PST by jaz.357
$4.95 Activation Charge on a $50.00 gift card.
What.
You need to read fine print on everything nowadays.
Just google Gift Card Activation Fees
That isn’t a scam, it is how the companies that produce the gift cards make a profit. They don’t exist to do things out of the kindness of their heart.
I got charged $20 S&H from Amazon for a $1.50 item at Amazon yesterday. Told them to shove it up there ass. It got corrected after talking to many-a-muslims on the phone.
Everything is a scam. Be weary!
What. Blame Obama’s regulations on banking/credit cards.
Plus the card issuer sweeps the account (keeps any unspent funds) when the card expires.
In the old days, we just handed people $50 in a Christmas card.....oh wait, I still do......
I stick to getting gift cards at specific retail stores and restaurants - so far, they do not charge activation fees.
I wonder if ReBamaLosi can fit “comprehensive gift card activation fee reform” into the lame(a$$) duck congressional schedule.
Yep. I got three to put in cards. A little stiff, won’t do that again. Seemed like a nice idea for lazy shopping...
But all the other cards we saw didn't charge anything UPFRONT that we could see. ( Red lobster, TGIF, Bass Pro etc.) We did not see the "FINE PRINT" till we read the ticket on the way home.
Never gonna buy one again!
You are paying for those who don't give a crap about their credit and default on loans.
Get used to it, now with the government using our tax dollars and taxes on banks in supporting such activity via paying off loans of those who won't, it's going to just get worse.
Remember, it’s the thought that counts.../s
It all depends who is creating the card... Some (usually store cards) charge up front because it is their only means of profit. This is because they can’t show the sale of the card until it is used on a transaction. Some created by independent companies (generic Visa cards) charge on the back end (during the transaction) because they can show a profit on the initial sale as well.
It is a convoluted mess of accounting rules and how the companies have to comply to make a profit. It isn’t a scam.
Gift cards are a scam period.
What’s wrong with cash?
...one thing to consider, especially with high-dollar gift cards is the up-front charge may actually be a better value.
For example, one I ran into recently had a $3.00 per transaction fee instead of an activation fee. Imagine giving a $100 gift card and the recipient used it for a bunch of small transactions instead of one big purchase. They could run up $12 dollars in fees on four smaller transactions versus the up front fee card only charged the initial activation fee.
Bingo
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