Do you like to receive gift cards? I know some people think it is inappropriate to give gift cards. Some people think that the giver could not spend the time to come up with an appropriate gift for an occasion.
Do you like to receive gift cards? Do you purchase gift cards to give to people?

from people who dont know me well, i dont mind at all. let's me pick a gift i like and avoid returning stuff.

from someone close to me (family, SO, etc) i would possibly be hurt that they hadnt taken any time or thought, depending a lot on circumstances (for instance if they knew i wanted a laptop and gave me a GC to BestBuy to pick one out that would be great or a GC to a favorite restaurant, or anything that still involved thought would be fine whereas a GC to a random mall store would be a lot less so)

i rarely give them as they generally dont let me give the best gift for the amount im willing to spend. exceptions are if a GC is specifically requested or im at an absolute loss for someone i dont know at all.

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Yes.....I think they are appropriate if you don't know what the person would like. Esp, for my kids friend's birthdays...who knows what some teens really want?? And, I LOVE receiving them as gifts myself!

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I like getting them, it lets me pck what I want...and to wait for a deal to get it at a better price

I do give gift ccertifcates/gift cards to some family (who live out of state...it's cheaper and faster shipping at Chritmas). Also, my kids give them to friends for birthdays

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Yep, love to get em and love to give them. I would rather someone pick out something they need or can use then something useless.

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" Even though life can be a very long, hard, stressful and never-ending journey, never lose hope in what you want the most."

Love them! Heck- save the trip to the store to BUY it, and give me CASH!

I don't mind gift cards. You can send me one if you want to.

What bugs me is people who are always saying Oh I got to go out to dinner because I had this gift card or We ent to the movies on Sat. Of course, I used a gift card. It just sounds so weird.

I agree. Why would you tell anyone "I had a gift card". Weird. Like who cares how you paid for it! Unless, of course, you always said you had no money and were going to possibly lose your house or go on food stamps. Then, all of a sudden, you are going out to dinner, to the movies, or date night. Then, you would say "I had a gift card". Because people would wonder where you got the money from!

My boss likes to pay with Gift Cards sometimes in lieu of cash.. What do you think of that.

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I like to receive gift cards as long as it's to a store I like to shop at. And I do give gift cards especially to restaurants. I especially give them to people I don't know well or to teachers. I like to give them to friends and family as well though. I have many friends with kids and they don't go out to eat a lot and they love receiving a night off.

Yes I love them. And so do my neices and my sisters.

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People tell me I'm one of the hardest people to shop for...gift cards/certs for dinner and a movie are always appreciated!! Free food tastes SOOOO much better than food you had to pay for beit at home or at a restaurant. Same with movies!

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I think that sounds illegal.

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Raising my baby RIGHT!!!!!!

All the cool babies are wearing cloth!

I love to receive gift cards. We usually always give gift cards for the birthday parties that my kids go to. Gift cards are never the wrong size and it doesn't matter if you get duplicates. LOL

At least your boss gives you something, ours doesn't.

I love gift cards. DH doesn't know what size I wear and I would rather pick out something I like and I wait for deals to get more bang for the buck. My MIL sends them to us to, so much easier.

I give them to family since they are spread all over the US and it saves on shipping and this way they can pick out what they want or need.

Gift cards are the best friend of a parent to teens ;-)
MZ

I really like to get them because I can buy what I want...when it's on sale and get more for my money! My teen kids like me to buy them for their friend's birthdays...Kohls, Target, or Starbucks usually. ~Lisa

I love to give them and get them. My family looks forward to their Visa gift cards!

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I give them frequently - they seem to be the big deal with the teens and pre-teens for birthdays and also for friends and family who are out of town and/or somewhat out of touch so it's hard to know what to buy and saves shipping a package cross-country.

I do not like to receive them. I guess I'm to the point of having the $$ I need to buy most of the things I want, so GCs or cash seem kind of thoughtless as a gift for me. My husband sometimes gives me money or GCs....it seems kinda ridiculous and hurtful.

So I guess my bottom line is that they are great for the right recipient - you need to put the same thought into it as you would buying a gift.

cj/

I love to get them. My DH sometimes gets me a gift card to my favorite wool store - I can pick just what I want and he knows I'm going to love it.

We send them as gifts lots of time to family that live far away.

On the other hand - I really hated when the kids got gift cards to ToysRUs as small children. We never shop there, didn't like the store at all and were stuck with these gift cards for a long while. Finally took them to the store and let them go wild.

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I like to get them, but don't very often - my parents don't believe in that - they think they have to buy a gift.

My girls LOVE getting them (and have begun asking for them for their birthdays & Christmas) - they think they're "rich" if they can go to the store and actually pick out something they want, like & fits!!

Lisa

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"It's not having what you want,
It's wanting what you've got"

I LOVE getting gift cards! I can actually go into a store and not feel guilty about spending money on me (which I hardly ever do). I like it better than getting money because if I get money, I end up spending it on gas or groceries.

I love getting them (but never do). I would much rather my inlaws (who buy us crap and spend a ton of money on crap--with them it's the more the merrier instead of one nice gift) just give us gift cards. Seems like the stuff they give we don't want or it doesn't fit, etc. and they never give gift receipts and my MIL is notorious for cutting off the tag part that has the scan part on it. So most of what they give us either gets donated or sold at a yard sale. Sad too 'cause we could really just use the cash or when we do go out we like to try new restaurants, etc.

I do give gift certificates and did for my parents this Christmas. They acted like they were all mad about it though, go figure. Their house is running over with crap, my mom won't get rid of anything and is getting to the point that she can't really clean, etc., so I thought this would be a great idea. I didn't get their reaction. I'd be in hog heaven to get them or cash instead of more crap we don't need or have to dust! But then again, no one on either side of the family bothers to ask what we 'want' they just buy what they want us to have.

I love getting them. Most people know what stores I shop at and give cards to them. Then I save them and get stuff on clearance. I do not give them much unless its to my best friend so she can combine them to get something big (right now she is saving for a dyson).

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I laugh at you because you are all the same.

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I absolutely LOVE gift cards! Our really good friends whose kids we watch a lot gave me gift certificates for the nail salon in Walmart, a gift certificate to a local nursery for my landscaping this summer and gave my husband gift cards to Home Depot. They wanted to do something nice for us at Christmas because we watch their kids a lot for them - he is a state trooper and works strange hours/shifts and she works a her parents' turkey farm. So lots of times they need someone to watch the girls on short notice if he is working a drug bust, etc. Now if I could only get my husband's brother and his wife to buy us gift cards - every year it is something that goes in the yard sale box or the goodwill box - they do NOT know our tastes AT ALL! I think I do finally have the mother-in-law trained though - she has been giving cash or gift certificates lately - FINALLY!

I have such mixed feelings about gift cards. They can seem so pointless.

Scenario (very typical in my family) - I get a $25.00 gift card for my brother to Home Depot.

He gives me a $25.00 gift card to Michaels

He gives my sister a $25.00 gift card to Best BUy.

She gives him a $25.00 gift card to Block Buster.

I ask - WHAT WAS THE POINT??? We all had this extra running around to do so that we'd each have a gift for the other - but in the end all we did was swap $$. WHy not just mail each other cards and eliminate the hassle of a gift if it comes to this?? Of course, I am the only one in my family who sees it this way. Everyone else loves it.

And, of course, I'm very happy to get and spend a gift card. I just think that they can be pointless if they're exchanged all around. And then if the amounts are different (spend more or less on your gift to the recipient than they spend on you)- well then you just feel weird.

I love to receive gift cards!

I have a dear friend and when we first met and the first occasion I gave her a gift card, I thought I would lose her as a friend. I was astounded! She felt that it was so unpersonal. This is why I feel that it was appropriate for her and for several other people that I know...This girl loves to shop!!! She enjoys the thrill of the hunt. She enjoys the time that she spends with her sister or mom and ME when shopping. It is an adventure. She enjoys shopping! Another thing that she enjoys is saving money. She budgets tight, she's paid off loans, makes retirement plans for a very early retirement and would walk 10 miles to work if it meant meeting her gas budget (maybe a little far, but not much). She will not go over her budget for any reason. She won't charge a thing, even if she is dying for a book or a truly good find. She has the most discipline of anyone I ever met. I admire her...anyway, back to the story. To her, a "free" shopping trip where she can buy what she wants at one of her favorite stores is so enjoyable. To me, that is a very personal gift. I know her very well and could easily pick out a lovely gift for her, but why take away that pleasure that I know she would get by spending time with someone on "free" money!! She always calls me when she spends it, no matter how long it has been since she received the card. What a great gift for both of us!!

I really do like to receive gift cards-but don't get them too often. Last year, a couple of friends got me g.c.s from Starbucks-that was the best. I love Starbucks, but have really had to cut back this year due to finances, so each time I could get a cup of coffee, I appreciated each friend even more than I already did. Also, restaurant g.c.s are great, Bath and Body Works are nice-places where I will use the g.c. for myself. I have on occasion, as a gift for me, gotten a g.c. for Walmart-that usually gets spent on underwear/socks/milk/cereal etc.-for the boys. So, in answer to your question-I like g.c.s if they are thoughtful-places I can pamper myself a bit and not feel guilty about spending the g.c. totally on me.

yeah we got those toysrus gift cards too and just never go there, i guess i will use them for presents for other kids' birthdays!

i give gift cards to hanna andersson for a new baby gift. i never liked anything anyone bought me (just not my taste) so i would never presume to buy baby clothes for someone else.