eBay Those Unwanted Gift Cards

What ever happened to just getting presents on Christmas? Now your friends and family have an easy way out. They get you gift cards, so now you need to put the thought into what you want. Personally unless it is a Amazon Gift Card, or a card with a Visa/MC/Amex logo, I don’t want it. I hate being tied down to one store. So what do you do with it? Sell it on eBay, of course! Most gift cards get 70% – 90% of their original value, and hey since the card was a gift, this is free money!

Here is what you need to know: 

Do your research. Look for similar cards that are currently listed to see if they are going for what you expect. Don’t forget that most of the bidding action happens shortly before the auction closes. You can also copy their card description for your auction. Just cut and paste baby!

For some reason eBay has a rule where you can only sell 1 gift card every 7 days, not sure why this is, but just beware that if you list more then one card in 7 days, they will cancel all your listings except the first one you put up there.

I wouldn’t waste the time to put a picture on your listing, since people are buying the value of the card, not the look of it. If you must put a picture up, make sure to block out any account numbers that may appear on it. Some of these cards are like credit cards and someone could pull the number off the eBay listing and use the card before you can actually sell it.

Make sure to list and describe any expiration dates or fees. Many cards lose value over time, so it is important to tell that to the prospective buyer. Also, some states have laws where cards can’t decrease in value, so be sure to add what state the card is originating from.

If the card can be used multiple places, such as a group of restaurants, list them all out, or provide a URL to the site where the bidder can view them.

Offer free shipping! (and add it to the listing title). When I sell gift cards, I just throw it in an envelope (surrounded by paper for some privacy) and put a stamp on it and send it. Make sure the listing reflects the “USPS First Class Mail” shipping option. I always offer “Optional Shipping Insurance” for $3.00 on each listing. That way if it gets lost you can recover the lost value. I don’t get the insurance unless the winning bidder pays for it, you just have to go into the Post Office and fill out the paperwork for it.

Start out the initial bid at $.99. eBay charges a listing fee which is a % of the starting bid. And if you are sure that the price will be bid up, start that initial bid low and save money on that listing fee.

I always like to start my auctions at 8PM Central Time. This way the auction ending time will be 8PM Central Time. This allows more people to bid on it near the closing time since most people are home at that time. You can have eBay schedule the start time of your auction for you but it costs $.10 extra added to your listing fee.

 Finally just sit back and watch the bidding happen. This is a pretty good way to turn those cards into cash. Sure its not the full value, but you aren’t stuck wandering around a store looking for something to buy that you don’t really want either!!

If you want to see which items are out there for bid now, check out GiftCardTime.com