by Tom Geoffroy

Created on: July 12, 2010

Gift cards have gone main stream and are considered good for all occasions. Colorful and trendy; gift cards are accepted in various and sundry places. They are easy to obtain and give as a gift. The person receiving them is delighted they can purchase what they really want. No longer do we have to worry about choosing the wrong gift. No longer do we have to pretend we like the sweater, tie, hat, yada, yada, yada. Gift cards are the answer and they are here to stay. The question is; where do we get them and get them for less? Here are a few suggestions to consider.

♦ Auction sites

eBay is always a good place to find items for less. Gift cards are no exception. Do a search on eBay and you will find gift cards for various amounts at places like Starbucks, iTunes, Best Buy, Chuck E. Cheese’s, Walgreens, Target, and many more. There are bargains every day on eBay. Other auction sites to search are BidFire.com, BidBlink.com, and PlasticJungle.com. to name a few.

♦ Big box stores

Visit the web sites of the large warehouse stores like Sam’s Club and Costco and you will find offers for gift cards for less. Home Depot, Lowes, Wal Mart, K Mart, and Target all have offers on gift cards for less than face value too. There are many more. Do a search and find the gold.

♦ Gas cards

Before you get in the car and burn your gas; check out the website of your favorite gasoline company and see if they have discounted gift cards. You will save gas and save money the next time you buy gas for your car. That is really a green solution.

♦ Special gift card sites

There are many websites dedicated to selling gift cards for less for hundreds of merchants. GiftCards.com is one of the oldest and trusted sites. You can get personalized gift cards with matching greeting cards there. Some other good deals are found at GiftCardMall.com, Giftcertificates.com, and SignatureCard.net. Shop these sites and save money while getting special gift cards for your friends and family.

♦ Restaurant gift cards

Everyone likes to eat and we all have our favorite restaurant. If you do a web search for your favorite restaurant you will find many opportunities to purchase discounted gift cards. This is a terrific way to eat out for half the price and stretch those dwindling dollars. Log onto Restaurant.com and see how you can get 80% discounts. You will also want to look at BuyWithMe.com, Gift.Restaurant.com, and Consumersavvytips.org. With your savings you can treat yourself to some just deserts.

♦ Conclusion

Without a doubt, gift cards are popular and are a good way to save money in a down economy. Use some of the suggested sites in this article and you too can save a fortune while gifting the ones you love.

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