Are in-shop gift cards any safer to obtain than on the internet gift cards? Hmm. According to the latest Yahoo! poll “three out of four vacation shoppers will invest in gifts on the web, and most are most likely to acquire from smaller businesses. Shoppers expressed strong help for e-commerce with little businesses that offer you a safe payment program, easy client checkout and absolutely free shipping.”
According to Deloitte’s 2006 annual holiday survey (http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov) from the Office of Consumer protection in Maryland, 66% of shoppers will purchase present cards this holiday season. Wow! That is a substantial number and a thought comes to mind. The authenticity of gift cards purchased on the net and offline. Is it secure to buy from third party vendors? How considerably far more safe is a merchant gift card in-retailer on a rack with the card serial number exposed?
On-line Present Card Authenticity There are a number of gift card corporations on the internet and an array of new ones ringing up quite a few new goods and choices. If you want merchant cards, you can go directly to the merchant web page. If you want employed gift cards, third party vendors are great for discounts as nicely as selling and trading present cards. How do you know which vendors are reliable? It’s not simple, but performing some investigation aids. Just before you make a acquire, get confirmation from the gift card vendor that they confirm card authenticity. If the answer is no, move on. It is also just as effortless for a thief to post a present card with cash on it, wait for it to be verified, then spend it when it is on it’s way to the consumer. Even so, there are applied gift card vendors that will return your funds, really should such an unfortunate incident materialize.Www.plasticjungle.com is new to the online present card industry. They enable obtaining, selling and trading for totally free. The no cost is an incentive to build their member base. Giftcardmall claim that the authenticity of utilised present cards is verified ahead of they are placed on the web-site and they will take complete duty must you get an expired card or one particular with a zero balance.
In-Shop Present Card Security
With straightforward access to present cards displayed on shop racks, it is extremely easy for a thief to get a present card serial quantity for later use such as the case of the Ohio present card scam where cunning thieves were going into retail stores, obtaining gift card serial numbers calling to confirm card activation and purchasing gifts on somebody else’s dollar. Good.
Thanks to the above, retailers are changing the way they show present cards. If you are going to obtain a present card my guidance is to ask a shop manager what their policy is on stolen or lost gift cards and how they can ensure that you will not develop into a victim of present card fraud.