5 ms·

Agreed. I think gift cards are a really thoughtless gift.

irrational 6y ago
My Mom wants gift cards for gift occasions. But she also sends out gift cards for birthdays or whatever. She doesn’t understand why my siblings and I think this is so funny. She sends us a $25 gift card for our birthday and we send her a $25 gift card from the same place for her birthday.
- Trav5 6y ago
  My wife's family does the same thing, but with cash and checks and sometimes gift cards. Cracks me up.
  - jhbadger 6y ago
    For reasons I don't entirely understand, a large number of people think that giving a gift card is "more polite" than checks or cash. Even though you are literally giving just a worse version of cash that can only be used in one store.
    - lmm 6y ago
      Any gift is a worse version of cash that can only be used for one specific item, if you want to think of it that way.
      - tialaramex 6y ago
        Not everything is for sale. Things can be freely given that you wouldn't, and in some cases are not allowed to, sell. But even beyond that some gifts that could be bought are valuable to the recipient disproportionately to what it cost for the giver to purchase them, for a variety of reasons.
        lmm 6y ago
        > But even beyond that some gifts that could be bought are valuable to the recipient disproportionately to what it cost for the giver to purchase them, for a variety of reasons. My point is that those are the same reasons that recipients value gift cards more than the same cash amount (though to a lesser extent).
sumedh 6y ago
I think they are brilliant, it saves me the trouble of thinking what to get and you also avoid getting the same gift which the other person already has. With a gift card the recipient can get what they want.
- doingmyting 6y ago
  > It saves me the trouble of thinking So thoughtless?
- ElFitz 6y ago
  Yes. And the gifting party doesn't have to even bother pretending they care enough about said recipient to try and figure what that person would like / could like and don't know it yet. I don't see how any of that is brilliant. Might as well write a check. Or just don't bother with a gift at all. It's what I do with most people I don't care enough about.
  - sumedh 6y ago
    Clearly you are one of those people who takes gifting very seriously, some dont. Its brilliant because its the right product for people who want to give something but dont have time or dont feel comfortable asking probing questions about what the recipient likes. Giving cheque/cash feels tacky to me.
    - scpedicini 6y ago
      But giving a more restricted version of currency that can only be used at one place feels less tacky?
      - sumedh 6y ago
        Yes and there are gift cards which can be used at multiple stores
      - colanderman 6y ago
        Gift cards demonstrate a modicum of forethought/planning, albeit on the order of a Hallmark card. Cash says "this is what I found in my wallet on the drive here". Check falls somewhere in between, but with the added inconvenience of the recipient having to figure out how to deposit it. Gift cards have the added benefit to the gifter that, upon being spent, the giftee has a chance to associate them with the purchased good or service. Cash and check, being added to an amorphous fungible pool, confer no such benefit for the gifter. What I haven't figured out is where on these axes lies a printed-out QR code granting ownership of a Bitcoin wallet. Unfortunately Google tells me these actually exist: https://bitcoinpaperwallet.com/holiday-design/ https://bitcoinpaperwallet.com/holiday-design/

My Mom wants gift cards for gift occasions. But she also sends out gift cards for birthdays or whatever. She doesn’t understand why my siblings and I think this is so funny. She sends us a $25 gift card for our birthday and we send her a $25 gift card from the same place for her birthday.

Trav5 6y ago
My wife's family does the same thing, but with cash and checks and sometimes gift cards. Cracks me up.
- jhbadger 6y ago
  For reasons I don't entirely understand, a large number of people think that giving a gift card is "more polite" than checks or cash. Even though you are literally giving just a worse version of cash that can only be used in one store.
  - lmm 6y ago
    Any gift is a worse version of cash that can only be used for one specific item, if you want to think of it that way.
    - tialaramex 6y ago
      Not everything is for sale. Things can be freely given that you wouldn't, and in some cases are not allowed to, sell. But even beyond that some gifts that could be bought are valuable to the recipient disproportionately to what it cost for the giver to purchase them, for a variety of reasons.
      - lmm 6y ago
        > But even beyond that some gifts that could be bought are valuable to the recipient disproportionately to what it cost for the giver to purchase them, for a variety of reasons. My point is that those are the same reasons that recipients value gift cards more than the same cash amount (though to a lesser extent).

sumedh 6y ago

I think they are brilliant, it saves me the trouble of thinking what to get and you also avoid getting the same gift which the other person already has. With a gift card the recipient can get what they want.

doingmyting 6y ago
> It saves me the trouble of thinking So thoughtless?
ElFitz 6y ago
Yes. And the gifting party doesn't have to even bother pretending they care enough about said recipient to try and figure what that person would like / could like and don't know it yet. I don't see how any of that is brilliant. Might as well write a check. Or just don't bother with a gift at all. It's what I do with most people I don't care enough about.
- sumedh 6y ago
  Clearly you are one of those people who takes gifting very seriously, some dont. Its brilliant because its the right product for people who want to give something but dont have time or dont feel comfortable asking probing questions about what the recipient likes. Giving cheque/cash feels tacky to me.
  - scpedicini 6y ago
    But giving a more restricted version of currency that can only be used at one place feels less tacky?
    - sumedh 6y ago
      Yes and there are gift cards which can be used at multiple stores
    - colanderman 6y ago
      Gift cards demonstrate a modicum of forethought/planning, albeit on the order of a Hallmark card. Cash says "this is what I found in my wallet on the drive here". Check falls somewhere in between, but with the added inconvenience of the recipient having to figure out how to deposit it. Gift cards have the added benefit to the gifter that, upon being spent, the giftee has a chance to associate them with the purchased good or service. Cash and check, being added to an amorphous fungible pool, confer no such benefit for the gifter. What I haven't figured out is where on these axes lies a printed-out QR code granting ownership of a Bitcoin wallet. Unfortunately Google tells me these actually exist: https://bitcoinpaperwallet.com/holiday-design/ https://bitcoinpaperwallet.com/holiday-design/