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I just don't get gift cards. Why would I give someone 20£ and then force them to spend them in a particular shop, rather than giving them cash or transferring m

I just don't get gift cards. Why would I give someone 20£ and then force them to spend them in a particular shop, rather than giving them cash or transferring money through the bank? It is a honest question, I've never given or received a gift card, I might just be missing something obvious.

benatkin 14y ago
I got a $50 Starbucks gift card from someone who works at Starbucks, thanking me for a favor. That's one reason I suppose.
EliRivers 14y ago
"Why would I give someone 20 and then force them to spend them in a particular shop" Why _wouldn't_ you do that, if the circumstances suggested it? It's a way of giving someone some freedom in choosing their gift, while restricting it to a range. Maybe I want to buy someone a really nice suit, but I know they'd never do it themselves; they just can't bring themselves to spend a lot of money on a nice suit - they permanently dress in cheap clothes from discount stores. If I give them cash, they feel guilty for spending it on a suit, and also guilty if they _don't_ do that, because they know I wanted them to spend it on a nice suit. Gift voucher ahoy. I'm sure you can imagine other circumstances. Others that leap to my mind are; forcing someone to buy books instead of blowing it on alcohol and skateboards; making it harder for someone to buy drugs with it (there are always ways to launder gift vouchers, but the discount can be huge); giving gift vouchers for some place they really love as a way of demonstrating that you've actually thought about it. When someone gives me cash, it suggests to me that they haven't put in any effort. I'd rather they got me something that cost a fiver but they actually know I like, than giving me a twenty. I already have some money and from the point where I started working full-time, unless someone is going to give me a life-changing amount of money, they might as well not bother. A well thought-out gift-voucher can be a half-way house. Furthermore, when you give someone money (unless you give a life-changing amount), it just goes into their pocket with the rest of their money. Some will go on an electricity bill, some will go on food, some will be train fare, it'll all just disappear in things they were going to do anyway. Unless they were living on the breadline, you've made no difference - there is nothing that they have, or did, that was because you gave them some money. You might as well have not bothered. Money - it's the gift people don't even notice.
- xd 14y ago
  "When someone gives me cash, it suggests to me that they haven't put in any effort." Why would you assume someone has to make more than the effort of working for a pay check, and then giving you some of that hard earned cash to do with as you please? But then you go on to say; "unless someone is going to give me a life-changing amount of money, they might as well not bother." .. what the hell, dude?
  - EliRivers 14y ago
    "Why would you assume someone has to make more than the effort of working for a pay check, and then giving you some of that hard earned cash to do with as you please?" Did they get up in the morning thinking "today I'm going to work hard so I can give that guy a nice present"? No. At some point they thought they'd better give me something, and reached for the easiest, most convenient thing they had. Some money. The bare minimum of thought went into it. Why do I want more than the bare minimum of thought? Because that's what friends do. More than the bare minimum. I spend hours and hours, sometimes spread over several weeks, thinking about and finding great gifts for people, because I genuinely like seeing my friends made happy by unexpectedly receiving something they'll really get a lot of pleasure out of. " "unless someone is going to give me a life-changing amount of money, they might as well not bother." .. what the hell, dude?" What? What's not to understand? Someone gives me a twenty. I already have a twenty. I have more than one. If there was something I wanted to buy with it, I already would have. Unless I'm living at the point where I am right on the breadline, one grocery bill from poverty, I won't even notice it (as above, it'll go into the pot marked "money" and just go on some bill or some tax or the rent or whatever). Sad but true; I have made enough to comfortably pay my bills with some left over. If they had stopped off somewhere and spent a five on something they really know I'd like, something that required them to think and spend some time, it would show real effort on my behalf. Sometimes the clichés are true; it's the thought that counts.
    - stephenr 14y ago
      So giving you $50 cash is lazy but buying you $50 of fucking juice is a well thought out present? Or giving you $50 to spend in a department store is better than $50 cash you can spend anywhere. It isn't more personal its just more restricted. Gift cards are like food stamps for middle class people. You may as well include a note saying "now don't you spend this on drugs".
fein 14y ago
I've always been a huge fan of the visa gift cards for exactly this reason. It satisfies a person's general aversion towards gifting cash in an envelope and still gets me a usable currency. Plus, my name isn't tied to it as well!
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]

benatkin 14y ago

I got a $50 Starbucks gift card from someone who works at Starbucks, thanking me for a favor. That's one reason I suppose.

EliRivers 14y ago

"Why would I give someone 20 and then force them to spend them in a particular shop" Why _wouldn't_ you do that, if the circumstances suggested it? It's a way of giving someone some freedom in choosing their gift, while restricting it to a range. Maybe I want to buy someone a really nice suit, but I know they'd never do it themselves; they just can't bring themselves to spend a lot of money on a nice suit - they permanently dress in cheap clothes from discount stores. If I give them cash, they feel guilty for spending it on a suit, and also guilty if they _don't_ do that, because they know I wanted them to spend it on a nice suit. Gift voucher ahoy. I'm sure you can imagine other circumstances. Others that leap to my mind are; forcing someone to buy books instead of blowing it on alcohol and skateboards; making it harder for someone to buy drugs with it (there are always ways to launder gift vouchers, but the discount can be huge); giving gift vouchers for some place they really love as a way of demonstrating that you've actually thought about it. When someone gives me cash, it suggests to me that they haven't put in any effort. I'd rather they got me something that cost a fiver but they actually know I like, than giving me a twenty. I already have some money and from the point where I started working full-time, unless someone is going to give me a life-changing amount of money, they might as well not bother. A well thought-out gift-voucher can be a half-way house. Furthermore, when you give someone money (unless you give a life-changing amount), it just goes into their pocket with the rest of their money. Some will go on an electricity bill, some will go on food, some will be train fare, it'll all just disappear in things they were going to do anyway. Unless they were living on the breadline, you've made no difference - there is nothing that they have, or did, that was because you gave them some money. You might as well have not bothered. Money - it's the gift people don't even notice.

xd 14y ago
"When someone gives me cash, it suggests to me that they haven't put in any effort." Why would you assume someone has to make more than the effort of working for a pay check, and then giving you some of that hard earned cash to do with as you please? But then you go on to say; "unless someone is going to give me a life-changing amount of money, they might as well not bother." .. what the hell, dude?
- EliRivers 14y ago
  "Why would you assume someone has to make more than the effort of working for a pay check, and then giving you some of that hard earned cash to do with as you please?" Did they get up in the morning thinking "today I'm going to work hard so I can give that guy a nice present"? No. At some point they thought they'd better give me something, and reached for the easiest, most convenient thing they had. Some money. The bare minimum of thought went into it. Why do I want more than the bare minimum of thought? Because that's what friends do. More than the bare minimum. I spend hours and hours, sometimes spread over several weeks, thinking about and finding great gifts for people, because I genuinely like seeing my friends made happy by unexpectedly receiving something they'll really get a lot of pleasure out of. " "unless someone is going to give me a life-changing amount of money, they might as well not bother." .. what the hell, dude?" What? What's not to understand? Someone gives me a twenty. I already have a twenty. I have more than one. If there was something I wanted to buy with it, I already would have. Unless I'm living at the point where I am right on the breadline, one grocery bill from poverty, I won't even notice it (as above, it'll go into the pot marked "money" and just go on some bill or some tax or the rent or whatever). Sad but true; I have made enough to comfortably pay my bills with some left over. If they had stopped off somewhere and spent a five on something they really know I'd like, something that required them to think and spend some time, it would show real effort on my behalf. Sometimes the clichés are true; it's the thought that counts.
  - stephenr 14y ago
    So giving you $50 cash is lazy but buying you $50 of fucking juice is a well thought out present? Or giving you $50 to spend in a department store is better than $50 cash you can spend anywhere. It isn't more personal its just more restricted. Gift cards are like food stamps for middle class people. You may as well include a note saying "now don't you spend this on drugs".

fein 14y ago

I've always been a huge fan of the visa gift cards for exactly this reason. It satisfies a person's general aversion towards gifting cash in an envelope and still gets me a usable currency. Plus, my name isn't tied to it as well!

deleted 14y ago
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