$10 to mail a gift certificate
 

For several years I have given my brother a gift certificate for a nice restaurant at Christmas. People here have helped me select places in the past.

This year I decided to use a Punta Gorda, Florida restaurant that I had used a couple of years ago. I was stunned when they demanded and additional $10 to mail a $100 gift certificate.

If I wasn't close to the wire time wise, I wouldn't have done it, and I don't intent to return to the restaurant myself, in the future.

Is this something becoming common?

Keith

That's outrageous in my book, unless you requested overnight UPS delivery or something like that.
But I'm also curious. Is there a restaurant in Punta Gorda worth that?

Christmas Eve is 3 business days away. Even USPS Priority Mail shipping, which is not guaranteed, costs almost $5.

Because gift cards work the same as cash, I wouldn't be surprised if the restaurant wants to send it by a trackable, insured shipper. And because of the time crunch, UPS would be the only guaranteed solution. That runs about $7-8 for an envelope sent via UPS Ground, and I think it's perfectly reasonable for the to tack on that last $2 for handling (since it's doubtful they have a UPS pickup on site).

USPS Express will cost the same or more. USPS Priority could be shipped and insured for around $5-6, but they wouldn't guarantee holiday arrival.

The Perfect Caper, Patrick. You would know better than I, if it is worth that.

I made no rush requests and it sounded like that was the standard charge. I will be very surprised if it doesn't go regular mail.

Keith

Oh, and the certifcate is being mailed to Englewood. No reason for a special rush, even if they wait until Monday to mail it.

Keith

Wow. Looked at their website and it's pretty impressive, especially for Punta Gorda where I didn't know about anything beyond the Fisherman's Village caliber. The $48 rack of lamb sure sounds good.

But charging $10 to put your gift certificate in an envelope and mail with a 42 cent stamp locally really seems like a rip off to me!

Here's an idea...

Send a check for $100 to your brother and specify that it be used for that restaurant.

Better yet, make the check for $110 minus the 42 cents for a stamp.

This last August, my wife and I were in Denver and celebrated our anniversary at a very nice restaurant. When we asked for the check, the waiter told us that a major part of the bill had already been paid by our daughter and son per a prior phone conversation one of them had with the restaurant. I guess they gave credit card numbers for the amount of the gift.

Not to get into an "I can top this" conversation....but I was going to buy DS's SO a gift card for her local upscale shopping mall. They wanted a 10% fee, so as I was going to buy a $200 gift card, they were going to charge $220 *and* they do that even if you buy it in person!!

Someone has figured out that there is a way to milk gift card purchasers as your and my experience show. I was lucky, I shopped early and decided to pass on their gouging and bought elsewhere. You were close to the wire as you say, something they are counting on. :(

.... and we're all being warned to be very careful this year giving gift card.

Many stores/establishments are selling gift cards assuming they won't be around in a few months.

<i>Many stores/establishments are selling gift cards assuming they won't be around in a few months.

And even if they aren't <i>assuming</i>they won't be around, they won't be...not a good year for gift cards, IMHO.</i>

I also would not buy a gift card right now unless it was somehow discounted like a $50 gift card for $40.

If it is $50 for a $50 gift card, I'll just give cash with a recommendation that they use it in a particular store. But it would also be OK if they spend it elsewhere.

A lot of our local restaurants are offering a $20 or $25 gift cert with every $100 worth of GCs you purchase.

<i>A lot of our local restaurants are offering a $20 or $25 gift cert with every $100 worth of GCs you purchase.</i>

So instead of just having a worthless $100 gift card, you'll have $125 worth of worthless cards :-) (let's hope not, but in any event, spend 'em quickly).

Even with businesses not closing up, gift cards have always been known to be a big boon to business for merchants. A fair number of them get lost or forgotten and never used -- a huge source of &quot;found cash&quot; for the business. And many others will use something like 75 or 80% of the value, get a credit for the rest and then never use that either. Still others will spend the full amount, but it will be a lot more than they'd normally spend if they went there on their own (which they probably wouldn't have done without the gift card to begin with!)

The idea that a business would charge EXTRA to buy one of their own giftcards is really mind boggling.

I refuse to buy gift cetificates/cards. My grandsons are at the age (young male adults) that rather then trying to figure out what to buy for them and knowing that in the past they have not used GC given to them by other family members for one reason or another I give them cash. I always wrap it in some type of box or container so it is not obvious that I am giving them cash although I am sure they figure that is what they are receiving.

And I have known people that have received GC's for restaurants, manicures,spas etc. and within one month when they went to use the GC the business was out of business.

Charging you $10.00 to mail a GC to your brother is a ripoff imo Keith.

There is a cost to the business in processing and mailing gift cards, beyond the isolated out of pocket expense of mailing/shipping. There is an element of labor time embodied in each act of processing and mailing the cards. I doubt many businesses have unpaid volunteers who perform that function. And, most smaller retailers would not sell a volume large enough to automate the process (which would, in turn, embody an added cost for the machine(s))

If the service charge is too steep for your taste, why not forgo the service and the smears?

For the record, I detest the use of gift cards. They do carry the risk of loss, the establishment failing and non-use. I only purchase if discounted, or if widely accepted, such as an American Express gift card (if sold at par).

Merry Christmas.

We received quite a few gift cards this year including JCPenney, Macys, Target, &amp; Barnes &amp; Noble.

We made sure we spent them right away, as who knows if several of those chains will be in business, or at least keep their local stores open come the new year (esp worried about the 1st two).

We were quite disappointed to find out that the Macy's GC isn't the same as cash - you can't use it with certain sale merchandise, and there are other restrictions. A load of BS in my mind. B&amp;N we will continue to use &amp; buy as gifts for nephews/neices &amp; school friends, but definitely staying away from others that may disappear.

I didn't jump in to smear them, hmmm. Didn't even mention their name until someone asked. And even he didn't ask from the standpoint of saying not to go there. but to know if there was a place in that price range in Punta Gorda.

Keith