Gift vouchers, why?

jonbeeza

jonbeeza

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At the minute the family are discussing presents, and as usual It ends being gift vouchers as the choice. I never give, gift vouchers. I would not want to hinder their choice, plus the possibility of the vouchers becoming defunct. We have had that happen to us a few times, when shops closed down, or something went wrong with the voucher. There may be times, when the shop the voucher is for, does not have an item of interest.

I thought this had been discussed on here before, but I could not find the thread. I bet someone comes along, and finds it. :)

PS

Anyone who knows me, I don't want a gift voucher. Cash please, as I might want to put it towards camera gear, a pair of shoes. Or summit else I fancy on the day.

PPS

Just a fun post, not to be taken too seriously. ;)
 
I buy gift vouchers for myself if I want to buy something from iTunes or Argos because I get a discount off of them through work.
 
Ricardodaforce said:
I buy gift vouchers for myself if I want to buy something from iTunes or Argos because I get a discount off of them through work.
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Same. I get discount and/or reward points via corporate perks scheme.

Otherwise people normally get amazon vouchers, there isn't much you can't get there. Albeit sometimes at inflated prices.
 
My parents generally get me amazon vouchers I'm ok with that as there just honest don't know what to buy me.
 
I bought something once with a gift voucher, at less value then the voucher. The shop refused to give me change, giving me a credit note instead. I can't remember what shop it was now, but a bit of a faff it was. I know shops have to draw the line somewhere. Otherwise, we could spend a £100 voucher on a £5 item, then get £95 back in cash.
 
My daughters give me vouchers for my favourite online butcher - and they last for 18 months so I hang on to them until they have a sale and then stock my freezer with things I would not normally dream of buying [ e.g. fillet steak :D ]

Those vouchers are, for me, more than worth their weight in gold :D
 
nobody buys me anything , is it cuz i's a t*** :exit::exit::exit:
 
Missus just been given a £50 gift voucher. Hope she out quick to spend it, just in case the shop closes down. :eek:
 
If we give vouchers rather than specific gifts, they're universal ones, as supplied by the BoE.
 
Nod said:
If we give vouchers rather than specific gifts, they're universal ones, as supplied by the BoE.
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Universal gift vouchers are a better idea, but we always seem to get shop specific vouchers given to us. We always give cash, as we want friends and family to be free to spent anywhere, and on anything they want. :)
 
jonbeeza said:
At the minute the family are discussing presents, and as usual It ends being gift vouchers as the choice. I never give, gift vouchers. I would not want to hinder their choice, plus the possibility of the vouchers becoming defunct. We have had that happen to us a few times, when shops closed down, or something went wrong with the voucher. There may be times, when the shop the voucher is for, does not have an item of interest.
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Well, you would not really fully hinder their choice, more like partial hinder their choice. True, if a HMV gift voucher was given, you are limited to buying whatever HMV sells. If WH Smith gift voucher was given, you're limited to whatever WH Smith sells. So yes, technically you are right, you hinder their choice. But on the other hand, if you give an Argos gift voucher, you do not really hinder their choice, because they have a whole catalogue to pick from, compared to having their choice hindered by what you pick. For some, it is better than being given what they don't want.

For example: "Here's a present from me to you." The person opens the present and finds a jumper. The person have to put on a fake smile so not to hurt your feelings, but is thinking Oh great! A ruddy jumper! The person may feel you hinder their choice, because their choice is limited to a jumper.

I would not think of gift cards being totally hindering my choice. It would feel like a trade-off. Okay so I am limited to M&S, but at latest M&S do sell food as well as clothes. Okay so I am limited to HMV, but they do sell headphones, not just only CDs and DVDs. Okay so I am limited to Argos, but hey, they have a whole catalogue so I have a better choice. Better than given a reindeer jumper and I feel like wanting to say "Have you ever seen me wear a jumper at all? I've always worn a sweater but never a jumper!"

As for vouchers becoming defunct, they do have to be used within a timeframe, usually 1 year. But if you still have not yet made up your mind what to buy, you could just add extra funds on it to keep it active. For example: If I was given a M&S voucher worth £30 for Xmas but find nothing useful. I could wait 6 months later and try to see what they've got for summer. If still nothing useful, I could decided to add my own £20 on top of the card (bringing a total of £50), but when I made a top up, the active timeframe kind of renew, so card have to be used within a year from the time I top up. It is possible to keep a card active just by adding a bit of more on it. This also helps keep it active until when the shop have an item of interest.

As for shops closing down. True, it do happen, but you could always stick to well know companies that you know are strong enough to stay in business. For example, go for M&S, Argos, etc., But don't risk buying from shops that had sometimes been on the news about being in the red. BHS, House of Fraser.
 
Or Jessops a few years back...
 
Major Eazy said:
Well, you would not really fully hinder their choice, more like partial hinder their choice. True, if a HMV gift voucher was given, you are limited to buying whatever HMV sells. If WH Smith gift voucher was given, you're limited to whatever WH Smith sells. So yes, technically you are right, you hinder their choice. But on the other hand, if you give an Argos gift voucher, you do not really hinder their choice, because they have a whole catalogue to pick from, compared to having their choice hindered by what you pick. For some, it is better than being given what they don't want.

For example: "Here's a present from me to you." The person opens the present and finds a jumper. The person have to put on a fake smile so not to hurt your feelings, but is thinking Oh great! A ruddy jumper! The person may feel you hinder their choice, because their choice is limited to a jumper.

I would not think of gift cards being totally hindering my choice. It would feel like a trade-off. Okay so I am limited to M&S, but at latest M&S do sell food as well as clothes. Okay so I am limited to HMV, but they do sell headphones, not just only CDs and DVDs. Okay so I am limited to Argos, but hey, they have a whole catalogue so I have a better choice. Better than given a reindeer jumper and I feel like wanting to say "Have you ever seen me wear a jumper at all? I've always worn a sweater but never a jumper!"

As for vouchers becoming defunct, they do have to be used within a timeframe, usually 1 year. But if you still have not yet made up your mind what to buy, you could just add extra funds on it to keep it active. For example: If I was given a M&S voucher worth £30 for Xmas but find nothing useful. I could wait 6 months later and try to see what they've got for summer. If still nothing useful, I could decided to add my own £20 on top of the card (bringing a total of £50), but when I made a top up, the active timeframe kind of renew, so card have to be used within a year from the time I top up. It is possible to keep a card active just by adding a bit of more on it. This also helps keep it active until when the shop have an item of interest.

As for shops closing down. True, it do happen, but you could always stick to well know companies that you know are strong enough to stay in business. For example, go for M&S, Argos, etc., But don't risk buying from shops that had sometimes been on the news about being in the red. BHS, House of Fraser.
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I do understand what you are saying, but buying with a gift voucher, does also make me feel like I am purchasing with freebie coupons. Or at least, it gives me that feeling inside the store. But anyway, that is just my feelings. :)
 
jonbeeza said:
I do understand what you are saying, but buying with a gift voucher, does also make me feel like I am purchasing with freebie coupons. Or at least, it gives me that feeling inside the store. But anyway, that is just my feelings. :)
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I respect how you feel.

By the way, if you find a gift voucher in a shop feel like a freebie coupon, well, you do not have to go for the shop's own gift card. You know, you could go and get a VISA or MasterCard gift voucher, put on how much you want to put on, and give as a gift.

It is not like you are opening a bank account for them. They would get a VISA or MasterCard gift voucher pre-paid, and they can use it like they would if they were using a real debit card, until the funds ran out in a similar way to a gift card.

I believe they could be used in any shops and they can also be used online.

Who knows, you could fool yourself into thinking you have open a bank account for them, rather than see it as buying a freebie coupon, so you would not feel like that? :-)
 
Major Eazy said:
I respect how you feel.

By the way, if you find a gift voucher in a shop feel like a freebie coupon, well, you do not have to go for the shop's own gift card. You know, you could go and get a VISA or MasterCard gift voucher, put on how much you want to put on, and give as a gift.

It is not like you are opening a bank account for them. They would get a VISA or MasterCard gift voucher pre-paid, and they can use it like they would if they were using a real debit card, until the funds ran out in a similar way to a gift card.

I believe they could be used in any shops and they can also be used online.

Who knows, you could fool yourself into thinking you have open a bank account for them, rather than see it as buying a freebie coupon, so you would not feel like that? :)
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I do like the sound of that, so much so, I am going to look it up.
Thanks for that tip. :)(y)
 
Missus has received a gift card off the family. Just reading some of the Terms and Conditions. There is a list of things that can't be bought with the card.

Just a couple of things I noticed, that can't be bought with the card.

  • Made to measure shirts.
  • Lunch to go
  • M&S Energy.
I wonder why?

The missus may have wanted to treat herself, and buy a made to measure shirt. She may have wanted some lunch to go, as she is always on the go. She may have needed some M&S energy. :(
 
Vouchers are great way for companies to expand their sales, also typically forcing users to spend above a certain amount that maybe they wouldn't go over.

From a consumer perspective it is probably the very worst thing you can do unless they are discounted enough (doesn't happen very often).

The society is far too consumerist. Their god is shopping, spending and throwing it all away. Rinse and repeat.
 
LongLensPhotography said:
The society is far too consumerist. Their god is shopping, spending and throwing it all away. Rinse and repeat.
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Which, even though it looks bad is still superior to a God that encourages his followers to look down on others and judge them.
 
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