The first step to follow while checking a gift card balance is reading the back of the gift card. Usually the information necessary to check the gift cards balance will be located on the back of the gift card. After reading the instructions on the back of the card you will be asked to perform one of the following tasks:

Check Gift Card Balance By Phone – Some companies have a toll free number customers can call to check the balance of their gift cards. Most gift cards will list a number on the back of the card that you can call. Have your gift card available when you call. The operator may ask you to provide the gift cards serial number, pin number, or access number. In some cases you may have to scratch of a grey protective coating to be able to view a gift cards pin number. Some company’s numbers will direct you to an automated service where you can enter the gift cards serial numbers and it will provide the balance. This is one of the most common and easiest techniques for determining the balance of your gift card.

Check Gift Card Balance Online – Many retailers also offer the option of checking your gift card balance online. If this option is available a link will usually exist on the retailers website that will take you to the area of the website where you may check your gift cards balance. The website will have fields for filling in the serial number and/or pin number and access code. Enter the information the website requests and it will provide the cards balance for you. If you have multiple gift cards it is easiest to check their balance online. Many retailers’ websites will allow you to check multiple gift cards balances at once.

Check Gift Card Balance In Store – Every retailer offers the option of checking gift card balances in their stores. Unfortunately this is not very convenient for consumers and few stores still provide this as the only method for checking gift card balances. However, if you are in the neighborhood and wish to know your gift cards balance any retailer will provide a gift card balance check.

If you have had a gift card long enough where you do not remember the balance chances are the card is from a store you do not frequent. Luckily there is a way to get cash for your gift card. Now instead of sitting on gift cards for months at a time you can sell your gift cards online. The best site for selling gift cards online is Giftah. The website provides a fun and easy way to turn gift cards into cash.

There are a number of websites that allow you to swap your old electronics for a gift card. Since most old electronics end up sitting in a desk drawer somewhere or being thrown out trading electronics for gift cards is an excellent way to get some value out of your junk. You can trade in your old electronics and buy some new ones with the electronics gift cards you receive. The newer the electronics are the higher the value of the gift card will be, the value of your old electronics is also determined by the popularity of the device. The gift cards offered vary with each website, but we have listed some of the more popular sites for swapping electronics for gift cards below.

1) Next Worth: primarily deals with old iPods and iPhones but has recently branched out and begun collecting video games, consoles, cameras, laptops, Blckberry, and GPS. Next Worth offers Amazon gift cards, online or in store J&R gift cards and Target gift cards for your used electronics.

2) Gazelle: buys used cell phones, laptops, GPS devices, gaming consols, camcorders, satellite radios and video games. In return the company provides Amazon gift cards. They also recycle any electronics item even if it has no value.

3) RadioShack: accepts trade in electronics for certain mp3 players, game systems, cell phones, cameras, GPS units, car audio systems and laptops. In return for sending in your electronics you receive a Radio Shack gift card.

4) My Bone Yard: accepts mp3 players, cell phones, desktop pc’s, flat screen monitors and laptops. For exchanging your electronics you will receive a Visa gift card.
Since most used electronics end up in a landfill, these sites are great for recycling your electronics and receiving gift cards.

If you would rather get cash for your gift card there is another website that can facilitate that. You can always sell your gift card online. Just go to Giftah the online marketplace for gift cards and list your card in an auction or sell your gift card directly to Giftah. It’s a easy and fun way to convert your gift cards into cash.

Gift cards are an easy gift to give, and as long as the store is alright people love to receive them. Yet almost everyone who has ever received a gift card has let the card expire, lost it, or still have it sitting around the home somewhere. Why don’t people use their gift cards quickly, why do so many gift certificates expire without being used?

In a 2006 report consumer electronics retailer Best Buy revealed they had profits of $43 million from gift cards that went unused. The value of the entire unused gift card market in the United States is over $8 billion a year. Over 27% of consumers surveyed that year had cards they had held onto for over a year, they cited not having time to shop or not being able to find what they wanted as the reason for not using the gift cards.

The real reason can be found by scientifically examining human’s behavior, a study was conducted where two test groups received gift cards, one group’s gift cards had an expiry date of three weeks and the other groups gift certificates expired in three months. The group with the gift cards expiring in three weeks was five times more likely to use their cards. The expiry date on the card gave the group a sense of urgency, while the other group felt they had all the time in the world, they kept putting off using the card until it was expired. This is the reason many gift certificates do not carry expiry dates, people are less likely to ever use them.

So what can you do as a consumer? How can you fight your own behavior? Being aware of the condition is the first step to freeing yourself from it. Now that you know what happens to gift cards without expiry dates you can make more of an effort to use them quickly. If you get a card for a store you are not going to be shopping at soon it is much better to sell the gift card online then risking its loss or expiry. The best site for selling gift cards online is Giftah. Giftah offers an online marketplace that connects buyers and sellers of gift cards. If you want to sell your gift card online head over to Giftah and get cash for your unwanted gift cards.

If  you have an unused Future Shop gift cards lying around gathering dust its time to do something about it. The first thing you need to do is check the balance of the gift card. A Future Shop gift cards balance can be checked by using one of the following methods:

1) Check Future Shop Gift Card Balance By Phone, Call 1-866-787-7995

2) Check Future Shop Gift Card Balance By Online, Click Here.

3) Check Your Future Shop Gift Card Balance At Any Future Shop Customer Service Desk.

After you figure out if that old Future Shop gift card is worth anything you can use the card to score some new electronics or sell the gift card on Giftah. Giftah lets you get cash for your unwanted gift cards. Either way don’t risk losing your card or having it sit idle for too long.

Ikea Canada is having a promotion right now for customers looking to buy some new bedding. The Ikea Bedroom Event gives consumers 20% of their spending back on a Ikea gift card when they buy any Sultan mattresses or box-springs.  The promotion runs from May 11 – 31, 2009 which leaves a couple weeks to get in on this promo.

Many companies have been offering promotions involving gift cards this spring, Canadian Tire and Shoppers Drug Mart have similar gift card promotions happening now. However, Ikea gift cards are much more valuable then many of the other promotions. If you end up with a Ikea gift card you don’t plan on using sell the gift card on Giftah. Ikea gift cards are very popular and always command a high selling price.

Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) will join other Canadian provinces in regulating consumer gift cards from retail stores. The Attorney General Gerard Greenan says the government has received many gift card related complaints from the provinces consumers who had been surprised with short expiration dates, service fees or stores giving gift cards for returned merchandise instead of cash refunds. Greenan said the new legislation would ensure that consumers can make a purchase with a gift card without having to worry about it expiring or its balance being deducted. Currently Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador are the only provinces that do not legislate gift cards.

Giftah strongly supports any legislation to combat expiry dates or balance deductions on gift cards. No matter how much time has passed since a gift cards purchase there is no legitimate reason why it should expire or lose its balance. If retailers do not like keeping track of old card balances then we can all go back to paper gift certificates and cash refunds on merchandise returns. If your do get stuck with a gift card you don’t want or need you can sell your gift card on Giftah.

If you are in the market for some new patio furniture Canadian Tires new promotion is for you. The company is offering Canadian Tire gift cards to any customer purchasing patio furniture before May 22nd, 2009. The amount of the gift card varies depending on the cost of your patio furniture. Basically the more you spend the larger your gift card will be;

- Spend $299.99-399.99 and receive a $75 Canadian Tire Gift Card
- Spend $400-499.99 and receive a $100 Canadian Tire Gift Card
- Spend $500-699.99 and receive a $150 Canadian Tire Gift Card
- Spend $700-899.99 and receive a $200 Canadian Tire Gift Card
- Spend $900 and receive a $300 Canadian Tire Gift Card.

The Canadian Tire gift card promotion for patio furniture is an attractive incentive. Actually getting the card is a bit of a hassle, but definitely worth the time and effort. To receive the rebate you must buy the patio furniture before the expiry date and send in a mail in rebate [PDF] before June 22nd, 2009. Not as easy as the cashier handing you your card, but if you are looking for patio furniture you may was well get a big Canadian Tire gift card with it. Even if you do not usually shop at Canadian Tire you can always get cash for your gift card by selling it on Giftah.

Legislation sponsored by New Jersey Assmblywoman Connie Wagner aims to protect consumers in the state who purchase prepaid gift cards and prepaid bank cards. The law aims to regulate expiry dates and dormancy fees for gift cards in the state. The bill passed through the Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee 3 to 2 and will now be reviewed by the New Jersey Assembly Speaker who will decide if the bill makes it to the floor. If the bill is then passed it will;

- Prohibit the expiration of prepaid bank and gift cards within a 2 year period of their sale.

- Prohibit the charging of any dormancy fee within a 2 year period following the date of the sale by the original purchaser of the card. A 2 year period prohibiting any dormancy charges will also follow the most recent transaction on the card.

- Any dormancy fee will, where applicable will be limited to no more then $2 per month. The retailer will also need to provide appropriate disclosure of the cards expiration date and dormancy fees.

These proposed rules governing the sale of prepaid gift cards are an important step to protect consumer’s rights. Billions of dollars of gift cards expire or are lost every single year. Gift cards are very small and easy to lose, if you have a gift card you are not planning on using soon it is better to sell the gift card or trade it for a gift card you will use. The longer you hang onto gift cards the more likely it is you will lose it or the gift card will expire.