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Update: This post was selected as an Editor’s pick for the Carnival of Personal Finance #92. Welcome Carnival folks! Stick around, view the rest of the blog, leave a comment…

So it’s your birthday and your great Aunt Ester gave you such a kind gift: a gift card to your least favorite store. [Pottery Barn Kids] (enter your own store in) just isn’t your thing. You appreciate the thought, but…

Or, perhaps you’ve got a sudden financial crisis, change of heart, whatever it may be… you need the cash on that card and not whatever it can buy you. Why not try selling it online?

Examples of “Sell Your Gift Card” Services:
Certificate Swap

7.5% processing fee based on amount sold for

can’t list for more than the greater of 3% or $1.50 off value; example: $100 value, 3% off is $3 which is more than $1.50 off = can’t sell it for more than $97

Card Avenue

trades and auctions

trades: charge each 3.95% + $.50 closing

auctions: just charge seller 3.95% and $.50 closing

SwapAGift

just $3.99 for listing no matter what the price is (seller)

Plastic Jungle

no fees?

eBay.

depends on insertion fees and final value fee

Which service is best?

Let’s use the examples of a $25, $50, $100, and $500 gift card (hey, who knows, maybe your friends chipped in together to get you the $500). Let’s also assume you do not list for the maximum amount, as you are trying to get a faster sale. We’ll list at 25% off.

I also decided not to include PlasticJungle because it looks really new, almost like a template, and currently the site is not monetized… not sure how it would survive over a long period of time.

Here’s a chart for how it works out. All the math is below.

If we do a little bit more math, we can figure out where the point of switching from Card Avenue to SwapAGift is. (3.99 - 0.50)/.0395 = $88.35. If you believe your gift card is going to sell for more than $88.35, switch to SwapAGift.

Result: Card Avenue is your choice below $88.35, SwapAGift is if it is above $88.35.

The Catch: Card Avenue lists your card in an auction format. There is no guarantee your card will sell for more than $88.35, and you cannot set a reserve price. The chart and spreadsheet above are going off of the final sale price, assuming they are all the same. If you think your gift card might fall into the ‘grey area’ where it may or may not sell (if auctioned) above that amount, you might try listing it on SwapAGift at a guaranteed higher price (like $90). If it sells, you guarantee you are still getting the best deal, plus you got a small % more money for your card.

Also, there are other fees to consider such as PayPal, and the cost of sending the gift card to your buyer (envelope + 39 cent stamp). However, if you consider PayPal and these factors into every buy/sell situation, the results should be the same. (I haven’t done that math, however. Feel free to prove me wrong.)

A final factor to consider is the amount of traffic each site gets, or its popularity. It may be less expensive to list on one site, but you may get a faster sale from another.

Other Options: If you don’t want to risk your card not selling for what you’d like it to, or you don’t want to pay a fee you could try:

selling it to a friend/co-worker

putting it up on Craigslist

put it in your office poker/NCAA tourny bracket pot

etc.

The math follows.

$25
Certificate Swap: can’t list for more than $23.50 (3% = $24.45, so $1.50 off is less), but with our 25% discount you list and sell at $20. Fee would be: $1.50.
Card Avenue: if you just did an auction, fees would be: $0.50 + 0.79 = $1.29
SwapAGift: $3.99 flat fee.
eBay: $.60 to list, 5.25% of sale price: $1.65

$50
Certificate Swap: can’t list for more than $48.50. Sell at $37.50. Fee would be: $2.81
Card Avenue: if you just did an auction, fees would be: $0.50 + 1.48 = $1.98
SwapAGift: $3.99 flat fee.
eBay: $1.20 to list, 5.25% of sale price: $1.65 + (5.25% of first $25 = $1.31) + (3.25% of remaining = $0.41) = $3.37

$100
Certificate Swap: can’t list for more than $97.00, but with our 25% discount you list and sell at $75. Fee would be: $5.63
Card Avenue: if you just did an auction, fees would be: $0.50 + 2.96 = $2.46
SwapAGift: $3.99 flat fee.
eBay: $2.40 to list + (5.25% of first $25 = $1.31) + (3.25% of remaining = $1.63) = $5.34

$250
Certificate Swap: can’t list for more than $242.50, but with our 25% discount you list and sell at $187.50. Fee would be: $14.06.
Card Avenue: if you just did an auction, fees would be: $0.50 + 7.41 = $7.91
SwapAGift: $3.99 flat fee.
eBay: $2.40 to list + (5.25% of first $25 = $1.31) + (3.25% of remaining = $5.28) = $8.99

$500
Certificate Swap: can’t list for more than $485.00, but with our 25% discount you list and sell at $375. Fee would be: $28.13
Card Avenue: if you just did an auction, fees would be: $0.50 + 14.81 = $15.31
SwapAGift: $3.99 flat fee.
eBay: $3.60 to list + (5.25% of first $25 = $1.31) + (3.25% of remaining = $11.38) = $16.29