Before buying a Gift Card - Read first!

[Ryan]

Thanks to felix for the following info. If anybody has other suggestions, please post them here.

BEFORE PURCHASING A GIFT CARD

Most gift cards have a toll free number on the back so you can verify balance over the phone. And yes, it is 100% accurate and updated in "real time". Some you can check over the internet.

Some links for online balance check :

Petro Canada
http://retail.petro-canada.ca/en/cardservices/1767.aspx

Starbucks
https://www.starbucks.com/card/default.asp

Swiss Chalet
http://www.swisschalet.com/giftcertificates/index.html

Chapters
https://shop.chapters.indigo.ca/Acco...&Section=gifts


Most gift cards are for in-store use only, and not redeemable online. There are some exceptions though like Chapters and Swiss Chalet gift cards.

As for expiry, the card should mention the expiration on the back. Most have a minimum 1-2 year expiration. If there is no expiration you can assume there is no expiry on the card.

The gift cards that can be redeemed online require the long unique number on the back to be entered, as well usually the PIN number. If the PIN number seal is scratched off, it's possible for anyone to use it online if they copied the numbers before hand.

It's no different than using up the balance on the gift cards, then reselling it with zero balance on the card. It's always recommended to verify the balance of the gift cards being traded, especially those who have not built up references through a feedback rating system (eg. heatware, ebay) or did not acquire directly through the Memberworks programs in "sealed purolator envelopes". Even then nothing is completely foolproof.

UPDATE: Feb. 21 - A reader wrote in with another suggestion. Make sure you do your research and ask how the gift cards were obtained. There have been cases that have been brought to us where a stolen credit card was used to buy the gift card and when discovered the balances were cancelled with little or no recourse for the buyer. Always a good idea to do your homework and check references.

[Xiggy]

Sportchek
http://www.sportchek.ca/sportchek/do...port/giftCards

Click on the "View Your Gift Card Balance Here" graphic.

[TigerHawk]

LCBO / Vintages Gift Card Check:
http://www.lcbo.com/gifts/giftcards.shtml

[quanvon]

Most gift cards have a toll free number on the back so you can verify balance over the phone. And yes, it is 100% accurate and updated in "real time". Some you can check over the internet.

YES, thx for the info Felix!

And NO, it's NOT 100% accurate.

i almost had a heart attack when i tried verifying 5 PC cards I had traded for. I called in as I couldn't find the link to check balances online. When i called at night, ALL 5 cards indicated they had $0 balances. i managed to stay calm until the morning and spoke to a live agent. It must have been a glitch as he confirmed that all 5 cards had $25 balances on them! YEAH!

[felix]

Sorry, yeah actually it depends on the type of card .. for example I recall some Canadian Tire gift cards reported having zero balance over the phone, but was accurate in store according to our gift card thread (yes i realize Canadian Tire does not have the toll free number on the back). I need to revise that later on.

[chococrazy]

I see some people selling gift cards and offering to meet at the store. Do most people selling gift cards do this, or do they just supply the numbers of the cards (Chapters and Swiss Chalet excepted, of course!) What is everyone's experience with this?

[edmonton]

Moxie's: https://giftcard.eigendev.com/giftcards/index.php

[wwtsang]

i would also suggest for thread owners to change the title upon completion of sale, instead of just posting and asking for a lock, it's better for the mods to have time to quickly lock threads in hot deals instead of the BST Gift Card ones

[titleeboy]

Hi

Best Buy (US)

Future Shop

Check Gift Card balance at any Future Shop retail store in Canada
or
call 1-866-787-7995. Must have Card number available.
or
Receipt will show remaining balance on a purchase

Office Depot

Via Rail

Fruits & Passion
titleeboy

[dmxlite]

NOTE: titleeboy's link for best buy is for the US Best Buy!

If you try checking your Canadian BB cards, I don't know what will happens. I got this message:

We have locked the following Gift Card(s) because an invalid security code has been entered. Please check for accuracy before trying again.

I'll have to go in to a store tomorrow and check to make sure it's alright.

Update: It seems to be alright, cashier swiped it, and no warnings.

[titleeboy]

Hi

Updated link regarding Best Buy

titleeboy

[quanvon]

It's always recommended to verify the balance of the gift cards being traded, especially those who have not built up references through a feedback rating system (eg. heatware, ebay) or did not acquire directly through the Memberworks programs in "sealed purolator envelopes". Even then nothing is completely foolproof.

although even if you're provided w/ #'s the trader could easily send you diff #'s cards and/or spend it before sending it to you (and after you've verified). As well, people can easily make up heatware accts and post fake evaluations about themselves as well hard to verify if they have a diff heatware name than RFD # as they could easily just pic a name from the heatware database and "pretend" that was them. if you look at their heatware evaluations check out if they've had any trades w/ other RFDers that you may recognize, esp people who trade frequently like Yoshim, recordman & xiggy.

i've been a bit weary and have had to pray that the person i've traded w/ was trustworthy. what i've done in the past for larger $ trades is look up posts that the person has posted on RFD to see if they contribute much. I know it doesn't really mean anything, but if the person has nothing but useless posts, etc kinda tells me they're not a "dedicated" RFDer.

[Daveydave]

Just thought I would let people know to be careful purchasing gift cards, I bought a gift card, phoned and verified the balance, used it twice the same week I bought it, for very small purchases, then tried to use it later on in the week, and it was blocked by the store, had to go to customer service to find out why, and found out the gift card was purchased with a stolen credit card, I guess the person didn't realize it was on his/her credit card until he received his/her statement, and that is why their was some time delay. Be careful and only deal with very respected traders, I got scammed for my money, but even worse was the hassels I had to go through proving it wasn't me that was the scammer. BE CAREFUL !!!!!

Dave

[felix]

Just thought I would let people know to be careful purchasing gift cards, I bought a gift card, phoned and verified the balance, used it twice the same week I bought it, for very small purchases, then tried to use it later on in the week, and it was blocked by the store, had to go to customer service to find out why, and found out the gift card was purchased with a stolen credit card, I guess the person didn't realize it was on his/her credit card until he received his/her statement, and that is why their was some time delay. Be careful and only deal with very respected traders, I got scammed for my money, but even worse was the hassels I had to go through proving it wasn't me that was the scammer. BE CAREFUL !!!!!

Dave

Would you mind sharing who this seller is? A newbie with no feedback?

I'm surprised people still think it's safe to simply check the balance from a seller without checking references. When buying anything from a stranger you should either meet at the seller's home/workplace (especially if they don't have any references), or meet at a store to purchase your item. There's enough demand out there that if the buyer isn't willing to pick up, they don't get to buy from me. Simple

We see over and over again people getting scammed because they're not aware of what happens when gift cards are purchased with fraudulent funds. As in a recent case here : http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/s...d.php?t=312421

If the price is too good to be true it probably is.

[ubcturkey]

Best Buy Canada

1-866-787-7991