(no subject)
I would like to share with my reading public the fact that I hate gift cards. When purchasing and gifting them, I feel as if I'm saying "I feel this overwhelming unwanted obligation to buy you something, but I don't know you well enough to discern precicely what manner of object you desire, so I'll leave those sorts details up to you. This is a non-cash amount that I feel fulfills my societal obligation based on the nature of our relationship and my economic status." For the most part, the beginning is true; I don't want to buy things for my parents, my sister, her boyfriend, my sister-in-law or my parents-in-law. I want to buy things for my wife and a few of my friends. Everyone in that first sentence is getting something, four of them are gift cards.
I also hate receiving gift cards. Part of the problem is that I don't want a lot of things that are a reasonable price range for someone to give to me. One could, theoretically, give me a gift card to help with the purchase of one of these outrageous items, but that amount wouldn't make up the difference between the cost of the item and the amount I'm willing and/or able to put into it (for instance, a $30 card doesn't help me buy a $900 projection TV thing.) The obvious solution is to just take the card into the store and find something the card doesn't quite cover and pay like $3 for a $30 + tax item. However, that means going into some place and shopping for something that I don't object to owning. Say that last verb-phrase out loud. Doesn't that sound stupid? So I'll head into the appropriate store, look around, see nothing that I can now afford that I actually want, and put the gift card in my wallet to be forgotten for nearly a year. Most of these gift cards expire after 12 months, or they start charging a fee for keeping the balance active at that point. Doesn't that make the whole endeavor feel like theft?
Every time, I've typed the word a "caurd."
I also hate receiving gift cards. Part of the problem is that I don't want a lot of things that are a reasonable price range for someone to give to me. One could, theoretically, give me a gift card to help with the purchase of one of these outrageous items, but that amount wouldn't make up the difference between the cost of the item and the amount I'm willing and/or able to put into it (for instance, a $30 card doesn't help me buy a $900 projection TV thing.) The obvious solution is to just take the card into the store and find something the card doesn't quite cover and pay like $3 for a $30 + tax item. However, that means going into some place and shopping for something that I don't object to owning. Say that last verb-phrase out loud. Doesn't that sound stupid? So I'll head into the appropriate store, look around, see nothing that I can now afford that I actually want, and put the gift card in my wallet to be forgotten for nearly a year. Most of these gift cards expire after 12 months, or they start charging a fee for keeping the balance active at that point. Doesn't that make the whole endeavor feel like theft?
Every time, I've typed the word a "caurd."