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Gift cards can make great gifts but sometimes you end up with one you’ll never use. While one option is to regift and pass the problem along to someone else, another option is to sell them.
Keep in mind that while it would be great for someone to trade you a $50 gift card for $50 in cash, in most cases it just isn’t going to happen. Expect to lose some value in doing this. But if you ask me, having $40 cash is better than $50 to a store I never shop at.
Here are the top sites for exchanging gift cards. For this post, we’re using a $30 Kohl’s gift card as our example.
Cardpool
Sell your gift card for up to 92% of its value. You enter what gift card you have and it will instantly tell you how much it is valued at. If you select Amazon gift card over cash it will be valued at 6% more. You sell the gift card directly to Cardpool so there is no wait and you instantly get the money.
With this option, a $30 Kohl’s gift card can be exchanged for a $22.42 Amazon gift card or a $21.15 check.
Ebay
Ebay will require the most work on your end. You can create a free Ebay account and then you will list the gift card. Most gift cards will sell for $5-$10 less than the face value.
When you list your gift card, many users charge up to $2.99 for shipping. You can also offer free shipping to try to get rid of it more quickly, but I recommend sending it by registered mail to ensure someone doesn’t unjustly claim they did not receive it.
With this option, a $30 Kohl’s gift card would sell for around $27 shipped. This means you’d make around $25 after shipping charges.
Raise
You can sell unwanted gift cards in the Raise marketplace. You set the price and will get paid by Raise when the gift card sells.
Raise does deduct a 15% commission from the selling price. For physical gift cards, the greater of $1 of 1% of the value will be deducted, but eGift cards are delivered free of charge. Listings are approved within 24 hours.
With this option, a $30 Kohl’s gift card would be worth around $22.95.
Gift Card Granny
This site has an option to set your own price or sell your gift card instantly. If you want to set your price, you’ll use their site to list the gift card and get paid when it sells. It is free to list your gift card but SaveYa will take a 10% commission fee when it sells.
If you want to use the get paid instantly option you will exchange the gift card for money instantly via ACH, PayPal, or Check. The sell it instantly option is not available for all gift cards.
With this option, a $30 Kohl’s gift card would be worth around $24.03 but is not eligible for the sell instantly option.
CardKangaroo
Here you can get cash for your gift card by check or Paypal. The $30 Kohl’s gift card here is worth about $23.86.
Target Exchange
You can actually take gift cards from leading consumer brands into any participating Target and exchange them for Target gift cards! Each participating merchant charges a different percentage to complete the exchange, so you will only get a percentage of the remaining value of your gift card transferred to a Target gift card.
CardCash Exchange
Trade in your gift cards with CardCash for participating retailers and turn them into Amazon gift cards. The rate for exchange varies by merchant. You can enter the brand and value to get an instant quote and then decide if you’ll take it or not. One example, a $100 Best Buy card is currently worth $90.05 in Amazon credit.
