Thursday, June 9, 2011

Gifts for Dads & Grads - PlasticJungle.Com

June already?!

How is it possible that it is already June?  You do know what it means when June arrives, right?  Father's Day is just around the corner, and the graduation parties have already started.   The problem with all of these celebrations is that they require gifts.  It isn't that I don't like getting gifts for people.  I do.  I enjoy finding the perfect gift for the perfect someone to make them smile.  Unfortunately, when it comes to grads and dads, that can be hard to do.   You never know what a new graduate needs, and dads (or at least the ones I buy for) already have everything.  So, what do you buy the guy that has everything? . . . A GIFT CARD!

I don't know about you, but I just LOVE getting gift cards.  They are like getting money, but better.  When I get cash, I'm likely to spend it on bills or nickle and dime it away on Doc and the kids until it is gone and I don't have anything to show for it.  With gift cards, I'm obligated to buy something tangible (hopefully for myself).  It will be something that I want, need or will enjoy.  Also, anyone that knows me knows that I'm am a smart shopper.  In fact, I have also been called cheap, frugal, stingy, savvy, economical, thrifty, tight, scrimping, and even penny-pinching.   I happily accept those names, because my frugality means that a $50 gift card can get me $100-$200 worth of products.

One pitfall of my cheapness is that it is hard for me to pay full retail for a gift card.  I don't pay full retail for ANYTHING.  Unfortunately, it is rare that you see a gift card go on sale.  That is why I just LOVE plasticjungle.com.  You can buy discounted gift cards up to 35% off with FREE shipping.  While most of the gift cards aren't sold at 35% off, they are all sold for a discount.  For example, you can get a $25 itunes gift card for $23.25, a 7% savings.    It looks like I might be able to cross Doc off my list now.  He is always looking for new songs to buy from itunes.   Perhaps my father in law would like a gift card from Sports Authority.  With cards being sold at 13% off, I'm sure he can find some great boating and fishing equipment.  My dad's favorite place to shop is Sears.  He loves the tools, and likes that he can pick up a new pair of shoes while he's there too.  Unfortunately, right now they are sold out of Sears gift cards, but you can set up an alert to let you know when more are in stock.  What a great feature for buying gift cards to some of your favorite places that you shop all the time!

Another great feature of plasticjungle.com is that you can sell your unwanted gift cards there too.  So, if you receive a gift card that you can't use, you can sell it to plasticjungle.com for up to 92% of the balance.   Hmmmm...I do have some Bath & Body Works gift cards that I haven't found a use for yet.  :o)

*Disclaimer - I received a gift card in exchange for my honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.