A hypothetical: Marlene, bless her heart, bought Gene, her husband of 34 years, a gift card to the big electronics box store that Gene always got so glassy-eyed when they walked past. Marlene wanted to surprise him with something that she knew he'd love, and she certainly would have no hope of getting that for him on her own.
So for his birthday, Gene got just what he wanted: a $200 gift card to Circuit City. The card would not expire for 2 years so he had plenty of time to search for the perfect item to buy with it -- even waiting for the Black Friday sales next Christmas. But then a real black friday hit and Circuit City went bankrupt. And Frank's $200 gift card wasn't worth the plastic it was made of.
In this down and downer economy, we must take a very real look at companies before buying gift cards to them. Many of the small stores and even some large retailers are doing everything they can to fend off bankruptcy, hoping the economy will rebound sooner rather than later. Circuit City, Sharper Image, Levitz, Linens ‘n Things, and many more are gone now.
So, when buying gift cards, remember the advice of the old knight who told Indian Jones just before Indy picked the holy grail that would either save his dad's life or age him at super-sonic speed: choose wisely.
Added on 01/21/2009
posted by Mike on 01.22.09 at 12:38 |
Agree!!! |
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