i am trying to meet spend reqs on some of the cards by buying discounted gift cards online but the sites like PLASTICJUNGLE.COM and CARDPOOL.COM has horrible reviews and lots of negative comments on their facebook.
any reputable and good discounted gift card sites?
starflyer
May 13, 12, 7:06 pm
I've sold through Plastic Jungle. They've always delivered, though sometimes I've had to follow up on transactions that have been pending for several days.
Max M
May 13, 12, 7:19 pm
I've dealt with numerous purchases from PlasticJungle and GiftCards.com
I prefer dealing with GiftCards.com---
In the past 3 years, I've probably purchased 40-50 gift cards through GiftCards.com, and of these purchases, I received 2 GiftCards that had issues from GiftCards.com and both times, a prompt refund was returned to my credit card. I've only made about 6 purchases from Plastic Jungle, but haven't had issue with their gift cards.
If you do ever purchase a giftcard second hand, be sure to check the balance immediately after purchase, and then check it once again before you plan to use your gift card.
One of two problem gift cards purchased from GiftCards.com showed a $50 balance after receiving it, and then checking the balance prior to using the card a week later showed a 0 balance. Apparently the card was completely drained depsite me keeping it in a secure location since checking the balance. GiftCards.com determined that the person that sold the card to GiftCards.com copied the gift card account number, got paid, by GiftCards.com, then drained the giftcard after I had received it. Nevertheless, GiftCards.com did a full refund on the drained gift card.
Unlike Plastic Jungle, GiftCards.com uses their own employees for their customer service center, and their customer service center is staffed 24/7. Also GiftCards.com seems to ship plastic gift cards much faster than Plastic Jungle.
jonny1
May 13, 12, 7:32 pm
I've dealt with numerous purchases from PlasticJungle and GiftCards.com
I prefer dealing with GiftCards.com---
In the past 3 years, I've probably purchased 40-50 gift cards through GiftCards.com, and of these purchases, I received 2 GiftCards that had issues from GiftCards.com and both times, a prompt refund was returned to my credit card. I've only made about 6 purchases from Plastic Jungle, but haven't had issue with their gift cards.
If you do ever purchase a giftcard second hand, be sure to check the balance immediately after purchase, and then check it once again before you plan to use your gift card.
One of two problem gift cards purchased from GiftCards.com showed a $50 balance after receiving it, and then checking the balance prior to using the card a week later showed a 0 balance. Apparently the card was completely drained depsite me keeping it in a secure location since checking the balance. GiftCards.com determined that the person that sold the card to GiftCards.com copied the gift card account number, got paid, by GiftCards.com, then drained the giftcard after I had received it. Nevertheless, GiftCards.com did a full refund on the drained gift card.
Unlike Plastic Jungle, GiftCards.com uses their own employees for their customer service center, and their customer service center is staffed 24/7. Also GiftCards.com seems to ship plastic gift cards much faster than Plastic Jungle.
thanks about the giftcards.com. its discount is not as good as PJ's or cardpool's but maybe it is not a rip off site like the other sites mentioned and have real customer phone support customer service?
Max M
May 13, 12, 7:47 pm
thanks about the giftcards.com. its discount is not as good as PJ's or cardpool's but maybe it is not a rip off site like the other sites mentioned and have real customer phone support customer service?
Plastic Jungle seems fine, but their customer service department is only open Monday-Friday if you need to talk to someone on the phone. Again, of the 6 gift cards I've purchased from PlasticJungle, all worked fine. However, expect it to take anywhere from 8-12 days from when you purchase a plastic gift card from them for it to arrive if you choose their free shiping USPS option. Otherwide, it took 2 days for one of their merchant e-giftcards to be ready for use. All giftcards I've purchased from PlasticJungle have worked fine.
GiftCards.com, OTOH, usually takes 1 week or less if you choose their free USPS option. If you purchase and e-giftcard from GiftCards.com, sometimes the giftcards can be ready immediately for use after purchase, otherwise, one time it took 24 hours for one of their merchant e-giftcards to be ready for use.
In summary, I've had no bad experiences, personally with Plastic Jungle, just prefer dealing with GiftCards.com
I have no experience with CardPool, so I can't comment on them.
jonny1
May 13, 12, 7:50 pm
Plastic Jungle seems fine, but their customer service department is only open Monday-Friday if you need to talk to someone on the phone. Again, of the 6 gift cards I've purchased from PlasticJungle, all worked fine. However, expect it to take anywhere from 8-12 days from when you purchase a plastic gift card from them for it to arrive if you choose their free shiping USPS option. Otherwide, it took 2 days for one of their merchant e-giftcards to be ready for use. All giftcards I've purchased from PlasticJungle have worked fine.
GiftCards.com, OTOH, usually takes 1 week or less if you choose their free USPS option. If you purchase and e-giftcard from GiftCards.com, sometimes the giftcards can be ready immediately for use after purchase, otherwise, one time it took 24 hours for one of their merchant e-giftcards to be ready for use.
In summary, I've had no bad experiences, personally with Plastic Jungle, just prefer dealing with GiftCards.com
I have no experience with CardPool, so I can't comment on them.
PJ has horrible reveiws all over and their facebook page is filled with comments such as $1.78 target gift card sold for $148 something to, payments never received to no email responses.
Vip4me
May 15, 12, 1:12 am
I just go directly to the vendor I am buying it from after I click on an ebates link.
kipper
May 15, 12, 5:50 am
I just go directly to the vendor I am buying it from after I click on an ebates link.
The OP is discussing buying discounted gift cards for retailers, not buying full-price gift cards directly from retailers.
If the OP wanted to maximize their return, they would purchase the discounted gift cards, then use those to pay for an order after shopping through ebates or a mileage/points earning portal.
jcmitchell21
May 15, 12, 7:06 am
I have made 2 different purchases through topcashback.com for cardpool, totaling about $800. Both went through fine and have had no problems with them. Hard card takes a week, e-card takes an hour or less.
wcj
May 15, 12, 7:20 am
I've made monthly purchases from card pool and PJs for several months. I average purchases of approximately $2k in different combinations from the two sources. Never any problems.
travelcoupons
May 15, 12, 8:29 am
I've made 2 purchases from cardpool as well.
Never any problems.
They do call & ask a bunch of verification questions to prevent fraud.
jcmitchell21
May 15, 12, 10:20 am
I've made 2 purchases from cardpool as well.
Never any problems.
They do call & ask a bunch of verification questions to prevent fraud.
I also got questions, but only on my hard card purchase.
jonny1
May 15, 12, 11:35 am
I also got questions, but only on my hard card purchase.
seems like many bad reviews on giftcard sites are caused by some evil minded people, they would first write down the gift card code, then sell them on PJ and other sites , once they are paid, they will than quickly redeem/use the gift card code to buy something, the result is the buyer paid for nothing .
a guy said he bought a target gift card on PJ and paid $146 something but when he was at target store to pay for his purchases, the balance showed only $1. 66.
jcmitchell21
May 15, 12, 11:44 am
seems like many bad reviews on giftcard sites are caused by some evil minded people, they would first write down the gift card code, then sell them on PJ and other sites , once they are paid, they will than quickly redeem/use the gift card code to buy something, the result is the buyer paid for nothing .
a guy said he bought a target gift card on PJ and paid $146 something but when he was at target store to pay for his purchases, the balance showed only $1 66.
How far can discounters take this for prosecution?
blackmamba
May 15, 12, 12:21 pm
plasticjungle is good. i've never had a problem with them after doing business several times.
crabbing
May 15, 12, 5:42 pm
When buying gift cards through 3d parties like plastic jungle and card pool, it is best to be on the lookout for odd card balances. The orig seller can keep track, and knows when their old $172.33 card has sold, at which point they go online and drain it after it gets shipped but before it reaches your mailbox (I have heard that PJ and others check the balance when they ship it). I personally buy only cards with balances that are multiples of $25.
If you really want to maximize your haul by using gift cards:
1. Buy Amex GC through bigcrumbs
2. Use Amex to buy GC from PJ et al through BC or TCB.
3. go through BC or other portal and use GC at end retailer.
jonny1
May 15, 12, 6:07 pm
When buying gift cards through 3d parties like plastic jungle and card pool, it is best to be on the lookout for odd card balances. The orig seller can keep track, and knows when their old $172.33 card has sold, at which point they go online and drain it after it gets shipped but before it reaches your mailbox (I have heard that PJ and others check the balance when they ship it). I personally buy only cards with balances that are multiples of $25.
If you really want to maximize your haul by using gift cards:
1. Buy Amex GC through bigcrumbs
2. Use Amex to buy GC from PJ et al through BC or TCB.
3. go through BC or other portal and use GC at end retailer.
seems like no guarantee that you get what you paid for on discount gift card sites but i think it all depends on whether the discounted site like PL or giftcards.com would promptly refund for the drained cards or not.
many are saying it is taking for ever to get response and refund from PJ
fragment54
May 16, 12, 9:26 am
I haven't had any problems yet, but I can believe it is fairly common. I'd be interested in knowing how the sites handle scammed buyers as well.
FOX85
May 16, 12, 9:46 am
For me a refund took about a week.
They do get back to you though.
I like plastic jungle a lot. Several thousands of dollars worth of purchases and only had trouble with one $50 gift card.
The worst experience I have had is gift cards through ebay. NEVER USE EBAY.
seems like no guarantee that you get what you paid for on discount gift card sites but i think it all depends on whether the discounted site like PL or giftcards.com would promptly refund for the drained cards or not.
many are saying it is taking for ever to get response and refund from PJ