About us...
Thank you for visiting GiftCardTRACKER.com!
How we got our start...
The idea for this web-site developed in October 2004, when I attempted to use a gift card for a "big box" office supply retailer. I had been given the $50.00 gift card at least two years earlier, but not having an immediate need for anything at the time, put it away in a drawer at home for safekeeping. Whether it was forgetfulness, disorganization, oversight --- or a combination of all three --- I failed to use the card for at least two years. When I attempted to use the card towards a purchase that October day, I was advised upon check-out the card did not have any value remaining on it. "Please read the fine print" I was told: After 24 months of non-use, $2.00 per month retroactive to the purchase date will be deducted from the value of this card. When the "24 month dormancy clock" ticked away, $48.00 was immediately whacked off of the value.
I made (failed) attempts to get the policy reversed, speaking with both the store's management and the customer service department of the retailer's headquarters. Then the thought came to me: there were already e-mail reminder services for things like "when to get an oil change in your car," "when to get a haircut," "when to install a new air filter in your furnace," and "when to schedule a dental appointment." Why not one to prompt the owner of a gift card to use it before the gift card expires or loses value? GiftCardTRACKER.com --- at least as a thought --- was born.
Over the next couple of years I began to conduct considerable research in to the growing gift card industry. Much of what I have learned has been incorporated in the functions found on the site. Each of these functions is designed to allow you --- whether a gift card buyer or recipient --- to have a better experience.
Our goal...
Simply stated: Provide gift card buyers and users with relevant information and useful tools to allow for maximum value.
We plan to work towards this goal through the following functions:
MY GIFT CARDS...
Set up your own free, password-protected confidential account to allow you to register your gift cards, paper gift certificates, virtual/electronic gift certificates (and for that matter...any time-sensitive value offer...such as a coupon for "$50.00 off a set of tires expiring on XX-XX-07"). Select from the gift card/gift certificate products offered by over 1000 national or regional retailers, or add your own. Select any number of e-mail reminders, to yourself, to prompt you to use the gift card before it expires or begins to lose value. Input account numbers (we'll explain "why" later) for your gift cards and certificates. Note where you've stashed it (your desk drawer, a shoebox in the closet, in your car's glove compartment, etc.). Include any personal message as to why you've selected a particular e-mail reminder date (birthday gift for Mom, take advantage of the retailer's annual clearance sale, etc.). Update and track "remaining balance" of gift cards you own.
Use this tool to help organize and track the gift card assets you and your family own.
GIFT CARD GUARD LOSS & THEFT NOTIFICATION SERVICE...
You are away on vacation...1000 miles away from home. Your wallet or purse --- with 4 or 5 gift cards in it --- is lost or stolen. While most retailers will not replace a lost or stolen gift card, there are a growing handful of retailers (interested in providing the best customer service as possible) who will "freeze" the value of an account and issue a replacement gift card. The requirements for each of these vary, but at the least, they will require the gift card account number. (Which is why it is important to register your gift cards and account numbers in MY GIFT CARDS.) In a time like this, speed of notification is of the utmost importance, as retailers offering "freeze and replacement" will only issue a replacement card at the value in the account at the time they receive the notification of card loss. With our GIFT CARD GUARD, as soon as you can get to a computer, you can access your personal account and send an e-mail alert to our monitoring service, providing 24/7 coverage. We will contact the retailers for the gift cards you've identified, alerting them to "freeze" the value (for those that offer this service) so when you get a replacement, it's worth something.
THE GIFT CARD REPORT CARD...
We've made your gift card shopping a whole lot easier! All of the details you need to know --- whether as a gift card buyer --- or for your recipient. (Maybe even more details than you want to know...like "can you include a gift message," "are there multiple design options available to select from," or "can I have this gift card shipped to an APO/FPO military address.") You can select from over 75 product or service categories. Select from the type of gift product (gift card, paper gift certificate, virtual/electronic gift certificate, or all three) you are interested in. Click and compare the terms, conditions and shipping costs of this one vs. that one. Then, when you are ready to buy, we'll take you directly to the retailer's web-site where you can safely undertake the transaction or find out more information.
We even encourage and invite your assistance during the purchase process! If you encounter detail information different than what we have listed on the GIFT CARD REPORT CARD, you can submit it to us via our FIX IT form. We'll review your information, and if verifiable, will post it on the site and give you (through your User Name) the credit. Each month we will draw four submissions, to be rewarded with a $25.00 gift card of the User's choice. We thank everyone who helps to keep the information relevant for other site users.
THE RETAIL RADAR SCREEN
While not all that common, retailers do go out of business for one reason or another. In the last several years, chains or concepts operated by such well-respected retailers as The Gap, Inc., Williams-Sonoma Inc., and Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. have closed their doors. Since 2006, Tower Records has toppled and furniture retailer Storehouse is no more. By the end of 2007, Discovery Channel Stores (not the cable operations) will be out of business. In today's ultra-competitive business climate, a similar fate is bound to happen to more national and regional retailers.
Of greater likelihood, some retailers will be sold off or consumed by others, or will retreat from a particular geographical market. If you have a gift card issued from a retailer experiencing a difficult situation or about to leave a market, you might like to know about the change in advance so that you can still use your card. Register your gift cards in MY GIFT CARDS and you'll receive an e-mail alert when we learn of the adverse situation. (Alerts are provided for national or regional retailers listed in our MY GIFT CARDS & The GIFT CARD REPORT CARD data base.)
GiftCardTRACKER CARES...
There are billions of dollars of unused gift card and gift certificate value out there. Some of this value will expire or diminish due to account dormancy fees. Some will just sit in a drawer for months and years. Put this unused value to good use by connecting with one or more of the not for profit organizations we have partnered with, each of whom have identified particular types of gift cards they can make use of to further their goals and reduce their operational expenses. Check out our partners, and submit names of organizations you might like to see added.
MY GIFT CARD WISH LIST...
Allows site users to set up their own Gift Card Wish List, selecting the types of gift cards they would like to receive for a particular occasion or special event, and to send off their wish list to any number of e-mail recipients.
STATE LAWS...
A current listing of state and province laws pertaining to the use of gift cards and gift certificates. Set up your own account in MY GIFT CARDS and receive a notification should any of the laws change in the state of your residence.
BYTES FROM THE CARD SHARK
We'll dissect and disseminate news of the good, the bad and the unique in gift card offerings. Keep coming back for more "bytes."
How we are funded...
Your ability to use this web-site is completely free! There is never a charge to utilize any of the tools found on GiftCardTRACKER.com.
Our source of funding will be derived from a combination of the following:
All retailers found in our GIFT CARD REPORT CARD are included for free. We will offer each of these retailers, for a fee, the opportunity to purchase advertising packages allowing them to upgrade their messages to site visitors. They will never be sold your e-mail address or any of the information you have listed in your MY GIFT CARDS account. (Any communication you receive from a retailer will accompany an email message you have requested, and your e-mail address is "masked" to the retailer. The personal information you have stored relating to your gift cards, account numbers and location of gift cards is not accessible to anyone on our staff.)
Affiliate fees generated by any non-gift card purchases users may make from sites you have linked to.
How you can contact us...
Please visit our CONTACT US page for several reasons to get in touch by email. You can also send any correspondence, through the U.S. Postal Service, to:
GiftCardTRACKER.com
P.O. Box 15400
Chesapeake, VA 23328-5400
Thanks again for visiting GiftCardTRACKER.com
Ken Hawkins