Have you heard of CardSwap.ca?

CardSwap offers Canadians a fast, easy and totally secure way to redeem unwanted gift cards for cash, buy gift cards at discount prices, and even donate gift cards to a charitable cause.

Consumer Reports magazine estimates one out of every four gift cards remains unused more than a year after it was received, and many are ultimately lost or discarded. On average, every Canadian household has over $300 in unused gift cards lying around gathering dust. All these wasted cards add up to a nationwide issue that’s bigger than you might think: $1 billion thrown away every year.

This company allows you to do three things:

Sell.

CardSwap is helping Canadians salvage those unused or partially used gift cards and turn them into cash—up to 90 per cent of the card value. That puts a few hundred million dollars back into the pockets of Canadian consumers!

Buy.

Even better, CardSwap puts these recycled gift cards back into circulation, making them available for consumers to buy on the website at savings of up to 40 per cent. Now savvy shoppers can buy discounted gift cards and enjoy even better deals on regular-priced and sale merchandise at their favourite stores.

Donate.

CardSwap is pleased to announce a wonderful new use for unwanted gift cards: donate them directly to your favourite charity. CardSwap has partnered with Canadian non-profit organizations including the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, Ontario Region and Covenant House Greater Toronto to allow consumers to donate gift cards and receive an official tax receipt for their donation.

How CardSwap works?

Selling a gift card

Enter the merchant name and gift card value on the CardSwap website to receive an instant cash offer for their card. The amount of the offer will be for up to 90 per cent of the card value, depending on the popularity of the merchant. If you don’t know how much money is left on the gift card, you can make a guess, and CardSwap will verify the amount with the merchant later. If you accept the offer, simply mail the card to CardSwap (using their prepaid shipping label) and within 48 hours of receiving it, CardSwap will
validate the card and send you a cheque.

Buying a gift card

Browse hundreds of popular Canadian merchants offering everything from shoes, apparel, travel and leisure, jewellery, restaurant meals, sporting goods, electronics and much more. When you find a merchant you want to shop with, you can purchase a gift card for up to 40 per cent off the dollar value of the card. You can also add favourite merchants to your Wishlist to receive an email notification when a gift card for this merchant becomes available. Your gift card is shipped to you free of charge, and usually arrives within a week.

Donating a gift card

CardSwap currently supports gift card donations to five major Canadian charities, and we are adding new charities to the list regularly. Gift-card owners can enter card details on our website, and we will verify the card value and donate the proceeds to the charity of your choice: the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, Ontario Region; Covenant House Toronto; Gilda’s Club Greater Toronto; The Redwood; or the Women’s College Hospital Foundation.

The Grocery Alerts Experience

We wanted to experience the website as a seller and we put up a Starbucks gift card valued at $25 and received an offer of $21.25 or (85% value of the card). We also tried to sell an Abercrombie and Fitch gift card for $100 and received an offer of $75 (75% value of the card). So the value fluctuates based on the popularity of the merchant.

We also wanted to try and purchase a card. Everyone needs gas (unless you only use a bike)! We looked for an Esso gift card and saw one at a discount of 2.5%. Now you may say that this is not a huge discount but at current gas prices ($1.30/litre) it is over 3 cents per litre. Every little bit adds up!

Now is the time for the big giveaway!

Thanks to CardSwap – one lucky Grocery Alerts reader will win a $200 gift card to their favorite grocery store. (If we won it would almost pay for our groceries for the month). Would you splurge and buy steak and seafood? Or some exotic fruit that is seasonal? It is up to the winner!


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