Their data gathering and thesis are flawed. Online selling price has little to do with value. If people were selling cash online they would not get 100% of the value.
Gift cards sold online could have been bought with stolen credit cards (seriously, watch out!). The person selling the cards will take well below the value because they didn't pay anything. The person buying the card is assuming a huge risk, the card may be with nothing.
The true value of a gift card lies in the eyes of the receiver. And like any gift you have to know the person you are giving it to. A $400 gift card for Agent Provocateur is worth a lot to a girl who loves lingerie and appreciates $200 bras, but it's not worth much to someone who only likes functional cotton underwear. I like computers, but a $400 gift card to the Apple Store would be useless to me because I don't want to spend the extra $800 it would take to get a computer. Even a $10 Starbucks card is worth nothing to someone who only drinks Diet Coke, but worth a full $10 to someone who drinks Starbucks every day.
Gift cards sold online could have been bought with stolen credit cards (seriously, watch out!). The person selling the cards will take well below the value because they didn't pay anything. The person buying the card is assuming a huge risk, the card may be with nothing.
The true value of a gift card lies in the eyes of the receiver. And like any gift you have to know the person you are giving it to. A $400 gift card for Agent Provocateur is worth a lot to a girl who loves lingerie and appreciates $200 bras, but it's not worth much to someone who only likes functional cotton underwear. I like computers, but a $400 gift card to the Apple Store would be useless to me because I don't want to spend the extra $800 it would take to get a computer. Even a $10 Starbucks card is worth nothing to someone who only drinks Diet Coke, but worth a full $10 to someone who drinks Starbucks every day.