Trading Cards

By Jean Chatzky

There are a lot of reasons merchants love the current gift-card boom, but topping the list is this powerful statistic from auditors Deloitte & Touche: 10% of gift-card value--an estimated $4 billion this holiday season alone--is not redeemed. Why? Some people just don't get around to it. But Cameron Johnson, CEO of a new website called certificateswap.com is betting that in many cases the reason is that the shoe--or, rather, the shop--doesn't fit the wearer. Loosely modeled on eBay, a number of websites, including certificateswap.com and swapagift.com have sprung up to capitalize on that fact. Gift-card holders can post their certificates at a small discount and sell them to the highest bidder. Consumers ship directly to each other. The newness of these sites may mean that it takes your certificate a while to trade or that you have little to choose from in return. One solution: Consider using eBay. A caveat: If a gift card or gift certificate has been personalized, check to see that it's transferable before you post it.

--By Jean Chatzky