The Social Value of the Gift Card

16. January 2010 by Raleigh Miller.

My friend Eric recently proposed an argument for the claim that gift cards ought to be illegal.  By “gift card” I mean any certificate purchased from a vendor for $N which may then be offered as tender for $N worth of merchandise from that very vendor.  The vendor could be a retail store (say, a $50 gift card at best buy) or a credit card company (say, a $50 Visa gift card).  The latter sort could be used at any store that accepts credit cards of the relevant sort.   I want to outline and consider the argument. Read the rest of this entry »

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