Saw a Pop-up Store

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I don't see pop-up stores often because I don't go to malls that host them, nor to the true downtown area where they probably are more likely to occur. But I pass though an intersection with a cluster of pay-day loan shops, income tax shops that advance your refund, and companies that will insure your auto long enough for you to use it to take a driver's license test.

Well, last night there was a new shop wedged in there, It is set up to pay "CASH for Your Unwanted Gift Cards!"

Having bought off Plastic Jungle, Cardpool, and one other whose name escapes me, I'm aware that gift cards get re-sold a lot. Just had no idea the business could support a brick and mortar shop.

Have you seen any places like that?

[amastewa93]

I have never seen anything like that. Obviously, you've always been able to sell your gift cards for other items, services, etc, but I never knew that there was a big enough market for this for there to be a shop. That is pretty interesting!

[creditcardfree]

No I have not seen those pop up yet. So not just a kiosk in a mall, an entire retail store? Clearly, people aren't getting as good of a deal as they might online.

[phantom]

Chances are the person running that shop sells the cards to one (or several) of the online resellers. The online resellers like working with people who can collect a lot of inventory for them, and there are people out there who find some creative ways to collect cards. I've heard of people collecting cards from craigslist, putting ads in the paper looking for cards, and taking cards as part of another business (like check cashing or cash for gold). We're coming up on the busy season for the secondary gift card market, so if there's any time of year a store front would be worth the cost, this is it.

[disneysteve]

I've never seen one of those pop up stores either but I buy from the online places all the time. I always wonder how they get their inventory as they seem to have a nearly endless supply to resell. Just last week, I bought $1,200 worth of Regal Cinema cards for a charity event I'm involved with. And it isn't like I exhausted their supply. They still had plenty after I was done.

I do wonder if there is some criminal element to all of this. It's hard to steal gift cards from stores since the ones hanging on the racks aren't activated until you go to the register and pay. Maybe it's some type of inside job where an employee is activating them and then selling them.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

No I have not seen those pop up yet. So not just a kiosk in a mall, an entire retail store? Clearly, people aren't getting as good of a deal as they might online.

Yes, a small urban storefront sandwiched in among others. It probably has a 20-25 foot front with a huge display window, the sort of store that decades ago may have been a dress shop, haberdashery, or fish shop.

[bjl584]

I've never seen one of those pop up stores either but I buy from the online places all the time. I always wonder how they get their inventory as they seem to have a nearly endless supply to resell. Just last week, I bought $1,200 worth of Regal Cinema cards for a charity event I'm involved with. And it isn't like I exhausted their supply. They still had plenty after I was done.

I do wonder if there is some criminal element to all of this. It's hard to steal gift cards from stores since the ones hanging on the racks aren't activated until you go to the register and pay. Maybe it's some type of inside job where an employee is activating them and then selling them.

http://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/risk-based-security-for-executives/risk-management/gift-card-fraud-how-its-committed-and-why-its-so-lucrative/

This is an interesting read Steve.

[disneysteve]

http://www.tripwire.com/state-of-sec...-so-lucrative/

This is an interesting read Steve.

Thanks for the link. Very interesting article.

I especially liked this part: "People have been known to steal a stack of cards, bring them home, write down the numbers (or script it out using a mag stripe reader) and then sneak them back into the store and place them on the shelf.

From there, it’s a waiting game. Most merchants offer a way to check gift card balances online – the fraudsters will repeatedly check balances on the merchant’s website and wait until they are activated by a legitimate purchase."

Still, though, I doubt that explains the massive volume of cards available through cardpool, giftcards.com, giftcard bin, ebay, and others. I just looked on giftcardgranny and they have over 2,600 Target cards listed, 1,000 iTunes cards, and thousands more. Are there really that many people out there with that many unwanted gift cards?

[creditcardfree]

Still, though, I doubt that explains the massive volume of cards available through cardpool, giftcards.com, giftcard bin, ebay, and others. I just looked on giftcardgranny and they have over 2,600 Target cards listed, 1,000 iTunes cards, and thousands more. Are there really that many people out there with that many unwanted gift cards?

It's possible these discounted gift cards in bulk come from the stores themselves...just another way to market themselves and get people in the stores.

[disneysteve]

It's possible these discounted gift cards in bulk come from the stores themselves...just another way to market themselves and get people in the stores.

Maybe. That could explain some of it. Target already gives a 5% discount to customers who get the Red Card. Perhaps they also sell bulk cards at the same discount to the resellers.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Bringing up my own old thread here.

So, that supposed pop-up has remained open.

Now, though, a second such shop has opened within yards!

[DaveInPgh]

It's possible these discounted gift cards in bulk come from the stores themselves...just another way to market themselves and get people in the stores.

It wouldn't surprise me in the least if a large portion comes directly from the companies themselves. It is a great way to move product from their stores without publicly DISCOUNTING their brands.

Plus, if a customer buys a $50 gift card at a 10% discount and ends up spending over $50 in the store, the discount they realize decreases. If the stores are a major source of these cards, I am sure they are banking on the bulk of the customers to indeed purchase goods in excess of the gift card they purchased.

As for the OP, I have seen several of these stores. Most of which have been in lower income neighborhoods.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

That's interesting, DaveInPgh, because these two shops are on a busy street in an area that is economically really mixed. Very low income to upper middle class, though weighted toward the former, I'd say.