Gift cards may be the most wanted holiday gift for nine straight years, but that doesn’t make them foolproof. If you’re stuck with an unusable gift card—like one from McDonald’s but you’re on a diet—consider trading it in for cash.
There are two ways to sell your gift card. One is through a gift card reseller, like CardHub, Gift Card Granny, and Cardpool, among others, which buy the card at a discount. For instance, Cardpool will pay $90.50 for a $100 Walmart gift card.
Another way is to sell the gift card yourself and set the price on eBay or Raise, a marketplace for only gift cards. But you have to consider other costs such as fees, commissions or shipping costs.
Related: Are Gift Cards Safe? Security Protections Get a Boost This Year
For example, Raise charges a 15-percent commission on every transaction. That means if you sold that same $100 Walmart card for $95 on Raise, you would only pocket $80.75 after accounting for the commission.
Something else to consider is how you receive payment, such as checks, PayPal deposits, direct deposits or another gift card. Read the fine print. You might get a higher return value if you choose a gift card as payment rather than getting cash.
Each reseller and direct marketplace also have specific rules that may rule out where you can sell your gift card. For instance, most resellers only accept gift cards without expiration dates. If your card has one, eBay is your only option. But eBay doesn’t allow you to sell e-gift cards. You’ll have to go through a reseller. These pointers can help you find the best place to resell a certain card.
Related: The Most (and Least) Popular Gift Cards for 2015
Although selling a gift card is a smart way to get value out of an unwanted card, not all cards are created equal. The resell value of a gift card is typically based on how accessible the store is, the variety of merchandise the store offers and the number of gift cards the store has in stock.
CardHub compiled a list of the 50 most popular gift cards of 2015 and gave each card’s average resale value. You can use this as a guide if you plan to sell your gift card directly on eBay or Raise.
2015’s Most Popular Gift Cards with Their Resale Value
1. Shell – 99 percent
2. Walmart – 96.5 percent
3. Target – 96.5 percent
4. MasterCard – 95 percent
5. Home Depot – 95 percent
6. Costco – 95 percent
7. Apple Store – 95 percent
8. Babies R Us – 95 percent
9. Visa – 94 percent
10. Ikea – 94 percent
11. Toys R Us – 94 percent
12. McDonald’s – 93 percent
13. Best Buy – 93 percent
14. Macy’s – 92 percent
15. Starbucks – 92 percent
16. American Express – 92 percent
17. Amazon – 92 percent
18. Whole Foods – 91.5 percent
19. Nordstrom – 91 percent
20. Rei – 91 percent
21. Lowe’s – 90.5 percent
22. Netflix – 90 percent
23. Disney – 90 percent
24. Chick-Fil-A – 89 percent
25. Nike – 89 percent
26. Chipotle – 89 percent
27. eBay – 89 percent
28. GameStop – 88 percent
29. Cinemark – 88 percent
30. Old Navy – 88 percent
31. Pizza Hut – 88 percent
32. Texas Roadhouse – 88 percent
33. Taco Bell – 86 percent
34. Ticketmaster – 86 percent
35. JCPenney – 85.5 percent
36. T.J. Maxx – 85.5 percent
37. Sephora – 85 percent
38. Etsy – 85 percent
39. Sears – 85 percent
40. Subway – 83.5 percent
41. Victoria’s Secret – 83.5 percent
42. QVC – 83 percent
43. iTunes – 82 percent
44. Forever 21 – 82 percent
45. Red Lobster – 81 percent
46. Olive Garden – 81 percent
47. Dunkin Donuts – 81 percent
48. Fandango – 80 percent
49. Google Play – 79 percent
50. H&M – 74 percent
