I cannot understand giftcards/gift tokens, WHY DO THEY BUY THEM?

I did not read all of the comments as I get the gist.
I am a father and grand father and this year we did not use gift cards.
My family is 4000 miles away and the funds that I spent on postage alone could have doubled the value that a gift card would have given them as they can get the same stuff on the other side.
Unless something is hand made or unique the gift card is the best way to go.
I tried different this year and it cost about 200dollars in postal fees.
I f I had not done this, the family would have had extra money for their favorite stores who all have gift cards,
and my shipping costs would have been less than 2 bucks!

I agree with the OP and all you that like gift cards are part of the conspiracy to make a cash less society,

so please use cash.

Coins are the best next to gold and silver, you can bring gas, oil or tires to my store for trade, food is good also.

Down with the banks up with barter.

reply to post by ionsoul


Send them a check then

It works like cash.

people get gift cards/vouchers free from their employers usuallly. aslong as you live near a shop you can redeem them at you shouldnt complain. i suppose cash would be better, but you're getting something for nothing , so quit yer whinin'.

I work for a company that makes giftcards and yes this could be a little bias as I do wish giftcards continue to sell. I don't find anything wrong with giving someone a giftcard. Like someone pointed out, giving someone money is actually the worst gift because it tells them you don't know anything about them and you're also not very thoughtful.
Of course this thoughtfulness also depends on the giftcard you're giving to someone. If you're giving someone a giftcard to a store they hardly even shop at, then it's definitely a bad idea.
Gift card is just like any regular gift and perhaps even better sometimes. Would you rather get an mp3 player as a gift or a $100 gift card for Best Buy to go buy whatever you want? Sure it means "I dont know what to get you" but it also means "I know you're a tech person so you can go shop there and get whatever you like". It's the thought that counts.
Giftcards are only bad if it's useless to you and again it's probably because the person giving you that giftcard wasn't thoughtful of you and giving you a card to some random store you hardly shop at.
My lady likes fragrances and loves shopping at bath and body works. I gave her a $75 giftcard there to get whatever fragrances she likes and prefer. Should I have given her 75 dollars? Or perhaps get her a gift from there that she probably doesn't like? The prefer option here would of course be the giftcard. Hence why giftcards are popular.