By Holly Burns
Staff Writer

For hundreds of parents, friends and co-workers who weren’t sure what to buy that difficult person on their list this holiday season, a gift card proved the ultimate solution.

Gift cards were estimated to account for about $40 billion in consumer spending nationwide last year, up nearly one third since 2002, according to accounting firm Ernst & Young.

“We’re very surprised and pleased with the number of gift certificate sales in December and 2003 as a whole,” says Kent Wagner, operating partner for Millennium Music, which has locations downtown and in Mount Pleasant Towne Centre. “The increase comes after a relatively sharp decline—we had a 15% drop during 2001 to 2002—which makes it that much more encouraging. A significant increase in gift certificate sales is usually a good indicator that things will be strong in all areas.”

The Mount Pleasant Target, which opened in March 2003, also saw very strong gift card sales throughout the year, says Jim Mader, the store’s team relations leader. So did Piggly Wiggly Carolina, which had “phenomenal” gift card sales during the 2003 holiday season, according to Rita Postell, manager of community and employee relations.

Piggly Wiggly offers cards in denominations of $10, $25 and $50, as well as allowing customers to choose their own amount. At both Piggly Wiggly and Target, $25 is the most commonly requested denomination.

Thanks but no thanks

But although a gift card may seem like a fail-safe option, buyers may not always get it right when choosing the store in which the recipient will have to shop. Perhaps in response to the recent increase in gift card sales, several new web sites have sprung up to help sellers swap their unwanted gift certificates online for that perennial crowd-pleaser: a stack of bills.

“Whenever friends and relatives asked me what I wanted, I’d always say a gift card, so I didn’t get stuck with a sweater that didn’t fit or a present I didn’t like,” says Cameron Johnson, a 19-year-old college freshman from Roanoke, Va. “But then I started getting gift cards for stores I never went to, which defeated the purpose. At first, I’d sell them on eBay, but then I realized there had to be a better way to get rid of them.”

To fill the gap in the market, Johnson created CertificateSwap.com, an online gift card marketplace that allows users to buy or sell gift certificates—often at a slightly lower price than their face value. Hot deals this week include a $100 Sears certificate available for $93, a $50 Old Navy gift certificate selling at $45, and a $25 AMC Theatres gift certificate going for $23.50.

The 7.5% processing fee charged when a card sells doesn’t seem to deter users of CertificateSwap.com, which lists cards from 435 restaurants and retailers and has received over 100,000 visitors and sold several hundred cards since its inception last December.

“Some people might say ‘why would you settle for getting $42 for a card that’s worth $50?’” says Johnson. “But sellers really don’t seem to mind that. In our experience, it seems they’d rather have $42 in cash than a gift card that will sit in their wallet and yield nothing.”

Though CertificateSwap.com lists mainly gift certificates from national chains, the site hopes to branch out into local retailers and restaurants, says Johnson. “We want it to be a huge comprehensive marketplace that lets our customers look at what’s available locally. We’d like people who live in Charleston to be able to see what gift cards are being sold for stores and restaurants in Charleston.”

Holly Burns covers retail for the Charleston Regional Business Journal. E-mail her at hburns@crbj.com

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