Canadians now have a way to turn their unwanted gift cards into cash. For years millions of dollars of these plastic cards have been lost, stolen or expired. The lost cards have been created a huge windfall for the stores that issues them and never end up having to part with any merchandise or refunds for unused cards. While several websites in the US that buy and sell gift cards have been around for years, none of them have provided an outlet for Canadian consumers. There are currently a couple ways to get cash for your cards but until recently there have not been any services that offer the same simplicity and ease American sites have offered. In this article we will examine the top three Canadian gift card swap techniques.

Canadians can and always have been able to sell their cards on ebay Canada. Although it is not dedicated purely to gift certificates the auction website provides a relatively easy way to sell a card. I say relatively easy because if you have not already signed up for an account it can be a pain to learn how to use the website. It is not simple for newbie’s and you may need to make a couple purchases first to build up your ebay street credit. This credit or trust ranking is called feedback on ebay and people will rarely bid on an auction if the sell has low feedback.

Another way you can sell your cards is by using local classified or online classifieds websites. Although many people do use these services as a card swap they can be time consuming. Not only do you need to wait for someone to reply to the ad you post but you will also need to meet up with them to exchange the card for cash. If you place the ad in a small community your are unlikely to get any replies, however if you live in a larger community and place an ad you are likely to get a response but a new problem will emerge. If you are selling your gift card in Toronto and live in downtown Toronto and someone in Oakville or one of the other suburbs wants to buy your card than you might have to drive half an hour just to meet up and do the exchange. This can turn the relatively easy process of selling your card on a classifieds site into a huge hassle.

A new Canadian solution has surfaced that will let you swap your cards for cash. A new gift card trading site that originally began as a gift cardswap quickly evolved into an easy to use service that gives you cash for your cards. All you have to do is submit some details about you card, send it in and within 24hrs of your card being verified you will receive payment online (cheques are available by request). Why use a gift card swap when you can instantly turn your card into cash? In this day and age who has the time to wait for a buyer to appear and then hope your escrow payment is released? The simplicity of this server is what makes it so great you simply exchange your unwanted cards for cold hard cash.

With retailers no longer offering cash back for their cards it was only a matter of time before a secondary industry sprang up to service this issues for consumers. Luckily Canadians now have a variety of viable options for turning there card into cash. These services will only become more common until retailers step up and take some responsibility for the value on the cards they issue.