So many times as we shop around the Holidays ( or any time of year ), we find ourselves being drawn to sale and clearance prices on items. If you see something you need or want and all of a sudden can save while buying it, it is financially beneficial to you to get it at the lower price.

I think we are all very familiar with this concept of saving on merchandise. But, did you also know you can save on gift cards?

Gift cards make up a large amount of the gifts given around the Holidays. In fact, I have bought a few myself for presents this year. So, if I can get them discounted, it is a wonderful advantage to me!

Recently, ShopAtHome had Barnes and Noble at 16% off as a Daily Double. Their gift cards are always great for teacher gifts around the Holidays. $10 is the minimum you can buy from Barnes & Noble, so if you purchased that you would get $1.60 back. If you were a new member to Shop at Home and also got the $5 sign on bonus, you then got a $10 gift card for $3.40.

In addition, Barnes & Noble was running a special. If you bought $100 of gift cards, they gave you $10 free. So, if you would have bought $100, you would have gotten $16 back, plus as extra $10. For $84, you would get $110 in gift cards.

But, don’t just think of them as gift giving ideas. You can also use them for yourself to pay for items at your favorite store. You can combine or stack them with already discounted merchandise, use a coupon and add on a discounted gift card to get an even larger savings. If you have stores you shop regularly, it is beneficial to have a supply of discounted gift cards on hand for upcoming purchases.

Do you know of an upcoming sale or item you are going to buy and would like a discounted gift card? Many sites now offer eCards that you will be issued the same day. Check the retailers specific terms to make sure it is good in store, but many are.

Recently, Kohl’s was running their $10 Back in Kohl’s Cash for every $50 spent. On top of that, they had mailed coupons out to many shoppers for their store. I was lucky to receive a $10 off coupon ( credit card not required ). Now, I already knew I would be spending $50, so I could order $50 eCards online.

I went into the store and shopped for sale/clearance items. By doing this, and stacking with the coupon, promotion and adding on a discounted gift card, I could get deep discounts.

So, now the question is, where do you get discounted gift cards?

Retailers

This is especially common around this time of year with the Holidays fast approaching. You will see the stores themselves offering discounted gift cards. The Barnes & Noble is a great example above. You spend $100, but get $110.

Restaurants, home improvement stores, clothing stores, etc will come up with their own design of discounting their gift cards.

On top of that, grocery stores get in on the game, too. Many establishments now offer Gift Card stops in their stores. In my area of the United States, we have Kroger. At their Gift Card Center, I can find various gift cards to many merchants. And, they also give me points towards discounted gas if I buy at their store.

This past week, they were offering $5 back on my groceries if I bought $50 is gift cards to a specific restaurant. Add in my gas savings, and I was saving more. This restaurant also has great coupons that come out often, so I will be saving quite a bit when my family goes out to dinner.

Online Listing & Auctions

If you go shop eBay or Craigslist, you will be able to pull up a lot of gift cards being sold. Whether the person didn’t shop that specific store or simply needs cash in their pocket, they will discount their gift cards substantially to sell them to you. I have gotten them up to 20% off before.

How do you stay safe? Well, there is never a guarantee someone won’t try and scam you, but there are some precautions you can follow.

If bidding on eBay, look at their seller rating. I would never buy a gift card from someone who has a low rating or hasn’t sold many products yet. I want to see a strong history of sales to others.

Pay with your credit card through Paypal. Although paypal has steps in place to protect you and file a complaint, credit cards give you extra protection. You can also call your credit card company to say the item was never delivered and the charges will be reversed while they confirm the issue. If it is found to be true, then you will never pay the charges. The money will never leave your bank account.

For Craigslist, always meet the person at the store location to have the balance checked. After the retailer confirms the balance, you can pay the seller.

Trading & Discounted Selling Sites

Plastic Jungle is a website allowing others to trade and sell their unwanted gift cards. Did you get a gift card to Target as a present but you prefer Walmart?

You can set up a free account at Plastic Jungle and offer to trade with another user. Or, you also have the option to simply buy gift cards discounted on their site.

What safety measures do they have in place? They have a 100% guarantee which takes the worry out of it for you.

Don’t want to miss when the gift card you need becomes available? You can set up alerts so you know when to log in and shop.

Giftcards.com is another site that sells discounted gift cards. They have locations where they buy back the cards for cash at a discounted price. They then turn around and sell it with a portion of that discount being passed on to you.

Their site will also list current online coupon codes for that merchant, so you can save even more when you go to shop.

ShopAtHome.com

Our very own ShopAtHome.com offers discounted gift cards! Did you know that?

Since you get a portion of your purchase price back at merchants, that money back is then a discount to the price of that gift card.

Not all merchants give cash back on gift card purchases, so the team at ShopAtHome has created this wonderful page for you to see where you can get your great gift card deals. Click here to access the merchants you will earn cash back on while shopping.

But, don’t just assume the discount they give you is the best rate. Do they have a Double Cash back day on that merchant coming up? If so, you can save even more. That is what happened at Barnes & Noble. Their usual cash back rate is 8%, but jumped to 16% for one day only! That is the day to grab the gift cards you need.