I’m really excited to share this idea with you about how you can use Raise.com and Cardpool gift card exchanges to save at least $500 per year. Who doesn’t love saving money, right? I, for one, love saving money, and I really think this strategy can help you save money each week.
The approach is quite simple, but you must be inside the United States to be able to do it. (Sorry to all my international readers!)
If you live in the United States, this strategy should be perfect for you.
We will do a little review of Raise.com, and a review of Cardpool.com so you can familiarize yourself with the companies, then we will go over how to use the two companies to save money using gift cards.
A concise review of Raise.com and Cardpool.com
Let’s just start by saying that both Raise.com and Cardpool.com are legit companies and not scams. Many people use the companies to resell their gift cards, and to purchase discounted gift cards.
Both Raise.com and Cardpool allow you to purchase gift cards at discounted rates online via an app or desktop computer.
These gift cards are just like any normal gift card you purchase at the store – they are your Starbucks gift cards, your Target gift cards, your Olive Garden gift cards etc…
For example:
Imagine you will be grocery shopping at Target in a few hours. After buying food and toiletries for the house, and picking up a few things for the kids, it may not be shocking for a Target trip like this to cost you $200. Think about if, before you went to Target, you took out your phone or hopped on your computer, went to Raise.com or Cardpool.com, and you purchased a discounted gift card for 3.5% off.
If you purchase a $200 gift card to pay for your shopping, this will save you a total of $7 off your grocery list. That could buy a lot of peanut butter & jelly sandwiches for the kids!
While companies like Target, Wal-Mart, and Amazon, have options to purchase discounted gift cards, they are usually not sold at as high of a discount as, say, a Dunkin’ Donuts. (As I look at Raise.com today, it shows discounted gift cards of up to 18.4% off Dunkin’ Donuts!)
You can purchase a $50 gift card to Dunkin’ Donuts for less than $42. That is like handing you straight cash!
If you eat breakfast at Dunkin Donuts on your way to work each day, this strategy could save you a couple hundred dollars in breakfast for the year.
Raise.com and Cardpool.com have an array of companies you can purchase discounted gift cards for. Everything from, Olive Garden and Burger king, to TJ Maxx or JCrew.
So, next time you are heading to shop at TJ Maxx, don’t forget to pull out your discounted TJ Maxx gift card so you can get an even greater deal on that dress!
Interesting details about Cardpool.com and Raise.com
How long is gift card delivery?
Electronic gift cards can be received within 15 minutes. Which makes it possible to literally purchase your gift card as you are sitting at dinner with the family in a restaurant. However, there is the possibility of it taking up to a few hours, or even a business day, so you could run the risk of not receiving the card if you need it immediately. You may want to test out certain companies lag times before starting to purchase gift cards while inside stores or restaurants.
Your first gift card purchase will take longer
During your first purchase, expect it to take longer to receive your gift card, and expect the companies to contact you to verify your identity. Once you have purchased your first one or two cards, the process time between purchasing and receiving gift cards should speed up.
Physical gift cards are mailed to you, so obviously they will not be delivered the day you order them. It can take three days or more to receive the physical gift cards.
For this reason, if you’re using this savings strategy, it is probably best to use the electronic gift cards.
If you are purchasing the gift cards as a present for someone, you may be happy to wait for the physical gift card.
Don’t hold onto gift cards too long
There have been comments from people who have purchased gift cards from the two companies and did not use the cards until over 100 days had passed. Some of them had problems with the cards expiring before they were able to use them.
I would encourage you to use your gift cards within the first 100 days just in case they are near expiry.
Check the gift card details
Make sure you check the details of the gift cards before you purchase them. If you buy a gift card for a specific item, you should make sure there are no stipulations. For example, if you purchase a gift card to a department store for an electronics item, the gift card may stipulate you cannot use the card for electronics. Just be sure you read the details to avoid a potential blunder.
Gift card guarantees
Raise.com is currently offering a one year money-back guarantee. There is not much downside to at least trying them out. If you feel confident after trying them, you can start using this strategy.
Cardpool.com also offers a 100 day guarantee. There is protection from receiving a fraudulent gift card or a gift card to the wrong company etc..
Both companies offer guarantees, which makes them that much more seamless to test out.
Both companies charge a fee for the gift cards
Of course, no company operates for free. Your advantage as a BUYER of gift cards is that the commission charged is on the SELLER’S side. So, you do not incur any of the commission because the person who sold the gift card pays the commission.
Raise.com
The Fees for Raise.com are up to 15% charged to the SELLER. Also, if you sell physical gift cards, Raise says:
“…if you sell a physical Gift Card with a balance of $100 and a sale price of $90, the sales commission is $10.80, the listing fee is $1.00, and Raise will pay $79.20 to you via your selected payment method upon consummation of the Sale Transaction.”
Cardpool.com
Cardpool is a little different than Raise.com because they purchase your gift card. They will pay up to 92% of the value of the card. So, if you sell a $100 card on cardpool you can receive $92 at most.
Again, these fees are paid by the seller, so if you are just purchasing the gift cards you don’t have to worry about the commissions.
How can they offer discounted gift cards?
Raise.com and cardpool.com create the same result to the consumer, but they get to that result different ways.
Raise is not the one selling you the cards per se. They are merely providing the technology and marketplace for you to find a seller who wants to sell their gift card.
For example:
Maybe your Aunt Judy is sitting at Chilli’s on a Friday night, throwing a few two-for-ones back, and decides it would be a fantastic idea to purchase your Christmas present while she is at the restaurant. She buys you a generous $50 gift card to Chilli’s.
Maybe you don’t like Chilli’s and you know you are never going to use this gift card. Instead of letting it sit in your wallet for the next two years, you can sell the gift card via Raise. Maybe you sell it on a Friday night at a discount of 10% (after their commission), and your Aunt Judy happens to be sitting at Chilli’s that night and ends up (ironically) purchasing your listed gift card on Raise.com. She can use that gift card to save the 10% on her two-for-ones!
Now, you can take your $45 cash from the Chili’s gift card sale and purchase a discounted gift card to pay for your meal at Olive Garden. This way you can take the hubby for some unlimited bread sticks and you get to have little Merlot. You will both be happy you saved money, and you will be especially happy with discounted Merlot.
Cardpool.com gets to this result a bit differently. They are actually purchasing the gift card from the seller, then listing the gift card for you on their exchange. If we use the above example, instead of you purchasing your gift card from your Aunt Judy who has listed it on the exchange, you are purchasing it directly from Cardpool.
Two different ways to make money off the same concept. That is capitalism for you!
The strategy to save over $500 each year with Raise.com and Cardpool.com
The strategy is very simple.
- Sign up here for Raise.com.
- Sign up here for Cardpool.com.
- Before shopping or dining, search both Raise.com and Cardpool.com.
- Compare the discounts both companies are offering (this will help you maximize your savings).
- Once you find the gift card saving you the most amount of money, purchase the gift card.
- Go use your gift cards while shopping and save money.
Large Purchases with Raise.com and Cardpool
We will end with the concept of using Raise.com and Cardpool.com for large purchases. If you are planning to purchase a television from Sears, there is currently a $1,000 gift card to Sears selling at over a 5% discount. That will save you over $50 on your $1,000 TV!
If you need to decorate your living room, there is currently a 5% discount for a $1,000 gift card to Macy’s. You can save another $50 if you spend $1,000 shopping to decorate your living room at Macy’s.
The possibilities are endless when it comes to using these two companies. If you do it right, you can save a lot of money each year.
You may be able to average an even higher savings rate than 5%, or you may spend more than 10k, in which case you would save even more than $500 per year.
That’s it! If you spend 10k each year at companies offering gift cards on Cardpool.com or Raise.com, you may be able to save an average of 5% or more. Just saving 5% on 10k is equal to a savings of $500!
I hope you enjoyed this article and I hope it gave you a new idea to help you save money! If you enjoyed this, and you believe this is an interesting strategy, I would love for you to use my affiliate link to sign up. I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you – it helps keep the light on here at Stock Street.
Of course, if you think this article is crap, don’t use the link 😊
Sign up here for Cardpool.com
Signup here for Raise.com
Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: These are the ideas and opinions of the author. The author is not responsible for the actions of those who read the posts on this blog. Each individual reader has a unique situation and unique needs. This blog is not intended to solve those unique situations of the readers. This blog is not liable for decisions made by the readers of this blog.
You know how websites add a section at the bottom that says, “This post MAY contain affiliate links”? Well, I am not going to be vague like those websites. We all know if they write that sentence, the post includes affiliate links. So, I will tell you straight up that this post DOES include affiliate links. Use them, I will make a little dough (at no extra cost to you). Here is my affiliate link disclaimer if you want to read more: DISCLAIMER
Useful! I have never purchased gift cards on these sites, but have sold a few online. Some sites will give you more for your cards if you agree to take Amazon gift cards (rather than a check) as payment.
Hi Miguel! Thanks for commenting! Glad you have tried selling gift cards online before. Being able to sell your gift cards online is great (I’ve had multiple GCs I knew I’d never use). You should try buying one sometime and see how it goes. It can save a lot of money, especially if you use it to purchase an item already on sale, that’s double savings! I’ll have to look into the Amazon tip too. Thanks.