Plastic Jungle hopes to participate in an exciting panel at this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Festival, and we need your help!

Each March, Austin, TX draws in thousands of people for SXSW, where the brightest minds in emerging technologies come together for one of the most energetic, inspiring and creative events of the year.

As an “Interactive” event, it’s literally an open dialogue – they want the community’s vote on preferred panels, presentations and discussions. But with more than 4,500 entries, the selection process is very competitive; only 500 sessions will be chosen.

Help Plastic Jungle get to Austin!

Voting is easy – just follow these quick instructions:

1. Create a Panel Picker account. Click here to get started. You will then receive a verification email – from there, click on the link inside this email and you will be ready to vote! (You need to create an account because you can only vote once – SXSW assures that they will NOT use your account data for mailing lists or third party vendors.)
2. Vote for Plastic Jungle’s panel. Once your account is validated, you can cast your vote for our panel here by clicking on the “Thumbs Up” icon. Make sure you are logged in so your vote will count.

Our proposed panel is called Retail Therapy…Quick, Convenient and Cheap led by executive speakers from Google, PayPal and Plastic Jungle’s own CEO Bruce Bower.  They’ll discuss and debate how new technologies are shifting the commerce landscape, creating easier, more secure ways for consumers to purchase products and save money. They’ll also answer these questions:

• How have these technologies changed consumer spending?
• What are the most exciting developments you’re seeing in ecommerce?
• Do these technologies benefit retailers too?
• How does this shift in consumer behavior affect your relationships with merchants?
• When do you think consumers will be able to ditch their physical wallets for good?

Community voting counts for 30% of the selection process, so it’s a great way for the community to lend a significant voice in programming for the 2012 SXSW Interactive Festival.

Polls are open now through September 2, 2011 – cast your vote today!

About SXSW Conferences & Festivals

The South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conferences & Festivals (March 9-18, 2012) offer the unique convergence of original music, independent films, and emerging technologies. Fostering creative and professional growth alike, SXSW® is the premier destination for discovery. Year after year, the event is a launching pad for new creative content. New media presentations, music showcases and film screenings provide buzz-generating exposure for creators and compelling entertainment for audiences. Conference panel discussions present a forum for learning, business activity thrives at the Trade Shows and global networking opportunities abound. Austin serves as the perfect backdrop for SXSW®, where career development flourishes amid the relaxed atmosphere. Intellectual and creative intermingling among industry leaders continues to spark new ideas and carve the path for the future of each ever-evolving field, long after the events’ conclusion. Highlights from the 2011 Interactive festival included the following presentations from Blake Mycoskie (TOMS Shoes), Felicia Day (“The Guild”), Craig J. Venter (Founder of J. Craig Venter Institute), Al Franken (US Senator, Minnesota) and Marissa Mayer (Google). The Film Festival and Conference presented the world premiere films including, Duncan Jones’ “Source Code,” Jodie Foster’s “The Beaver” and Joe Cornish’s “Attack the Block” as well as speakers, Paul Reubens aka Pee Wee Herman and director Todd Phillips. Highlights from the Music Festival and Conference included showcases from Raphael Saadiq, TV on the Radio and Fitz and the Tantrums, and speakers Yoko Ono, Duran Duran and Bob Geldof. SXSW® 2012 is sponsored by Chevrolet, IFC, PepsiCo, Sonicbids and The Austin Chronicle. For more information, visit www.sxsw.com.

We’re working with Givex to make our marketplace more convenient for our consumers. Read below for more details.

Buca di Beppo joins new platform to provide an easy and secure way for consumers to buy gift cards and sell balances to receive instant funding

SAN JOSE, CA, July 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - Givex, a global technology company which powers loyalty and gift card programs across 50 countries worldwide, today announced an integrated partnership with Plastic Jungle, the web’s largest secured gift card exchange, to enable Plastic Jungle users to easily buy and sell select merchants’ gift cards processed by Givex and enjoy instant funding, an immediate electronic transaction on the Plastic Jungle website.

Plastic Jungle helps unlock the estimated $30 billion in unredeemed gift cards by allowing consumers to sell gift cards for up to 92% of the gift card value, buy new gift cards at their favorite brands for up to 35% off, or donate the value of their unused cards to their favorite cause. Users can also opt for instant funding via PayPal or Amazon.com gift cards for select retailers – all in a safe and trusted environment. This partnership will help drive unused gift cards back to the merchants, turning unredeemed gift card value into productive, high margin spend.

“We’re very pleased that our marketplace will become even more convenient for consumers through our integration with Givex,” said Bruce Bower, CEO of Plastic Jungle. “This partnership not only helps both businesses and consumers capture the value from unused gift cards, but also enables brands to better connect with their best customers while at the same time giving gift card merchants ways to participate in a fully integrated manner in the secondary gift card marketplace.”

The first brand to sign onto the platform is Buca di Beppo, the nation’s leading family style Italian restaurant chain.  Plastic Jungle users will now be able to enjoy instant funding for Buca di Beppo gift cards they sell to the site, while the value on these cards will be seamlessly transferred to new Buca di Beppo gift cards available to motivated buyers on the Plastic Jungle marketplace. In addition to Buca di Beppo, the integration features will also be offered to the entire roster of Givex merchants and further adds to Plastic Jungle’s existing relationships with leading payment processors, which now cover the vast majority of retailer gift card programs.

“It’s important for us to connect directly to our customers and ensure their experience with Buca di Beppo is as positive as possible,” said Trish Giordano, Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Buca di Beppo. “Plastic Jungle and Givex are making it easier for our customers to get the best value they can and we’re pleased to be a part of this new integration.”

“Businesses are constantly looking for new ways to excite and engage their best customers,” said Bryan Wang, Director Marketing at Givex. “That’s why we look forward to working with Plastic Jungle. This new channel gets gift cards into the hands of active users, driving revenue and visits.”

About Givex

Givex’s technology has now significantly evolved from the first gift card and loyalty programs that began in 1999. We now provide customizable tools that empower businesses of all kinds to acquire new customers, build, maintain and expand their customer database, effectively communicate with customers, and finally understand and reward their most loyal customers. Find out more at www.givex.com.

Read the full press release here: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/givex-and-plastic-jungle-announce-partnership-to-integrate-gift-card-services-126161088.html

We are so excited to be selected as one of the AlwaysOn Global 250 winners for the second year in a row!!  Read below for more details.

San Jose, CA (PRWEB) July 13, 2011

Plastic Jungle, the Web’s largest secured gift card exchange, today announced that it has been chosen by AlwaysOn as one of the AlwaysOn Global 250 winners for the second year on a row. Inclusion in the AlwaysOn Global 250 signifies leadership amongst its peers and game-changing approaches and technologies that are likely to disrupt existing markets and entrenched players in the Global Silicon Valley. Plastic Jungle was specially selected by the AlwaysOn editorial team and industry experts spanning the globe based on a set of five criteria: innovation, market potential, commercialization, stakeholder value, and media buzz.

Plastic Jungle and the AlwaysOn Global 250 companies will be honored at AlwaysOn’s ninth annual Innovation Summit at Santa Clara University on July 28th, 2011, at the Louis B. Mayer Theatre at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, CA.

This two-day executive gathering that highlights the significant economic, political, and commercial trends affecting the global technology industries. Innovation Summit’s goal is to identify the most promising entrepreneurial opportunities and investments in the global tech industry.

“This year’s AlwaysOn Global 250 are companies driven by the biggest mega-trends, including the accelerating growth of mobile users, cloud computing, and SaaS offerings, globalization, and the socialization of commerce and basically everything online,” says Tony Perkins, founder and editor of AlwaysOn. “This year’s winners clearly represent some of the highest-growth opportunities we’ve seen in the private company marketplace in the history of the global Silicon Valley.”

The AlwaysOn Global 250 winners were selected from among thousands of domestic and international technology companies nominated by investors, bankers, journalists, and industry insiders. The AlwaysOn editorial team conducted a rigorous three-month selection process to finalize the 2011 list.

Merchant-issued – or closed loop – gift cards now represent $90 billion of the U.S. economy, and an estimated $30 billion in gift cards are unredeemed at any given time. Plastic Jungle brings liquidity to the secondary gift card market by allowing consumers to buy gift cards at their favorite stores for savings at up to 35%, sell unredeemed gift cards for up to 92% of the gift card value, or donate the value of unused cards to their favorite cause. Users can also opt for instant funding via PayPal or Amazon.com gift cards for select retailers – all in a safe and trusted environment.

A full list of all the AlwaysOn Global 250 winners can be found on the AlwaysOn website at:
http://www.aonetwork.com/AOStory/Announcing-2011-AlwaysOn-Global-250
“It’s an honor to be recognized by AlwaysOn as one of the top tech innovators in our field,” said Bruce Bower, CEO of Plastic Jungle. “In the last 5 years we have grown from a small startup to the largest and most trusted brand in the secondary gift card marketplace, and we’re proud of our efforts to develop unparalleled payment applications that protect the interests of consumers and retailers alike.”

About AlwaysOn
AlwaysOn is the leading business media brand networking the Global Silicon Valley. AlwaysOn helped ignite the social media revolution in early 2003 when it launched the AlwaysOn network. In 2004, it became the first media brand to socially network its online readers and event attendees. AlwaysOn’s preeminent executive event series includes the Innovation Summit, OnMedia, OnHollywood, Venture Summit Mid-Atlantic / IMPACT 2011, OnDemand, Venture Summit Silicon Valley, Venture Summit East, GoingGreen Silicon Valley, and GoingGreen East. The AlwaysOn network and live event series continue to lead the industry by empowering its readers, event participants, sponsors, and advertisers like no other media brand.

Read the full press release here: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/7/prweb8640077.htm

Plastic Jungle is King of the Jungle when it comes to the best online gift card exchange!

We are so excited that we have been named the best online gift card exchange by Tech Media Network’s 2011 Top Ten Reviews:

“We’ve researched several online sites that provide similar gift card exchange services and Plastic Jungle is by far the best.”

Ranked #1 out of 9 gift card exchange sites, Plastic Jungle earned the top spot based on the following four criteria:

• Inventory Selection
• Website Features
• Ease of Use
• Help and Support

Rank
Excellent Very Good Good Fair Poor

Per Top Ten Reviews rating system, Plastic Jungle received the highest score (4 out of 4) in all categories.

Plastic Jungle Overall Rating

Other gift card companies up for consideration (ranked in order #2 through #9) included: GiftCardRescue, Cardpool, Monster Gift Card, Swapagift.com, ABC Gift Cards, GiftCardSwapping, GiftCardBin and TheGiftCardTrader.

You can read the whole article and see side-by-side comparisons here.

Thank you Top Ten Reviews – we appreciate the recognition and will strive to be your top banana!

And thank you to our fabulous customers! We are thrilled to provide a gift card exchange service that’s palm fronds and vines above the rest!

If you recall, an In The News post on April 21, 2011, announced Plastic Jungle’s selection as a finalist in the
TiE50 Awards Program.

Sure enough, Plastic Jungle was selected as one of the web’s most enterprising technology startups, which will be announced at TiE Silicon Valley’s annual flagship event, the TiEcon 2011 conference.

Of the 1,619 companies considered, only 289 were selected by an expert panel to compete as finalists, then the field narrowed to 50 Award Winners. The program’s sponsor, TiE Silicon Valley is the world’s largest not-for-profit network of entrepreneurs and professionals dedicated to the advancement of entrepreneurship.

See the complete list of TiE50 Award Winners and an overview of the program online  >>>

“Plastic Jungle was clearly ranked amongst the best of the breed by a team of 60 highly accomplished and experienced judges. These experts included globally recognized venture capitalists, CEOs, academia, and serial entrepreneurs,” said Mr. Vish Mishra, Chairman of TiEcon 2011 and President of TiE Silicon Valley. “Being recognized as a TiE50 winner is a true testament to their entrepreneurial spirit and world class caliber,” Mr. Mishra added.

Plastic Jungle is the web’s largest secured gift card exchange, giving consumers the choice and flexibility to convert their gift cards into other forms of spending power — including cash, online balances to use for purchases at the millions of merchants that accept PayPal, Facebook Credits, and more — and to stretch their shopping dollars at their favorite merchants.  Plastic Jungle’s patent-pending marketplace and payment applications aim to safely unlock the estimated $30 billion in unredeemed gift cards trapped in the economy for the benefit of consumers and merchants alike. Based in San Jose, California, the company is privately held, with venture backing from Shasta Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Jafco Ventures, First Round Capital, Bay Partners, Harrison Metal and Western Technology Investment.

“We are thrilled to be honored with a TiE50 Award at this year’s TiEcon,” said Bruce Bower, CEO of Plastic Jungle. “We’ve certainly seen a significant increase in consumer awareness for our secondary gift card market, and we’re very pleased to know that the TiE50 Award judges have also taken note of the value, choice and flexibility we bring to Plastic Jungle users.”

The TiEcon 2011 conference was held May 13-14th, 2011, at the Santa Clara Convention Center, in Santa Clara, California.

We are excited to announce that we have partnered with ChargeSmart, an online consumer bill paying portal, to help deliver an even better way for you to redeem your unused gift cards.  This joint venture will allow customers to apply unused gift cards towards the payment of car, mortgage and utility bills.

This new gift card exchange feature, which was debuted yesterday, will be available for public use in a few months.  Don’t worry; we’ll be sure to update you when it’s live.

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–ChargeSmart, an online consumer bill payment portal, and Plastic Jungle, the web’s largest secured gift card exchange, today announced a partnership to enable customers to use unredeemed gift cards to make payments on utility, car and mortgage bills. This new gift card exchange solution was officially debuted this afternoon at FinovateSpring 2011, the high-profile banking technology conference held in San Francisco, and will be available to the public within the next couple months. Customers can learn more about this offering and sign up to be notified about the launch by visiting http://chargesmart.com/giftcards.

Merchant-issued – or closed loop – gift cards now represent $90 billion of the U.S. economy, and an estimated $30 billion in gift cards are unredeemed at any given time. Plastic Jungle brings liquidity to the secondary gift card market by allowing consumers to buy gift cards at their favorite stores for savings up to 35 percent, sell unredeemed gift cards for up to 92 percent of the gift card value, or donate the value of unused cards to their favorite cause. Through ChargeSmart and Plastic Jungle, consumers will be able to apply up to 92 percent of the value of a gift card toward an outstanding bill.

“As the statistics suggest, people love to buy and receive gift cards, yet many cards are never used,” said Tim Brinkman, CEO of ChargeSmart. “ChargeSmart and Plastic Jungle ensure that customers capture value from those gift cards, even if it means redirecting their intended use toward making more practical purchases like paying their bills.”

“Utility, car and mortgage bills have to be paid, so every dollar applied from these gift cards puts real money in the pockets of our customers,” said Bruce Bower, CEO of Plastic Jungle. “Our joint solution with ChargeSmart will get gift cards out of American sock drawers and provide a valuable, seamless and instant way to reduce these non-discretionary expenses.”

About ChargeSmart

Founded in 2008, San Francisco-based ChargeSmart is an online consumer bill payment portal, providing consumers a secure, convenient way to fund their bill payments using Visa, MasterCard or Discover. Once a consumer submits a payment, the funds are typically deposited into the company’s bank account within one to two business days. More than 300,000 consumers nationwide currently use ChargeSmart to facilitate card payments to their utilities, auto finance, student loan and mortgage companies, among others. For more information, visit the company’s website at http://www.chargesmart.com/.

Read the full press release on ChargeSmart and Plastic Jungle Announce Partnership Enabling Customers to Pay Bills with Gift Cards

In the News:
Out of 1,619 tech startups in the running, Plastic Jungle is chosen as a
2011 TiE50 Finalist.

The TiE50 Awards Program acknowledges the web’s most enterprising technology startups, and is TiE Silicon Valley’s premier annual awards program acknowledging startups worldwide.

Of the 1,619 companies, only 289 were selected by an expert panel to compete as finalists. The final judging to pick winners will commence on April 20, 2011 and winners will be announced on April 30, 2011.

But first, if Plastic Jungle has impressed you with our ease in gift card selling or discount gift card purchasing power, TiE Silicon Valley invites you to VOTE for Plastic Jungle to gain additional recognition by its panel of experts in the Internet category.  Voting is easy: just enter your email address in the box provided and then scroll down to Plastic Jungle and click on the green  ’Like’ button.

As the web’s largest secured gift card exchange site, Plastic Jungle is the best way to sell, buy, exchange or donate gift cards on the Internet. We offer the most innovative, most convenient, and safest way to get the most out of gift cards. All transactions are guaranteed, and along with the best prices, Plastic Jungle offers industry-leading features such as donating the proceeds of the sale of your gift cards to charity, offering a number of payout options, and helping you to replace your gift cards in case they are lost or damaged. We also provide free shipping for all gift card sellers and buyers.

TiE Silicon Valley is the world’s largest not-for-profit network of entrepreneurs and professionals dedicated to the advancement of entrepreneurship. TiE provides a platform for mentoring, networking and education to over 14,000 members in 56 chapters across 13 countries.

TiE Silicon Valley’s annual flagship event, the TiEcon 2011 conference on May 13^th and May 14^th, will be held in Santa Clara, California.

And to Poetry Month, your response might be: Who Cares?!

It may very well be that poetry is past its prime. A professional poet is a hard thing to come by, and I’m fairly certain that most people couldn’t name a living poet when asked to. (It’s OK. See below for a quick list!)

What it comes down to is art: the art of our ever-changing language as a means of expression. It’s shocking to come across a poem written hundreds of years ago, and then hear lyrics written by a rapper last week, and have both “poems” ring true to you, though the language is vastly different. (Looking for “Spoken Word” poetry? Search it on iTunes, where you’ll also find audio recordings of works of poetry.)

Here we encourage your exploration into poetry, which, with a little insight, makes for brain-enlivening, fun, “quick-time” reading outside of a classroom. What’s great is that now you can listen to poetry on your MP3 or iPod, download it to your Kindle or Nook, or browse online or in a bookstore* for a juicy poetical payoff. No analysis required.

Poetry for Kids

You might think the hundreds of picture books published each year qualify as poetry for children, but really, they’re mostly just rhymed stories. Today’s teaching helps kids understand the succinct nature of poetry and language, and how their limited vocabularies are still quite effectual and expressive.

One source, Poetry for Children, a blog run by Sylvia Vardell, will give you all kinds of kids’ poetry ideas and authors, and surely something will suit your kid’s individual style. Check out “Poetry TagTime”, available for 99¢ as an ebook at Amazon.com.

Jack Prelutsky, children's book author

Jack Prelutsky, current US Children’s Poet Laureate, has a do-it-yourself poetry workshop available via Scholastic.com which can result with kids publishing their work on the web. If you’re not familiar already with Jack P.’s work, find his books at Barnes & Noble, or bn.com, or Amazon.com.

For older kids, especially the self-starter tween, young adult, and teens, Figment.com is an amazing site for reading “what everyone else is doing”, as well as an outlet to share works and receive feedback (or not!).

Poets Laureate

American Poets Laureate are determined by a consortium at the Library of Congress, and are meant to be writers whose work reflects the sentiments of their time or generation. The poets chosen tend to hold cache on the East Coast collegiate circuit; despite its diversity, the poets are worthwhile reading.

Current US Poet Laureate, W. S. Merwin’s poetry has garnered national awards. His poems reflect a mid-20^th Century angst, and question war, just as we do now. Check out his tome Migration: Selected Poems 1951-2001.

Past laureates include Robert Lowell, William Carlos Williams, Billy Collins and Kay Ryan, who recently used her stature to get community college students published in a project called “Poetry for the Mind’s Joy”. Read the successful Mind’s Joy poetry on the Library of Congress website.

Modern Poetry and the New Haiku

Wonder which authors are on today’s watch list for the publishing world? Industry journal Publishers Weekly put out a list of authors in an article “Poetry Profiled 2011” in their nod to National Poetry Month. Included in this list is a poetry guide by David Orr, Beautiful & Pointless: A Guide to Modern Poetry.

There are hundreds of poetry anthologies to find on Amazon, Borders, Indiebound.org, or at Barnes & Noble, often classified by subject: Love, Nature, Classics, Sonnets, Regional, etc. Try unusual search terms and see what you find: type in “Dog Poetry” and the first selection in query results is a fun collection written by writer’s dogs.

A new, digital phenomenon is Twitter Poetry. The emergence of poems written in 140 characters (or less) was noted recently in the Establishment’s paper-of-record, The New York Times. Look up T Poet on Twitter (@TwitterPoetry) or try the blog site TwiHaiku, where you can read Twitter examples filed by subject (love, nature, the universe), or upload your own works.

The thought of haiku might bring to mind Japan. Traditional haiku is a more carefully studied art form with centuries of history. To quench your 5-7-5 syllable haiku thirst, pick up a translated collection by Matsuo Basho, Kobayashi Issa, or Yosa Buson, or compare all three in a Haiku collection with an introduction to all three authors by the illustrious Robert Hass.

Want to read more?  Add some of these great poet’s works to your ipod or MP3 player by purchasing discounted gift cards from Plastic Jungle to make the downloads more affordable.  Or head over to your local bookstore and peruse the shelves for your favorite authors.

Get discounted Barnes & Noble Gift Cards >>>

Trade in or exchange a gift card with unused balance for an Amazon.com Gift Card >>>
Get Discounted Borders Gift Cards >>>
Get Discounted iTunes Gift Cards >>>

Get Discounted Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Gift Cards (you have to read somewhere!) >>>

Remember that most poems are copyrighted material, so think twice before you publicly publish any works that are not your own.

Enjoy the look inward, as you explore our language as it lives, changes, and even to explore its dead, fallen branches (to wax poetic!) to see how you may grow in your humanity.

Give us your favorite poems and poets. Leave a comment to let us know how you think of poetry in your daily life.

An eventful week in world news may have distracted attention from the need for aid in Japan, but the need remains. Images of Japan’s tsunami and earthquake devastation still pour out of the country (as reflected in this Bloomberg news article), and at this point, the affected are no longer expressing shock, but the question: “How do we go about getting back to normal?”

And while it’s likely everyone is putting off shopping trips as they watch financial markets bounce around, that doesn’t change the fact that most people still want to help and donate to Japan’s relief efforts.

As mentioned in the Hartford Courant’s March 18 article on donating to Japanese relief, by Korky Vann, you can find myriad ways to help Japan, even when you are short on cash. This includes donating accumulated hotel rewards points, and in the case of United, Continental, and American Airlines, donations of $50 or $100 will get you rewarded with bonus miles on your frequent flier account.

The article also mentions Plastic Jungle: “At PlasticJungle.com, you can donate unused gift cards (minimum balance of $25) to the Red Cross, Direct Relief or Global Giving.”

If you’ve got unused gift cards, you’ve got a means to donate. Check out our Nonprofit Directory. You can donate the value of your unused gift cards in a matter of minutes to any nonprofit listed in the directory.

Begin your donation process by linking to Plastic Jungle’s Sell Gift Cards page. You will be offered the opportunity to donate part or all of the proceeds from your gift card sale to an organization of your choice. You can donate a plastic gift card (Plastic Jungle provides you with a free shipping label), or an e-gift card.

Plastic Jungle will forward the funds to your nonprofit of choice, along with a donation report, by the 30th of the following month. Remember that all of Plastic Jungle’s transactions are guaranteed. Donating via Plastic Jungle is safe, easy, and efficiently effective.

Plastic Jungle will provide you with a receipt for your tax-deductible gift.

If you’re a nonprofit and would like to become listed in our directory, go to our PJ for Nonprofits page. You’ll find out how to become a nonprofit affiliate (a very simple process), and how Plastic Jungle can help you raise funds for your local, national, or even international cause. For questions regarding the nonprofit directory, email fundraising@plasticjungle.net.

Let’s see if we can get a count on how many readers can spare an unused gift card to help Japan recovery. Please leave a comment if you’re taking the initiative to give via Plastic Jungle, and let us know who your intended nonprofit is.

We know that aid comes from many places so here are several other ways that you can help relief efforts:

American Red Cross

Your donation to the American Red Cross will help support disaster relief efforts to help those affected by the earthquake in Japan and tsunami throughout the Pacific.

Global Giving

Global Giving has already raised over $1.8 million for the Japan relief efforts.  Go to their site and make a tax-deductible contribution and they will send you progress updates so that you can see how your gift is making a difference.

eBay Giving Works

eBay is helping their users donate to relief agencies through the buying and selling of items. To ensure that all funds raised go to the relief efforts, eBay is waiving the standard donation processing fees on these donations.

Our hearts go out to those impacted by this terrible disaster and its aftermath.  We send our sincerest wishes for a thorough recovery to all those affected around the world.

Plastic Jungle in the News

Thanks to consumer news reporter Gregory Karp for his useful outline for how to optimize your savings from discount gift cards.

Karp’s “Spending Smart” column reaches more than 6 million readers of Tribune Co. newspapers, including The Chicago Tribune and Baltimore Sun, in addition to a multitude of web outlets. Karp won the first-ever best-column award in 2006 from the Society of Business Editors and Writers.

In his recent Chicago Tribune article ”Use a Gift Card to Swipe Some Savings”, Karp says gift cards, bought at a discount right here at Plastic Jungle and other sites, are the new way to find discounts at favorite merchants.

Used to be, you’d get the Sunday paper, stacked with ads, and you might be inclined to pour through all the pages, flipping or keeping the coupons relevant to your life. Maybe they’d be a stretch — you don’t really like that brand but for $1 off, you’d switch.

Well, no one is asking you to compromise anymore.

Now, the smart shopper’s strategy is to take that coupon-finding time online into finding and purchasing relevant discount gift cards. (And, at the same time, she can check merchants’ sales nationally and locally.) Here at Plastic Jungle, you can purchase with confidence because every transaction is guaranteed.

The website Gift Card Granny, a discount gift-card aggregator, is challenging one of its fans to live entirely off of gift cards for one month.

“With discounted gift cards, I can continue to live the way we already enjoy and get an average of 10 percent off everything,” said Ashley Grimaldo, 31, a mother of two in Bryan, Texas. Grimaldo pledged to live off only discounted gift cards for a month. She figures she’ll save $150 to $200, compared with spending cash. “It’s a pretty good return for not much work,” she said.

Karp also quotes Luke Knowles, founder of GiftCardGranny.com, who estimates that a consumer regularly using discounted gift cards could save $2,000 a year.

Karp goes on to outline the best ways to optimize discount gift cards – so if you’re looking for gift card ideas, check out the article, then come back to Plastic Jungle and see how you can make the most of it. You could save up to 35% off the retail value of a merchant’s gift card: save on movies, flowers, donuts, clothing, housewares, restaurants and more.

Hot Discounted Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle Right Now (hurry! supplies limited):

Get Kohl’s Gift Cards at up to 11% off            >>>

Get 1800Flowers Gift Cards at up to 35% off   >>>

Get Dunkin Donuts Gift Cards at up to 10% off >>>

Get Fandango Gift Cards at up to 30% off        >>>

Get Cabela’s Gift Cards at up to 10% off          >>>

Get Walmart Gift Cards at up to 3% off         >>>

See All Discounted Gift Cards and eCODES Available Right Now on Plastic Jungle   >>>

What are your ideas when it comes to discounted gift cards? Do you have any shopping shortcuts to share? Let us know with your comments!