We want everyone in the Plastic Jungle community to believe that when they sell a card to us, or buy a card from us, their account information is safe, and their transaction is completed as promised.  We work hard to keep bad guys from taking advantage of you when you transact with us.

Imagine you were buying a gift card from someone you never met.  What would you do to make sure that the seller really owned that gift card and that the balance was what they said it was?

What if someone you never met was buying a card from you – what would you do to make sure that they would honor their promise to pay you?

These are things we worry about every day – because we stand in the middle of people selling cards and people buying cards, work to get the sellers their money fast, and to guarantee the buyers that they will receive the value we’re selling them.  We strive to be better at these things every day.

We solve these problems in ways very similar to those that credit card companies and other payment companies like PayPal use.  We ask you to register with us, and to confirm that it’s you doing the transaction.  If we’ve only just met you, we limit the amount of buying or selling we do with you until we know you a bit better.  And overall, we limit the size of transactions depending upon market conditions.  These limits change every day, as do the means we use to verify your identity.  We make these frequent changes in order to keep you and your transactions safe – to do everything we can to ensure that you get what you pay for, to ensure that our site isn’t used to make illegal payments, and to be able to say that we’ll honor the value of every sale we make.

Sometimes being safe is a pain in the neck – sort of like putting on a seatbelt when you’re just driving a quarter of a mile to the store, or being forced to obey the speed limit.  Every now and then, we’ll stop a transaction if it looks like it might be an unsafe transaction – most of the time we end up stopping the bad guys, but every now and then we’ll stop you.  Your order gets cancelled.  We hate it when that happens to good people like you.  Judging from some of the emails you send us, so do you!

We’ll get better at slowing down the right people, but we’re always going to make you wear a seat belt!  We hope you’ll value the work we’re doing to make it safe in the Jungle.

Thanks for your trust,

-Margaret

Margaret Mackenzie
CEO
Plastic Jungle

Spring is here and so are refreshing gift card giveaways!

Enter to win and you might walk away with an amazing prize.

Check out these contests happening in April that just might make you a winner of a Plastic Jungle gift card merchant gift card:

Win a $1,000 to expand the wardrobe of a child in your life! 

Belgian-American fashion designer, Diane von Fürstenberg (DVF) is launching a special GapKids collection.  In the honor of this debut, Diane has partnered with GapKids to give away a $500 DVF/DVF.com gift card and a $500 Gap/Gap.com gift card.  Entering takes less than 2 minutes.  One winner will be chosen.

Entry deadline:  Sunday, April 15, 11:59 p.m. EST

Facebook Users: Win a $2,000 Lowe’s Gift Card

In celebration of Earth Day (April 22) Hanes is giving away over 600 prizes all month long including a $2,000 Lowe’s gift card.  All you have to do is enter the Hanes Eco IQ Sweepstakes by “liking” Hanes Facebook page and then either take a short Eco IQ Quiz or click “skip quiz” to submit your contest entry.

Entry deadline for the Lowe’s gift card:  Monday, April 23 at 11:01 a.m. EST through Friday, April 27 at 5:00 p.m. EST

Be 1 of 101 People to Win Free Shell Gasoline!

Shell is giving away diesel fuel!  Sign up for Shell’s free rewards program – MyMilesMatter – and then log onto the rewards program website and enter the sweepstakes.  100 second prize winners will receive a $25 Shell gasoline gift card and one grand prize winner will score $25,000 in Shell gift cards!  My husband drives a diesel Voltswagon Golf, and I am pretty sure $25,000 would pay for the next 20 or so years of gasoline for his car! [assuming gas prices don't go up!]

Entry deadline:  Monday, April 30 at 11:59 p.m. CST

Let us know if you’re a winner!

Is it just me, or without fail do you often end up with a gift that that you already have or that you did not register for?  You don’t want to seem ungrateful for the present, so you kindly say ‘Thank you’.  The most challenging situations like this are when the gift does not come with a gift receipt.  Instead of feeling disappointed that you are stuck with a gift you don’t want, consider these options for gifts without gift receipts.

Store the gift away for another event.

Some families choose to store unwanted gifts on a shelf while others have an entire closet – often called a gift closet – devoted to the stash.  If you hang on to things you did not want, odds are you will have the opportunity to wrap that item back up for someone else’s wedding, shower, or birthday.  A word of caution here, yes you can re-gift just about anything.  But, please do the next person a favor and do not put them in the same situation.  When my husband and I got married, a friend of mine phoned and explained that she had seen wine racks on our registry.  She mentioned along the way she had been given a second wine rack and she was wondering if we’d like to have it.  After hearing the description it sounded like it would fit our decor and it did!  Registry item fulfilled – check!

Return the gift for a store gift card.

Many store return policies state that without a physical receipt they cannot issue cash for a return.  However, many stores can issue a store gift card for the item.  Okay… so sometimes that means you’ll end up with a gift card in an odd amount to a store you don’t shop.  This recently happened when I was given an ice pop making kit (think popsicles).  I know, it sounds delicious, but in thinking through the use of this new gadget in my head I realized it would likely live the same life as our juicer and ice cream maker.  Both were enjoyable for a few months, then they took up counter space and were moved into basement storage.  On occasion we retrieve these gadgets, but that’s if we remember.  Thankfully the ice pop kit was given to me with a tag that identified which store it was from, so we were able to return it to Williams-Sonoma for a gift card.  As much as I love the Williams-Sonoma brand, there just isn’t anything I could think to buy with the gift card (I was trying hard to be proactive, so I played this out in my head ahead of time instead of taking an hour to linger around the store).  So, my husband and I agreed to sell the gift card to Plastic Jungle.  The beauty of this solution is that (1) we choose the ‘electronic redemption’ option so we never had to mail in the gift card and (2) we were able to exchange our gift card for an Amazon.com gift card (which we will use).  Plastic Jungle processed our Amazon.com gift card within 2 business days.

Give the gift away.

Sure, returning a gift and getting cash is a great feeling.  But, sometimes the cards don’t play out in your favor.  If you don’t see yourself re-gifting the item to someone else or you can’t return the item for a store gift gift, consider others in your life.  We recently got a pizza making kit (which we already had) and after attempting to return it to Macy’s without a receipt, I texted a friend and asked if she would like to have it for her family – no charge.  (Macy’s return policy is that if the item is over 6 months old and you do not have a receipt the item may no longer be sold in stores.  For our delima the store sticker read $39.99 and since the item (which we just received) was over 6 months old, Macy’s offered me $3.99.  That’s not a typo.)  Our backup plan was if none of our friends wanted it, we would donate the kit to a program for homeless women that helps put women into their own independent housing.

I have yet to figure out how to receive a gift receipt for every present I am given (if you have a way, please let me know).  The good news is several worthwhile options exist for gifts that you might otherwise just be stuck with.

You love the idea of getting a tablet and unleashing all the games, apps, and portability.  If only the price were lower.

A brand new Apple iPad2 starts at $499.  Using discount Best Buy gift cards, you can get an iPad for $474.05 (plus tax).  (Learn how in my January post “Shopping Cart Spotlight: Apple-iPad”.)  Would you like to get a tablet for less than $474?

Then there’s the Kindle Fire for $199.  (Which you can get for less by selling unwanted gift cards to Plastic Jungle and exchanging them for Amazon.com gift cards.  Check out my “Kindle Fire Drill” post from last fall for details.)  How about a tablet for less than $200?

While the price tag for a tablet is not quite thousands of dollars, dropping $474 or $199 for a tablet is still an investment.  But, don’t fret.  There’s a more affordable solution.  All you need are discount Barnes & Noble and Best Buy gift cards.  For 47% less than the Amazon Kindle Fire, and 79% less than the iPad, you can get your very own new Android tablet.  For just under $105, you can convert a Barnes & Noble NOOK into an Android tablet that can manage email, the Android market, Google apps, and can not only read NOOK eBooks, but Kindle e-Reader books, too!

Supply List.  First you’ll need a Barnes & Noble NOOK Simple Touch.  If you don’t already own a NOOK, use discount Barnes & Noble gift cards to get this $99 device for $88.11 (11% less).  That’s a great deal considering the best price yet for a NOOK (aside from getting a used version) was to get one for $79 on Black Friday last year.

Accessories.  To convert your NOOK into an Android tablet you’ll need: (1) a SD card with 128MB of memory or larger and (2) a SD card reader or adapter.  Both of these items can be found at a 5% discount at Best Buy with Best Buy discount gift cards or at Amazon.com (a great way to spend Amazon.com gift cards that are earned from selling unwanted gift cards to Plastic Jungle).

Give yourself a week for your Plastic Jungle discount gift cards to arrive, then purchase these materials for less and devote about 30 minutes to follow the 4 steps shared on LifeHacker earlier this month, and you’ll soon have an Android tablet at your fingertips for just over $100.

Stay up-to-speed with technology for less with Plastic Jungle.

If you haven’t heard of ‘freezer cooking’ before the concept by name only may sound backwards.  In actuality, it might be better understood and ‘cooking then freezing’.

Put simplest, freezer cooking is a method by which you cook meals in bulk and freeze them until you’re ready to eat them.  By freezer cooking, you can save money and time, especially when you stack this concept with Plastic Jungle discount gift cards.

Freezer Cooking: Getting Started

There are a number of freezer cooking cookbooks out there.  If you’ve never tried the freezer cooking method before, I would recommend starting with Once-A-Month Cooking by Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg.

In Once-A-Month Cooking you’ll learn the basic principles of freezer cooking as you choose which of the five meal plans to prepare.  My favorite entrees are Twelve-Boy Curry [page 24] and Taco Soup [page 30].  Each entree can feed a family of 4 or 5.  Or, if your household is smaller (like mine) you can split the meal and enjoy it over 2-4 dinners and lunches.  I highly recommend getting this book in versions that are published in 2007 or later.  The book is constantly updated to incorporate feedback and recipe improvements from families across the nation.

At Barnes and Noble’s online store you can snag Once-A-Month Cooking for $4.48.  Pay for this purchase with discount Barnes & Noble gift cards and you’ll only pay $4!  (cost may vary at Barnes & Noble stores)
There are currently no Barnes and Noble coupon codes, but if you are a Barnes and Noble Member you can get free shipping.  This book also qualifies for free shipping if with a purchase of $25 or more. 

If you’ve tried freezer cooking before and are looking for new recipes, you might enjoy Make-Ahead Meals Made Healthy: Exceptionally and Nutritious Freezer-Friendly Recipes You Can Prepare in Advance and Enjoy At a Moment’s Notice by Michele Barboa and Fix, Freeze, Feast by Kati Neville and Lindsay Tkacsik.  Both books have great tasting freezer cooking recipes.  My favorites from Make-Ahead Meals Made Healthy are Chicken and Edamame Pot Pie with Double-Crust Whole-Wheat Pie Dough made from scratch [page 67] and Meatless Butternut Squash and Chard Lasagna [page 35] (great vegetarian recipe).  Fix, Freeze, Feast is great for those who shop at warehouses like Costco and Sam’s as recipes incorporate bulk packages of meats.

Make Ahead Meals Made Healthy just went to print in 2011 and Barnes and Noble sells this new publication in paperback for a reasonable $12.99 and as a NOOK eBook for $10.99.  With discount Barnes & Noble gift cards you can take it home for only $11.56 – $9.78!  Barnes and Noble sells Fix, Freeze, Feast for $11.15 in paperback or $10.16 for the NOOK book.  Use Barnes & Noble discount gift cards to get this book for $9.92 – $10.03.

You can snag all three of these freezer cooking cookbooks for under $30 with discount Barnes & Noble gift cards.

In all, a rotation of freezer cooking will provide enough entrees to feed most families for 2 weeks to 4 months.  Costs vary by recipes/book, but on average my family spends $300 – $400 to buy food for a rotation of 14 entrees which will feed my family for several months.

You might be thinking, “Aren’t you worried about freezer burn?”  Some people think that freezing meals can dilute the flavor of food and even make it unsafe to eat.  This is not true as long as you know how to properly cool and store the food.  Michele Borboa does a great job nipping this myth in Make-Ahead Meals Made Healthy.

How to buy these books on Amazon for less.  Yes, you don’t often see Amazon coupon codes or Amazon discounts, but if you’re holding on to an unused gift card, you can sell your gift card to Plastic Jungle and exchange it for an Amazon.com electronic gift card which you can use to purchase these freezer cooking cookbooks.

Read more about my experience with freezer cooking in my article “Streamlining the Food Budget” on Mama Moderne.

Join Katniss Everdeen as she fights for District 12 to save the people she loves most in the world.

Read-up or gear-up for the soon-to-release movie The Hunger Games with Plastic Jungle discount Barnes & Noble gift cards to score discounts on The Hunger Games items at Barnes & Noble stores and barnesandnoble.com.

The Hunger Games movie (releasing in theatres on Friday, March 23, 2012) is based on The Hunger Games book trilogy (written by Suzanne Collins) which is a 3-part story about a young woman, Katniss, who willingly offers to stand in for her younger sister, Prim, in the annual televised games, The Hunger Games.  The Hunger Games range from entertainment to brutal harassment, and participates compete to eliminate their competition.

With Plastic Jungle discount Barnes & Noble gift cards you can buy The Hunger Games trilogy in hardcover, paperback or NOOK book, for 11% off.

For instance, to purchase The Hunger Games Trilogy NOOK Book, instead of paying $26.98 at BN.com, with discount Barnes & Noble gift cards your price would be $24.02!  Or, if you’d like to begin reading the paperback version of The Hunger Games you can order your copy of The Hunger Games via BN.com for $7.55 instead of $8.48 with discount Barnes & Noble gift cards.

Barnes & Noble also carries the Tribute Hunger Games t-shirt which you can wear to support District 12, The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook, and The Hunger Games Training Days Strategy Game – all which can be yours for 12% off with discount Barnes & Noble gift cards.

Read all The Hunger Games books and get your favorite Hunger Games fan items for less with discount Barnes & Noble gift cards from Plastic Jungle.

Barnes & Noble Frugal Shopping Tip:  Type “Barnes & Noble coupon code” or “Barnes & Noble printable coupon” into your search engine, to score potential additional discounts to stack with your discount gift card savings to save even more!

We’ve partnered with InComm the pioneer in the distribution of prepaid product in the retail channel to drive more consumer and retailer value from gift cards. Read below for more details.

Integration of the Web’s Largest Gift Card Exchange and a Leader in Prepaid Products Underscores Strength of the Secondary Gift Card Market.

SAN MATEO, CA–(Marketwire – Feb 9, 2012) - Plastic Jungle, the web’s largest secured gift card exchange, and InComm, an industry leading marketer, distributor and technology innovator of stored-value gift and prepaid products, today announced an integrated partnership to drive more consumer and merchant value from gift cards.

Plastic Jungle and InComm plan to integrate their respective processing platforms, which will allow gift card issuers the ability to access Plastic Jungle’s rapidly growing consumer base through the web as well as through other electronic and mobile channels the parties are developing. The partnership will also extend Plastic Jungle’s patent-pending platform capability to InComm’s vast gift card partner base, including gaming, restaurants and traditional merchants. It will allow gift card merchants the ability to ensure their gift cards are used in full, and will also allow them to accept a broad range of prepaid and digital currencies.

“We pioneered our industry in partnership with the merchant community and are delighted to team up with a like-minded pioneer in the distribution business like InComm,” said Bruce Bower, CEO of Plastic Jungle. “We believe this partnership signals the potential of the secondary gift card market and will propel the industry forward. We are looking forward to the positive impact this integration will have on both consumers’ and merchants’ experiences.”

“InComm recognizes that the secondary market in gift cards is growing quickly and represents a new way for merchants to increase the profitability of their gift card programs,” said Brooks Smith, President and CEO of InComm. “Our relationship with Plastic Jungle will help merchants get gift cards into the hands of the people who value them most — thereby driving real traffic and loyal customers to our partners’ businesses. We’re excited to partner with the innovative team at Plastic Jungle and combine our strengths to take the gift card industry to the next level.”

About InComm:
InComm is an industry leading marketer, distributor and technology innovator of stored-value gift and prepaid products using its state-of-the-art point-of-sale transaction technology and payment solutions to revolutionize retail product sales and customer experiences. With more than $13 billion in retail sales transactions processed in 2010, InComm is the nation’s largest provider of gift cards, prepaid wireless products, reloadable debit cards, digital music downloads, content, games, software and bill payment solutions. InComm partners with consumer brand leaders around the world to provide more than 225,000 retail locations the products and services their customers demand. Since 1992, InComm’s patented technologies have made the buying process easier for consumers, while streamlining the selling process for product and retail partners. InComm is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with offices in Australia/New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin. To learn more about InComm, visit www.incomm.com or call (800) 352-3084.

One discount gift card unlocks a 10% discount to all these stores!

The Bon-Ton discount gift card can be used to make purchases at Bon-Ton, Bergner’s, Boston Store, Carson Pirie Scott, Elder-Beerman, Herberger’s, Parisian, and Younkers department stores.

If you live or travel through the northern United States, chances are you are within shopping distance from The Bon-Ton department store or a Bon-Ton furniture gallery.

Bon-Ton discount gift cards are great for replenishing your Clinique mascara, lipstick, foundation, or powder at 10% off (in addition to any Bon-Ton store sales or coupons).

Have you been wanting to add a Kitchenaid standing mixer to your kitchen to make chocolate chip cookies, homemade cakes, or pasta from scratch?  You can bring home a Kitchenaid standing mixer from Bon-Ton for 10% less than most Bon-Ton shoppers with discount Bon-Ton gift cards from Plastic Jungle.

Will you be attending a wedding later this year for someone registered at one of the Bon-Ton network stores?  Use discount Bon-Ton gift cards to pay for your purchase off a gift registry and get what the bride and groom want for 10% less out of your pocket.

If you’re going to be shopping at Bon-Ton, you might as well bring savings in your wallet with Bon-Ton discount gift cards.  Planning to shop at Bon-Ton online?  Discount Bon-Ton gift cards can be used for online Bon-Ton purchases, too.

When is the last time you spotted an unused gift card?

You’re running an errand with a family member and as she goes to reach for her credit card out falls an unused gift card – the same unused gift card you’ve seen for the past 3 months.  Do you tell her she can sell it to Plastic Jungle and get a check?

Your coworker got a power drill from his grandma for his birthday, but he doesn’t want it.  He can return the drill to Lowe’s for a Lowe’s gift card, but he doesn’t know what he would buy with a $100 Lowe’s gift card. Will you tell him to sell the gift card to Plastic Jungle so he can get a cash deposit into his PayPal account?

You see a Facebook plea from a friend who is willing to sell a $100 Starbucks gift card she won but won’t use because she doesn’t drink coffee.  (This happened to me last week!)  Will you respond to her post with a note about Plastic Jungle and how she can receive up to 92% of the face value of the gift card as Amazon.com gift card if she sells the gift card?

Chances are we all know know of someone who has an unused gift card in their possession.  The sad news is, if a gift card goes unused for more than a few months it is more likely to get misplaced.

Help others free trapped gift card dollars by telling them how to sell unused gift cards to Plastic Jungle – the Web’s largest secured gift card exchange.

As long as the gift card has a value of $25 or more, Plastic Jungle will let the seller choose which payout option he or she wants and Plastic Jungle will even pay for postage to mail in the gift card (if applicable).  Once Plastic Jungle receives the gift card and verifies the value, either a cashier’s check, Amazon.com gift card via email, or PayPal credit will be processed.

Your friends will thank you for telling them about Plastic Jungle.  You never know how they money might be put to use.  They might have been tight on cash and needed to find money to pay a bill, buy groceries, or give a gift.

Be a friend and don’t let your friends clog their wallets with unused gift cards.  Tell them how they can sell gift cards to Plastic Jungle.

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.