What gift cards topped your shopping list in June? Surprisingly, almost the exact same ones, in the same order as last month – but with a little twist.

Home improvement giants continued to top the list, with Home Depot and Lowe’s ranked at #1 and #2. The secret is out – builders, subcontractors and professional handymen can increase their margins by buying discounted gift cards from Plastic Jungle. Both Home Depot and Lowe’s cards are currently offered at 7% off, immediately shaving costs and adding profit to the bottom line.

And it’s not just skilled experts that enjoyed savings. With June graduations and the Father’s Day holiday, Home Depot and Lowe’s gift cards made terrific gifts for the home improvement hobbyist.

Walmart and Target again ranked #3 and #4 respectively. As one-stop shopping centers, Junglers saved on nearly everything under the sun, including house wares, toys, clothing, electronics, and even groceries. With 3% discounted gift cards stacked on top of Walmart and Target’s already uber-competitive low prices, these cards get swiped up fast, so sign up for a notification alert to get first access.

Best Buy again ranked #5. A great source for computers, video games, televisions, digital cameras, mp3 players, mobile phones & appliances, Best Buy gift cards likely made for some great Father’s Day and Graduation gifts as well.

The next three spots were filled by clothing department stores: Macys (#6), Kohl’s (#7) and JC Penney (#8). Perhaps our Junglers were freshening up their summer wardrobe with new shorts, tanks, sundresses, swimsuits and sandals. All three merchants have darling summer clothing collections on sale now, as they make room for their fall and back-to-school collections.

The Apple Store held spot #9. Our family celebrated the end of school and good report cards with a new iPhone for my daughter, a new iTouch for my son and a new Nano for mama (I deserved a little treat for helping with all the homework and packing lunches all year long, right?!) Apple Store gift cards are quite popular, so be sure to plan ahead and sign up for an email alert when they become available.

Rounding out the Top 10 was Barnes & Noble. (Cabela’s filled this spot in May.) A popular go-to, slam-dunk teacher’s gift is always a Barnes & Noble gift card. Was your child’s teacher the lucky recipient of one of these end-of-the-school-year gifts?

Special Honorary Mention goes out to iTunes, who ranked #6 in quantity (vs. revenue), with a whopping 6,125 cards sold in June. That’s a lot of TV, video, movie, app and music downloads!

These Top 10 gift cards are just the tip of the iceberg (or should we say tip of the palm tree?) Plastic Jungle has  nearly 400 brands, with discounted gift cards offered up to 35% off. Click here to see what hot cards we’ve got up for sale now!

Greetings, Junglers!

Fellow-Jungler Marcy here to share gift card discounts and how to pay less than face value on most anything.

One of the best ways you can put Plastic Jungle discounts to work for you is by taking 10 minutes to set up Notifications.

What are Notifications?

A personalized email from Plastic Jungle which contains the availability, value, and cost of gift cards you want.  You decide if you want these emails to be sent to you daily or immediately when a gift card you want becomes available.

Here’s an example of one of my recent Notifications:

How to Set Up Your Notifications

1.     Go to www.plasticjungle.com

2.     Click “Log In” on the upper right menu

3.     If you already have an account, sign in.  If you do not yet have an account, fill in the email and password fields, select “I’m a New User”, review Plastic Jungle’s Terms and Conditions and then check the box to agree (if you agree), then click “Log In”

4.     Once logged in, click “My Account” on the upper right menu.

5.     Then click the tab labeled “Notifications”

6.     Add all the stores you are interested in.

For instance, if you wanted to add Home Depot…

• Click the drop down menu labeled “Merchant” and select “Home Depot & Expo”
• Moving to the right, if there is a discount threshold you desire, enter that in the “Minimum Discount” field. (You can leave this field blank if you have no preference. That’s what I do.)
• Continuing right, if there is a value you want, enter the minimum and maximum amounts in the appropriate fields. (You can leave these fields blank as well if you have no preference. That’s what I do unless I have a specific purchase I am hunting to get a good deal on.)
• Choose if you want “Daily Notifications” and/or “Immediate Notifications” (I prefer both.)

Plastic Jungle Notifications are very helpful particularly if you know stores you frequent.  (If you’re not sure, your bank and/or credit card statements are a great indicator.) Consider always keeping a set amount of Plastic Jungle gift cards to your favorite stores on hand so can be ready to stack your discounted gift cards with the best sales.

Rain and snow are behind us (we hope) and it’s time to open up the house, get up to the cabin, and get going on home improvement projects.

What’s on sale at the home improvement stores? If you want to be the first to know about any home improvement promotion, get on the store’s email sale alerts list to receive notifications regularly. Lowe’s has an everyday low price guarantee. Go ahead and “Like” Home Depot on Facebook, and get privy to Friday sales from 50-70% off. Follow @SearsDeals on Twitter, and big-discount flash sales at Sears (think Kenmore appliances and paint and Craftsman tools) are at your fingertips.

On Plastic Jungle, you can set a discounted gift card email notification alert to be emailed as soon as any discount gift card becomes available at the discount you’re looking for.

Click through now to see the percentage off you’ll save on:

Discount Lowe’s Gift Cards |  Discount Home Depot Gift Cards |  Discount Ace Hardware Gift Cards |  Discount Bed, Bath & Beyond Gift Cards |  Discount Restoration Hardware Gift Cards |  Discount Pottery Barn Gift Cards |  Discount Target Gift Cards |  Discount Sears Gift Cards

Angling for Home Improvement Sales

Have you ever thought of Amazon.com for Appliances or Equipment? If not, the Amazon.com Home Improvement and Tools page, flush with thousands of searchable listings, will be an eye-opener. Dishwashers to pressure washers, kitchen fixtures to light fixtures, hardware, storage, even lawn mowers are called up at a great price in a flash. You could actually turn a gift card you’re not using — could even be a chain restaurant gift card — into an Amazon.com Gift Card by exchanging it on Plastic Jungle.

Think about “double-dipping” – that is, buying a gift card at a discount at Plastic Jungle, then purchasing at a sale price or using a rebate. (And maybe even add free shipping for a deal-lover’s trifecta!) You get the deal with the sale price, AND you’ve got an additional deal in your hand with the discounted gift card. For the deal-lover’s trifecta, add a free shipping coupon or promo code to keep costs down.

Do-It-Yourself, Whatever It Is!

Homeowners regularly attempt their own landscaping, painting, and decorating. But installing a toilet? Making your home more secure? Patching drywall? These and hundreds of other projects are detailed, some with video, on Lowe’s Video & Project Center, and at the Home Depot Home Improvement Clubs.

Another source for how-to do it is TV, of course. You can search the archives of HGTV, or the DIY network for ideas, tips, and video to get the job done.

What’s on your home improvement slate? A new entertainment center? Painting the house, inside and out? Creating an outdoor living space to enjoy your new landscape? Let us know in your comments!

Happy Earth Day. What are you doing to save the Earth today?

You may not even have the snow melted out of your driveway yet, but I’m sure you’ve got summer on your mind. For many families, summer camps are being booked this month. Summer road trips and family reunions are starting to pop into the calendar. And surely, one day in the very near future, the Earth will turn and the weather will warm up.

Perhaps because of finances this summer it’s not the whole-Earth-worship trip to Bali you’d hoped for, but a good-ole American road trip. If you’ve got driving on your mind, you’ll need gas and fuel saving tips. See our post on Gas Saving Tips, which includes very pertinent links to the discounted gas cards offered on Plastic Jungle.

And in case you’re looking to ditch your automobile altogether, sell your gas card (or any other gift card with a minimum balance) on Plastic Jungle today.

Get to the Giveaways!

Ms. Veronica’s Mothers Day Giveaway – Mothers Day is coming up soon, and you could win a sweet, handmade collection of Mothers Day gifts to save you from a frantic Sunday morning trip Trader Joe’s ravaged flower department. Ms. Veronica’s has up for grabs a lovely handmade bracelet, hair clip and stationery. Enter by following Ms. Veronica’s blog, plus try out the bonus entries listed on the giveaway post. NOTE: new subscribers also get 20% off their first order! Contest ends April 27, 2011; see entry page for contest details.

Win a Viking 30” Gas or Electric Range – In another nod to Mothers Day (or maybe just improving your cooking skills for home entertaining!) it will take you only a second to follow up on this giveaway. Visit Facebook, “Like” Viking, and enter to win a 30” Viking gas or electric range in your choice of 24 fabulous colors or finishes. Contest ends April 30, 2011; see the Facebook’s official Viking page for official rules and giveaway details.

Thompson’s Deck of Your Dreams Sweepstakes — Maybe your summer will include home entertaining and it’s time for an outdoor upgrade: win a $10,000 prize for a home fix-it. The Thompson’s Company, makers of Thompson’s WaterSeal, has teamed with HGTV/diy Network star Jeff Wilson to help take your visions of a backyard paradise from dream to reality. The winner will receive $10,000 and a personal visit from Jeff Wilson to kick off the planning and design process. Contest ends Oct 1, 2011; see entry page for official rules and details.

Can’t wait to get started on your home do-it-yourself project? Get instant savings when you purchase discounted gift cards to Lowe’s, Home Depot, or Ace Hardware today.

Deadliest Catch Giveaway – If you’re a Deadliest Catch fan, you’re going to be excited to enter the Deadliest Catch Giveaway where the grand prize is an iPad, and there are 40 more Deadliest Catch prizes to win. See the Discovery Channel Store’s Deadliest Catch sweepstakes rules for details. Hurry to enter, giveaway ends April 29, 2011.

Travel Channel’s Win a Trip to Montana Giveaway — Travel Channel and the Montana Office of Tourism are giving away a trip for two to Montana. The winner will choose between a winter adventure and a summer getaway to either Glacier National Park or Yellowstone National Park. Enter to win daily; the more you know about Travel Channel, the better you’ll do. Contest ends April 30, 2011; see the contest’s official rules for details.

Enjoy a great spring day today, and even if you’re a stalwart Earth fan, take the time to put litter in its place today, or walk or bike instead of driving, or put a little more effort into using re-usable coffee cups or mugs, re-usable shopping bags, or think twice about what you need to print.

Happy Weekend!

Image Courtesy of The Go Green Blog

Step by step, a Plastic Jungle fan shows you how to save $100s by combining discounted gift cards, coupons, and rebates.

It is fair to say that most households have wish lists. From house to house, these lists can be as diverse as the inhabitants. You could be pining for fresh electronics (new TV or gaming system), or home improvements or furniture, or maybe a special accessory, such as a pricey designer purse or a pair of shoes. Often, wish lists develop when you move into a new space, as our Plastic Jungle fan, Marcy B., relates.

In her letter, Marcy B. outlines how she went about saving big on renovating her window treatments in her new home. She explains that it wasn’t a matter of combing the Internet, or paging through Val-Pak coupons, but a matter of patience and a small amount of planning.

Thanks to marketing and promotions, all shoppers get the idea that we could save big, but jumping the hurdle to map out the steps can be a stumbling block.

Her letter explains her simple process, step-by-step:

You are welcome, Marcy! : )

Marcy's Living Room Before the New Blinds

Marcy's home with her new blinds. Success at a discount!

As it turns out, Marcy is also a guest contributor for a parenting site: MamaModerne.com, and she wrote up her story as an article, “Saving Big on Big Purchases”. Check it out for more details on how to save when it comes time to pull out that wishlist.

What’s on your wishlist?

Consider the following categories. When you’re dealing with a wishlist, it’s OK to be greedy. Writing out what you want might help you prioritize your wants and needs. (Well, that sounds like another blog post!)

Consumer Electronics: get gift cards from Best Buy, Kohl’s, Target, Walmart, Sony Style, Apple Store, Office Depot, Staples, JCPenney

Home Improvement: get gift cards from Home Depot, Lowe’s, Ace Hardware, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Target, Bloomingdale’s

Furniture: get gift cards from Crate & Barrel, Williams-Sonoma Home, JCPenney, Macy’s, Walmart, west elm, CB2

Designer Apparel & Accessories: Zappo’s, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Bergdorf-Goodman, Tiffany & Co., Burberry, Coach

Pick up any of the above gift cards on Plastic Jungle’s Buy Gift Cards page.

Get thinking, and let us know if you’ve got any strategies for saving with discount gift cards.

February saw the Superbowl, the Oscars, Valentine’s Day, and Presidents’ Day all packed into a few short weeks. Plus, a few frozen moments across the country kept shoppers inside and online, no doubt.

Many of the usual favorite gift cards showed up in February’s Top Ten, plus a very conspicuous hanger-on at #11, giving hope to all girlfriends, wives, and mothers out there for something a little more than a card.

I’m thinking the bridal business might be busy this year, because TIFFANY & CO came in at #11 on the sales chart. (Right now, there are no discounted Tiffany & Co gift cards for sale on Plastic Jungle. You can set a Tiffany & Co alert to be notified via email when gift cards become available.)

Where did lingerie retailer VICTORIA’S SECRET land during the month for love? Still in the top 50, at #28, but well behind #9, CABELA’S.

10 JCPENNEY

Purchase discount JCPenney Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle, currently at up to 14% Off.

9 CABELA’S

Purchase discount Cabela’s Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle, currently up to 12% off.

8 BARNES & NOBLE

Purchase discount Barnes & Noble Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle, currently at up to 9% Off.

7 KOHL’S

Purchase discount Kohl’s Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle, currently at up to 14% Off.

6 MACY’S

Purchase discount Macy’s Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle — when they come into stock. Set an Alert Now.

5 LOWE’S

Purchase discount Lowe’s Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle, currently at up to 7% Off.

4 WALMART

Purchase discount Walmart Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle, currently at up to 3% Off.

3 BEST BUY

Purchase discount Best Buy Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle, currently at up to 6% Off.

2 TARGET

Purchase discount Target Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle, currently at up to 3% Off.

1 HOME DEPOT

Purchase discount Home Depot Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle, currently at up to 7% Off.

Ready to ditch your unused gift card and trade up to one of the favorites? You can safely and securely SELL your gift card on Plastic Jungle, with many different payout options.

What’s your favorite gift card of the moment? Something to get ready for spring — sporting goods or travel? Let us know in the comments below.

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!

Saving money is not always easy. Many of us have to weigh a cost of time : benefit ratio. It’s got to be simple, foolproof, and secure. We do our best to make the gift card-swap process as easy as it can be. Plus, Plastic Jungle offers a few ways to redeem your gift card. You can exchange your unused gift card for an Amazon.com Gift Card; for cold, hard cash; to fund a PayPal account; and you can even exchange your gift card for Facebook Credits.

More stores are taking PayPal as a method of payment on their websites. For example, the Abercrombie & Fitch network of clothing stores that also includes Hollister Co., and Gilly Hicks. While you can’t use the same gift card to pay at all three sites, you can use a PayPal account as payment at checkout at each of these stores. It becomes really efficient to exchange a gift card for instant PayPal account funding on Plastic Jungle and check out at Hollister in the same day you make the gift card swap.

Other online merchants who accept PayPal as payment include: Sears, Walmart, Best Buy, eBay, newegg.com, Delta Airlines, 1800Flowers.com, Zappos and many more. The PayPal Store Directory will give you a complete list of retailers who accept PayPal for payment.

Check the Plastic Jungle “Sell Gift Cards” page to see what the exchange value will be for your unused gift card.

Plastic Jungle’s Top 10 Gift Cards for January 2011 (in reverse order)

10. iTunes (down from #4 in December)

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted iTunes Gift Cards >>

9. Nordstrom

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted Nordstrom Gift Cards >>

8. Kohl’s

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted Kohl’s Gift Cards >>

7. Apple Store

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted Apple Store Gift Cards >>

6. Macy’s (down from #2 in December)

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted Macy’s Gift Cards >>

5. Best Buy (up from #9 in December)

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted Best Buy Gift Cards Now

4. Lowe’s (up from #10 in December)

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted Lowe’s Gift Cards >>

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted Target Gift Cards >>

2. Home Depot (up from #5 in December)

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted Home Depot Gift Cards >>

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted Walmart Gift Cards >>

View gift cards you loved in January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, Fall 2010, and December 2010.

Here’s this week’s roundup of the web’s hot sweepstakes and giveaways.

The NFL matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers is a classic made in NFL Heaven. Luckily they are not playing at Lambeau, outdoors in the snow, because I think the sight of everyone having to shovel off their seat would put most of the Northeast into an even deeper depression. Well, if you need a shovel at a good price, check out our stock of discounted Home Depot Gift Cards… at the moment, purchase one at 7% off face value!

I digress. Let’s cheer you up.

Hooters Retaurants Big Game Giveaway on Sunday, February 6th. That’s right, that’s Super Bowl Sunday: just show up to Hooters and watch the big game, and you can enter to win a Sharp 42” LCD HDTV that will be given away during the game. Each Hooters Restaurant location has a TV to give away. When you’re at the restaurant just sign up to enter. Contest ends right after the Super Bowl on 2/6/2011. Check rules and details at Hooters restaurants.

Get discounted Hooters Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle >>>

Restaurant Gary Danko in San Francisco

Win a $450 Gary Danko Gift Card offered by Bloomspot.com. If you’re too mature for Hooters, San Francisco “experience” peddler Bloomspot.com is calling your name by offering up a meal at one of the country’s finest dining establishments: Restaurant Gary Danko. Just follow the link and enter your information – you can enter by listing with Bloomspot or not; read carefully. You’ll need to be in San Francisco to enjoy it, but prepare to be spoiled with a once-in-a-lifetime dining experience featuring New American cuisine perfectly served. Bloomspot offers experiences in New York, Boston, Miami, and more. Contest ends January 28, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time; check official rules for details.

Get to San Fransisco on discounted American Airlines Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle >>>

Get to San Fransisco on discounted JetBlue Airlines Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle >>>

The HGTV Dream Home 2011 Giveaway. Enjoy all Seasons in Stowe, Vermont.

Enter twice per day — once on HGTV.com and once on FrontDoor.com — for your chance to win the luxuriously furnished HGTV Dream Home 2011, plus a new 2011 GMC Acadia Denali and $500,000. Enter Through February 18, 2011, at 5 p.m. EST. Check Contest Rules for details on prizes and terms and conditions.

Don’t be jealous of that exquisite vacation home, spiff up your own (or get that shovel) with discounted Home Depot Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle >>>

Hopefully this diverse and exciting set of giveaways gets you happy and ready for the weekend. While you’re watching, let us know what everyone’s favorite play of the game was. Here’s to it being a Packer play… ; ) OK… Here’s to a great Super Bowl game in Dallas on Sunday, and let there be plenty of guacamole to go around.

As the web’s largest secured gift card exchange, we’ve seen the volume of gift cards exchanged on our site rise exponentially in the past year (see our Plastic Jungle blog post with figures). It’s exciting to see consumers finding great ways to save money time and time again.

During the holidays, we found that the top ten gift cards purchased on our site were from versatile retailers with many product lines to offer. Clearly, we’ve got a hot market if you’re willing to sell any of these gift cards. Check the Plastic Jungle “Sell Gift Cards” page to see what your exchange value will be.

Plastic Jungle’s Top 10 Gift Cards (in reverse order)

December 2010

10. Lowe’s

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted Lowe’s Gift Cards Now

9. Best Buy

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted Best Buy Gift Cards Now

8. Target

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted Target Gift Cards Now

7. Kmart

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted Kmart Gift Cards Now

6. Lands’ End

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted Lands’ End Gift Cards Now

5. Home Depot

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted Home Depot Gift Cards Now

4. iTunes

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted iTunes Gift Cards Now

3. Sears

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted Sears Gift Cards Now

2. Macy’s

1. Walmart

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted Walmart Gift Cards Now

View gift cards you loved in January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, and Fall 2010.

Where do you love to shop (and save money)?