Secondary Gift Card Economy Sees Significant Growth in 2010

Plastic Jungle Reports Exponential Surge in Holiday Business and Consumer Trends Toward Electronic Payouts

SAN JOSE, CA–(Marketwire – January 20, 2011) – New data released today reveals that as the gift card economy continues to grow, consumers are increasingly looking to buy and sell previously-issued gift cards. The data, released by Plastic Jungle, the web’s largest secured gift card exchange, shows that consumers are now using secondary gift card marketplaces more than ever to extend their purchasing power and receive extra value at their favorite merchants.

Merchant-issued — or closed loop — gift cards now represent $90 billion of the U.S. economy. An estimated $30 billion in gift cards are unredeemed at any given time. Plastic Jungle helps consumers get the most value out of gift cards by allowing them to sell unredeemed gift cards for up to 92% of the gift card value, buy gift cards at their favorite stores for savings up to 30%, or donate the value of their unused cards to their favorite cause. Plastic Jungle has also enabled users to exchange gift cards for payment value which can be used at the millions of merchants that accept PayPal and for virtual currency which can be used at thousands of online games on social networks, such as Facebook.

During the 2010 calendar year, Plastic Jungle reports that gift card value sold on the website exceeded $10 million, an increase of 5 times over 2009.

“We are pleased to see that users are beginning to fully realize the extra value potential in gift cards,” said Bruce Bower, CEO of Plastic Jungle. “This holiday season was a perfect example of the growing popularity in buying and selling gift cards, and we know we helped Plastic Jungle users stretch their holiday dollars further.” During the 2010 holiday season, Plastic Jungle saw huge upticks in traffic and delivered nearly 6 times the gift card sales volume over the same period in 2009. Additionally, registered users nearly doubled in Q4 2010.

Plastic Jungle’s innovations have also sparked an increased interest in alternative payouts, and especially in electronic payouts. Plastic Jungle’s newly launched PayPal application on the Plastic Jungle website allows customers to sell their gift cards and to have funds quickly transferred into their PayPal account. In the two weeks following the December 23 launch, nearly one third of Plastic Jungle’s payout volume was processed into users’ PayPal accounts.

“Third-party developers like Plastic Jungle have truly harnessed the possibilities for payments innovation, and we’re pleased that PayPal users are responding enthusiastically to the application on the Plastic Jungle website,” said Damon Hougland, PayPal’s senior director of PayPal X. “We look forward to seeing even more PayPal users benefit and recapture the money often left idle in their gift cards.”

During the same two week period following the PayPal application launch, Plastic Jungle users took advantage of additional electronic payout options on the website; the share of Amazon.com Gift Card payout transactions jumped by nearly 30 percent.

For the 2010 calendar year, gift cards for big-box and department stores were the most transacted. Walmart proved to be the most popular card, followed by Home Depot, Target, Macy’s and iTunes. During the 2010 holiday season, Walmart was again the most popular card, followed by Macy’s, Sears, iTunes and Home Depot. Electronic representations of gift cards — or eCodes — represented more than 20 percent of total Plastic Jungle sales during the holiday season.

Plastic Jungle improves efficiency in the merchant issued gift cards market by redistributing gift cards to their highest and best use, taking gift cards from less productive consumers and selling them to a merchant’s most enthusiastic customer set.

Read the press release on Marketwire:  Secondary Gift Card Economy Sees Significant Growth in 2010

About Plastic Jungle
Plastic Jungle (www.plasticjungle.com) 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.

Hot off the presses!

Plastic Jungle launches gift card exchange application, leveraging PayPal’s new Adaptive Payments APIs, to help consumers quickly receive funds into their PayPal account for gift cards

Plastic Jungle users can now also sell gift cards for PayPal credit directly on PlasticJungle.com

Innovate 2010, SAN FRANCISCO – October 26, 2010 – Plastic Jungle, the Web’s leading gift card exchange, is using PayPal, the world’s first truly open global payments platform, to allow PayPal users to fund their PayPal accounts with gift cards they are not planning to use. The gift card exchange application was officially debuted today at the PayPal X Innovate 2010 conference and is now available to a limited number of PayPal users. The application will be released to the wider public in early 2011.

Steve presents the Plastic Jungle Gift Card Exchange App at PayPal X Innovate 2010

This application, which uses PayPal’s new Adaptive Payments APIs, will allow PayPal’s millions of U.S. users to sell gift cards to Plastic Jungle and receive up to 92% of the verified balance transferred into their PayPal accounts. For instance, someone could sell a gift card to a department store and quickly receive funds in his or her PayPal account to put toward another purchase or to pay a bill.

In the coming months, Plastic Jungle customers will also be able to sell their gift cards and receive funds transferred into their PayPal account balance directly on the Plastic Jungle website.

Gift cards that are converted into a PayPal balance are then resold on the Plastic Jungle marketplace to motivated shoppers, allowing merchants to connect with their most productive customers in new and innovative ways.

“We’re very pleased to introduce an electronic, user-friendly gift card exchange experience to PayPal and Plastic Jungle users,” said Plastic Jungle CEO Bruce Bower. “One of the most exciting features of this new capability with PayPal will be the opportunity to convert the value of gift cards easily into digital funds.”

He added, “The PayPal feature on Plastic Jungle’s website will also give users purchasing power anywhere PayPal is accepted.”

Plastic Jungle helps unlock the estimated $30 billion in unredeemed gift cards by allowing people to sell unspent gift cards for cash, buy new gift cards at their favorite stores for up to 30% off, or donate the value of their unused cards to their favorite cause. More than 400 national and local brands are included on the website. This new gift card exchange application available to PayPal users will provide additional choice and flexibility to consumers looking to receive quick payout for their gift cards.

“Plastic Jungle’s work is a great example of how third-party developers can use PayPal X to take payments in creative directions,” said Damon Hougland, PayPal’s senior director of PayPal X,   “They’re providing a useful way for PayPal users to recapture money that is often trapped or lost in gift cards.”

Part of the PayPal X platform, the Adaptive Payments API is a set of building blocks that gives developers the tools to create highly customized payment services.  The API will change where and how people can make payments, how recipients get compensated, and more. Plastic Jungle is one of a leading group of companies introducing new application technology at the PayPal X Innovate 2010 conference.

Arturo demos the Plastic Jungle Gift Card Exchange App

Check out our video demo to see how quick and easy it is to use the Plastic Jungle Gift Card Exchange App on PayPal.com.

Read the press release on MarketWire: Plastic Jungle Turns Gift Cards into PayPal Credit

About Plastic Jungle

Plastic Jungle (www.plasticjungle.com) is the Web’s leading gift card exchange, offering the best way to sell, buy or donate gift cards in a trusted environment. Consumers can save money at their favorite stores with discounted gift cards up to 30% off, and Plastic Jungle buys unwanted gift cards for up to 92% of the unused balance. The company’s mission is to bring liquidity to the estimated $30 billion unredeemed gift card economy for the benefit of consumers, retailers, and other ecommerce companies. Based in San Jose, California, Plastic Jungle is privately held, with venture backing from Shasta Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, First Round Capital, Bay Partners, Harrison Metal, and Western Technology Investment.