Forget personalized coffee mugs, engraved plaques and fruit-of-the-month incentives. Other than cold hard cash, gift cards consistently rank as a popular Employee Recognition gift.

With increasingly diverse workforces, it’s nearly impossible to please everyone. Some employees might appreciate that nice bottle of cabernet, whereas others might be coveting that motivational poster or desk plant to brighten up their office. And there’s always the logo merchandise – while companies have the right intention, employees might want to ditch their “work hat” after hours and ditch their company logo hat as well.

So what employee gift can guarantee that one size fits all? Gift Cards!

The options are endless: restaurants, spa services, electronics, home improvement, clothing, jewelry, travel and more – there’s something for everyone. Enlightened managers know what makes their employees tick, so they can tailor gift cards for each of their staff members. Employees are then empowered to purchase what they want, when they want.

As an employer, buying discounted gift cards from Plastic Jungle for your employees is easy. You save money (up to 35%), get FREE shipping and receive your gift cards in just 4 to 6 days.

Here are some of Plastic Jungle’s most popular gift cards:

Target – 3% off

Bath & Body Works – 12% off

Kohl’s – 15% off

Home Depot – 6% off

As an employee, what if your employer was a bit off base and got you a gift card you don’t want or need? Sell it back to Plastic Jungle! We’ll buy your gift card for up to 92% of its value in exchange for an Amazon.com gift card, Cashier’s Check or PayPal credit.

Simple yet relevant, gift cards are a great choice for employers and employees alike. And they’ll probably garner more oohs and aahs than a fruit-of-the-month gift basket.

We’ve come a long way, baby.

The modern-day gift card actually started as a paper gift certificate. But with the invention of color copiers and printers, gift certificates were easily counterfeited.

Enter Blockbuster Entertainment.

In 1994, they became the creators of the first plastic gift card. Neiman Marcus, Mobil Oil and Kmart soon followed. By 2012, the gift card industry is expected to hit the $100 billion mark!

Why are gift cards so popular?

Easy to buy: hundreds of merchants to choose from

Easy to ship: no clunky packages with extra postage

All occasions: birthdays, holidays, teacher’s gifts – you name it!

Sure thing: recipient can choose anything they want from their fave store

Check out these fun gift card facts:

• The gift card is the #1 most-requested gift (clothing is #2)
• Gift cards are the 2^nd most given gift in the U.S.
• Men spend more on gift cards than women
• 98% of teens have bought or received a gift card
• Average gift card value is $35
• Average amount spent on a card is $53
• 54.9% of adults say they like to receive a gift card as a gift
• The most popular gift cards are to stores, followed by restaurants

And did you know?

• There’s approximately $30 billion in unused gift cards
• The average household sits on $300 in unused gift cards

So what do you do with all your unused gift cards? Sell them to Plastic Jungle, of course!

Cash in your unwanted gift cards for up to 92% of the verified balance. You can also exchange your unredeemed or partially used gift cards for purchasing power at stores like Amazon.com, or donate them for the benefit of your favorite nonprofit organization. We pay for shipping, and all transactions are guaranteed!

You can also BUY gift cards from Plastic Jungle – at up to a 35% discount! And we offer free shipping and guaranteed transactions on those, too!

But don’t just take our word for it – check out our stellar review on Top Ten Reviews, where Plastic Jungle took the #1 spot for the best online gift card exchange!

References: Deloitte & Touche, TowerGroup, Big Research, findfreegiftcards.com, nextwave.org.