Gift cards are now among the most popular of gifts. The National Retail Federation estimates Americans spend approximately $31 billion on gift cards each year. The cards are convenient and versatile. One drawback, however, is if there are only a few dollars left on the card, you may be forced to keep spending until you exhaust the value of the card. Retailers are not required to give you back the money, even if it is only a small amount.

A California law proposes that retailers must give back cash if the gift card has less than $10 remaining; in addition, retailers cannot charge service fees, impose

expiration dates, or deduct a value from cards if the cards are not used (unless the card value is less than $5 and has been dormant for two years).

QUESTIONS

1. What do you think the impact of this law has on retailers? Consumers?

2. Do you agree or disagree with this law?

3. Have you had any experience with gift cards?

4. How do you think this law affects the supply and demand of gift cards?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

1 The impact of this law on the retailer is that they will not be able to impose any unla... View the full answer