The website design isn't the best gift card exchange website we tested, but it's functional, and with GiftCardBin, you can easily set up email alerts so you’ll never miss out on a card from the stores you love.
There is a "sell" button on the page though it merely lets you search for a store to swap your cards. The website advertises a "100 day, 100 percent guarantee" though the claims process seems a little intense for buyers. When selling a gift card, you'll need to make a claim via email or on the phone if you haven't been paid within two weeks.
If you've bought a card and it came with an incorrect balance or didn't come within 10 days of purchase you'll file a claim the same way, then fill out a form that will be provided and mail it in. Further to this, a 100 day guarantee is better than some such as Cardcash but not as good as Raise’s 1 year guarantee.
GiftCardBin: Selling your gift cards
- Only available in physical partner stores
- The website makes it hard to find nearby locations
If you’re trying to sell your unwanted gift cards we’d recommend another website like CardCash unless you like the idea of going to a physical location and live centrally.
With GiftCardBin, you’ll need to find a partner location to sell your cards, and frankly the website doesn't make them easy to find. Rather than being able to search the entire United States you're prompted to enter your zip code. If there isn't one within 100 miles of that zip code, you're prompted to call customer service for more details. We couldn’t find any locations within 100 miles of our office in northern Utah, but when we used a New York City zip code we were directed to numerous check cashing establishments. This isn't useful if you live in a rural area.
GiftCardBin: Buying gift cards
- A few great deals
- Smaller selection of gift cards than many competitors
Buying gift cards from GiftCardBin is similar to the other websites we tested. You can search by discount, store, category or your own favorites once you create an account. There are cards available from a multitude of websites like Advance Auto Parts, MAC Cosmetics and CVS, though overall the selection wasn't as vast as some other gift card exchange services. Selection can vary day to day, but in our tests, GiftCardBin only had one of the three cards we searched for available - most sites had at least two. We could choose from three available Macy’s cards, but Walmart and American Eagle were not in stock. The Macy’s cards had a saving of 7% - not bad, but comparable to sites such as Gift Card Granny.
You can buy electronic or physical gift cards and if you choose the latter you can expect it in the mail within 10 business days. Digital cards will appear in your account within two business days - longer than some promise. You can also get vouchers printable at home and redeemable in-store for certain retailers. We saw discounts as high as 31 percent during our testing, which meant you could buy a $140 Lane Bryant card for less than $100. That said, you’d need to be confident in making a large purchase for this deal to pay off.
GiftCardBin: Customer reviews
- Not BBB accredited
- A good track record of customer satisfaction
The service also has an A+ from the Better Business Bureau, a consumer watchdog group. This was one of only three websites we tested with an A+ rating, though service isn’t technically accredited by the BBB. This means the A+ comes from consumer reviews, so you can rest easy knowing that GiftCardBin has a lot of happy customers. This actually gives you a distinct peace of mind that shopping at other sites, such as Cardpool.
GiftCardBin: Verdict
We saw some impressive savings with GiftCardBin, so it’s worth signing up for alerts incase any of your favourite retailers crop up with a great deal. However, the availability of cards was worse than many competitors, and the website wasn’t a pleasure to use. Selling unwanted gift cards in one of GiftCardBin’s partner stores may appeal to some, but it certainly makes the process longer and more effort than many competitors. Whilst not accredited, an A+ BBB rating indicates a high level of customer satisfaction - one of the major perks of GiftCardBin in comparison with leading sites. However, it wouldn’t be our first choice
