05-07-2025 08:04 PM
I'm just wondering why so many seem to buy gift cards to make purchases on Ebay. I know some probably get them as gifts but I've seen many posts stating the gift card they bought won't work etc.etc.
I just wonder why people buy them for themselves. Is there a reason? Are they trying to circumvent something?
I'm a pretty straight foreward thinker and can't reason why some get more steps involved than necessary to make purchases. I just set up my payment option (one) in a fairly safe way so even if scammed somehow they can't get much.
I just don't get it.
05-07-2025 08:08 PM
Two reasons come to mind.
1. They do not trust Ebay with their credit card, debit card or bank info. Nor do they trust PayPal
2. They have no credit and are unbanked.
05-07-2025 08:15 PM - edited 05-07-2025 08:17 PM
I use gift cards to make planned purchases all the time. I get fuel points for purchases from my local grocery store. They offer coupons for 4 X the value of the gift card for discounted fuel. I purchase the gift cards for places I shop in anyway, and can get up to $1.00 off per gallon of gas. Plus I get cash back rewards on the credit card I use to purchase the gift cards. win-win
05-07-2025 08:19 PM
Do you buy Ebay gift cards?
05-07-2025 08:24 PM
Thanks for your input. Food for thought.
05-07-2025 08:26 PM
It's a risky thing to do.
05-07-2025 08:30 PM
It does seem risky with all the complaints I've read about them.
05-07-2025 08:34 PM
Generally no, I use my spendable funds or PayPal. I have received a couple of gift cards as gifts and had no issues using them.
05-08-2025 03:04 AM
I assumed that the buyers purchased the eBay gift cards as a result of a car selling scam and came to their senses before giving the card numbers to the scammer. So now they have the eBay gift cards to spend. (But then I'm a little cynical.)
05-08-2025 03:13 AM
How is it risky to buy eBay gift cards or to use them? Have never bought them, but have been given them as gifts and have never had any trouble using them.
05-08-2025 02:32 PM
Still waiting to hear a logical suggestion why it seems risky. As I mentioned, have never bought them, but have used the ones I've been gifted without any problem. In fact, I have a couple right now that I am looking forward to using.
The only time it's risky (and this has NOTHING TO DO WITH EBAY) is when someone falls for that CL or FB scam where a 2023 Honda is listed for $900 by a soldier being deployed, a grieving mom selling her dead child's car etc etc etc, requires that the buyer pay with eBay gift cards and will deliver the vehicle at no extra charge for a trial period. AGAIN THIS BOGUS TRANSACTION HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH EBAY.
So, that having been said, still want to know why buying and using an eBay gift card seems risky. I also, fortunately, have been given Amazon gift cards. Are those considered risky also?
05-08-2025 02:38 PM
'seen many posts stating the gift card they bought won't work'....
Some are scammers trying to get knowledge from here how to scam eBay...
So easy to grab eBay gift cards at a store without adding anything on it and cry there's no money on it...LOL
05-08-2025 02:48 PM
@soh.maryl wrote:How is it risky to buy eBay gift cards or to use them? Have never bought them, but have been given them as gifts and have never had any trouble using them.
I'll field this one. I, too, have given eBay gift cards as gifts and have received them as gifts. I've never had problems either way with using the cards on any of those transactions. Admittedly... I stopped buying them about a year ago.
Now my fear is that eBay gift cards are the ones more frequently 'picked up/scratched/silver strip re-applied/reshelved' ones. 😐
Does that make any sense?
05-08-2025 03:22 PM
In addition to the great answers from my kind forum friends;
You have to remember that even though we see what seems like a LOT of complaints for the gift cards NOT working or being risky, many of those don't know how to work them and the few that have legit issues are probably a tiny fraction of the people that manage to use them without incident.
Of course we don't see those people, we only see the ones with problems.
eBay gift cards may not be as risky or as flawed as it appears to us on the boards. /just sayin'
05-08-2025 03:56 PM
eBay gift cards may not be as risky or as flawed as it appears to us on the boards. /just sayin'
Exactly. To qualify my reply... I realize that the many posts I've read here (about eBay gift cards) played into my decision. Multitudes of problems from buyers + all the fb and CL scams that request payment with eBay gift cards? Nuh-uh.