General Discussion

They are a no-effort gesture that does nothing to acknowledge what a person wants or needs. I HATE Amazon and will never pay a dime to that online monopoly.

Why are gift cards bad? The retailer gets their money in advance, but there is an 8% chance the card holder will never use it. Think about how many gift cards are still unclaimed in a drawer. That is why retailers push these things everywhere because they make out well with those odds.

Second of all, it’s an impersonal gift. Assuming everyone wants to shop at monopolistic Amazon or any other pre-determined retailer or service limits the actual gift opportunity. I hate online shopping and avoid it as much as possible. I Instead try to support local retailers— even the big box stores have employees they support, pay local rent and taxes.

Why don’t people just give each other cash instead? Then they can use that money for anything they want and there’s absolute 100% free choice. It’s the most reusable item ever invented and certainly does not go to waste or sit in a drawer unclaimed. NO ONE will ever have a political or ethical dilema.

Finally, while some are given electronically, most are made of NON-recyclable plastic and are generally treated as single-use items. They may seem small, but when you consider the billions of these that are generated each year, that is a lot of NEEDLESS WASTE when you could just give cash Instead or give the gift of experiences, like take the friend out and pay for their lunch. Or go to some show together. The receiver will cherish the gift of you treating for a holiday coffee and a catching up session far more than a Starbucks card.

Telling your friend you don’t want to support fascists billionaire tech bros is noble and shows you have values. Living your values, especially when it is uncomfortable is courageous. Friends, and people on this forum thinking your approach was rude will get over it and you may have planted a seed in them, too. Societal norms are a hard thing to shift or shake off.

Reduce, reuse, reTHINK.
I have had to wean my friends off of giving me any gift because I have way too much stuff as it is. There is something in our culture that makes us feel obligated to give each other gifts all the time and most of the time the recipient doesn’t even like it that much. (we have all been there as well having to do the fake excitement over something that we know we don’t need or like.)

However, cash or a free lunch, I will gladly accept if they feel they must! I love giving them, too!