CardSwap.ca Review and Giveaway

With the holiday season coming to a close you all may be wondering what to do with those gift cards you received.

We all like the convenience that giving gift cards can bring. There are so many options out there these days that sometimes it is a bit overwhelming to decide what card to give. And sometimes the card we decide on may not suit the recipient's lifestyle.

This is where CardSwap.ca comes in!

CardSwap was born out of founder Frances Ho's struggle to get rid of her unused stack of gift cards.

At the CardSwap website you can sell, buy, or donate your unused gift cards. So, if you received a gift card to Tim Horton's but it turns out you are not a big fan of coffee, you can sell your gift card to the CardSwap website and receive up to 92% cash back! How neat is that?

I bought two gift cards from CardSwap with the fifty dollars I was provided with to faciliate this review. I am so excited to feed my book addiction with my new Chapters gift card as well as purchasing some new clothes for my ever growing boys from Old Navy!

I found the CardSwap website very easy to navigate. If I was not sure of something, it was easy to find the answer in their FAQ section or by sending a quick email to their customer service centre.

To begin the process of searching for cards to buy I clicked on the "buy" link at the top of the page. Here you can search for cards by merchant, category, and availability. If a particular gift card catches your eye be sure to grab it quickly. I found that when I first browsed the website I had my eye on a certain card and when I went back the next day, it wasn't available for purchase anymore. I wasn't too disappointed though. There are so many choices that I ended up with the two cards I know I will definitely use!

To sell one of your unused gift cards, click on the "sell" link at the top of the website. The page that loads asks you what merchant the card is from, how much balance is on the card, and what your email address is. After you enter all of that information all you have to do is click on "receive offer" and CardSwap will make an offer to purchase your card from you. Now, I have not had the opportunity to sell a gift card yet but they seem to make the process quite simple. CardSwap even provides you with a free prepaid shipping label to mail the card to directly to them. Then, CardSwap will mail you a cheque within two business days of receiving the cards.

When you buy (or sell) a card on CardSwap you will earn what they call SwapPoints. SwapPoints are CardSwap's way of rewarding you for using their service. You will notice that the website indicates how many SwapPoints you will earn when you purchase a particular card. Every card has a different SwapPoints value. You can earn, collect, and redeem these SwapPoints for gift cards or cash back! Once you reach a minimum of 1,000 SwapPoints, you can redeem them for your reward.

Personally, I think CardSwap is a fantastic idea and service! As my family lives in a remote area, much of the shopping I do for our family is online. Sometimes we receive gift cards that cannot be used until we go to an urban area. And travelling to an urban centre can take from 6-8 hours depending one where we are going. So, we do not travel often! CardSwap now gives me the option of being able to sell these unusable cards to get ones that we will be able to use online!

I received the two gift cards I purchased within a week of purchase. I was surprised how quickly they arrived. I know a few other people who received their cards within a few days of ordering. But they do not live as remote as I do. The only thing that surprised me was the packaging of the cards. They came in a plain white envelope with no return address. I thought it was junk mail. I am glad I took the time to open the package though. Otherwise, I would have thrown out my cards. I hope CardSwap changes their packaging to include their logo and address information on it so you know what you are receiving.

CardSwap is being extremely generous and wants to offer one of my reader's a chance to win a $40 credit towards the purchase of a gift card from their website.

Please fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Entries will be checked for validity. This giveaway will end on Thursday, January 17th, 2013. The winner will be contacted via email and will have 48 hours to confirm their win. This giveaway is open to Canadians only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Update - The winner has been contacted and confirmed. Thank you all for participating.


Disclosure - Complimentary products were provided for review purposes. All opinions expressed in the above review are honest and my own.