smallboxsanta

Gift certificates may come in small boxes but they won’t glow with depth and meaning… and it’s ok.

Recently, the local newspaper profiled my gift choices. Since my New Year’s resolution is going to be get rid of one item per day again, the last thing I want to do is give people more crap, or have them give me more crap.

I had this plan to take the reporter around to the various local spots where one can buy a gift certificate to a local business. Personal yet useful. Easy to get and local. I loved my plan.

The editor? Not so much.

She wanted pictures of me holding up stuff, which is fine. (Click that link and you too can see my crazy eyes while I hold up stuff. I swear, you joke pose for one of these pictures and it will get published.)

The arts editor is not the only one who thinks my gift certificate idea is stupid. You don’t have to search online to find articles like 10 Reasons Not To Give A Gift Certificate (Lifehacker). People have pretty strong opinions about gift certificates being bad. Less useful cash, essentially.



I would like to refute some of these claims and tell you why you should buy LOCAL gift certificates/cards as presents in a general way:

Gift certificates aren’t personal.

You know what isn’t personal? A credit card with some monetary limit. Buy knowing someone’s favorite boutique grocery store or yarn shop and buying them a gift certificate says ‘Hey I know you but I want you to get what you want/need.’ Note: Try to buy a gift certificate that is past the average spend at the location. If you buy me a $25 gift certificate at a fancy restaurant, all you’re doing is making me shell out another $50 to have a good meal. Look at the offerings at the business and pick an amount that would be useful at that location.

They lose value over time.

A lot of gift certificates, especially to local businesses, keep their value over time and don’t expire. Not all, of course. Just understand the business’s policies, know the person you are buying for, and judge accordingly. Personally, the side of our fridge is dedicated to child artwork and gift certificates so they are in a spot we can see them… and use them! I advocate thinking of a place where they will be useful for you so if/when you get some as a present, you can store them so you don’t forget to use them.

They are hard to find.

Most businesses, if you ask, have gift certificates or gift cards. What I’ve found in asking around this holiday season is they just aren’t great about advertising them. (Note: If you are a local Maine business, please add yourselves to our directory page: Buy Local It’s free and easy!)

So do I think gift certificates are these magical, perfect item for everyone? Of course not. But for those of us who struggle to be thoughtful and buy local, they can be a good option for the right person (and for the right amount for use at the right business).



Need marketing help?

X