Efteling coupon for those who do not like amusement parks, Bol.com coupon for those who prefer to shop in stores. With gift certificates in Christmas packages, employers unknowingly burden their employees with things they do not want. More and more people are looking for ways to exchange or sell gift cards for money through marketplaces and specialized websites.
The gift voucher market is currently around 1.7 billion euros annually. “And this is the busiest time for the industry,” says René de Wit of the Dutch Gift Card Trade Association.
The rush comes from coupons or surprises under the tree, but especially from Christmas packages that employers give away in lieu of a box of goodies and a good bottle of wine.
For sale: My Christmas gift
In fact, not all of these coupons are given. There are plenty of ads on Marktplaats for people wanting to get rid of their vouchers: credit cards for wine shops, holiday parks, concerts, sustainable clothing or theme parks. They are usually placed this week and are offered at a price significantly less than loan value.
For example, Semmi sells a Bol.com coupon worth 450 Euros for 400 Euros: “Because I can use the money better.” Advertiser Bakker is also trying to spend the Efteling coupon. “I got this card from my old job. “My intentions are good, but I won’t do anything about it.”
Martijn Terbruggen also saw Marktplaats “full” of gift cards in 2015. At the time, she was working in a transaction department in the gift card industry and saw how many people were not using up the balance on the cards they received. “At times there were €8 million worth of unused credit in Intertoys vouchers alone.”
The toy chain was no exception. At the beginning of this year, Bijenkorf had a balance of approximately 19.5 million euros in revenues.
By law, gift cards must be valid for at least two years. It’s unclear exactly how many people let their cards expire. “For one provider it’s a few percent, for others it’s 20 to 30 percent,” says Willem Blok of gift card service provider Intersolve. “This depends on the type of card.”
Changing
Terbruggen recognized a gap in the market and founded the company Wissel.nl, where people could exchange gift vouchers for money or another gift voucher. “90 percent of them want money. “A lot of people really need this.” Their customers would rather have a little more in their bank account to pay for their shopping than a holiday park voucher. “For example, who sees that people get such a coupon when they change supplier or energy supplier?”
You can also find this group on Marktplaats. For example, advertiser Semmi received the gift card as part of Ziggo’s Black Friday promotion. Like many other advertisers, Semmi sells the coupon at a loss. Advantage? You can spend the money anywhere rather than where it says on the receipt.
The same goes for Terbruggen’s customers. His company refunds 70 to 100 percent of the value, depending on which coupon it is and whether someone wants money or wants to exchange it for another coupon.
Two-year-old competitor Cadeaubonlezen.com also works this way. “We specialize in gift cards from the gaming world,” says a spokesperson. “Our target group is young people between the ages of 18-35.”
Money laundering?
Business is going well. “It really is the busiest time of the year right now,” the spokesperson says. “Around Christmas we accept about 50 to 100 cards a day.”
Trading with the larger company Wissel.nl is also trending upward. “We paid out over a million gift cards,” says Terbruggen. Most of the growth has occurred in the last two years. “We currently have 17 times more sales than in 2017.” This growth is also reflected in the company’s last two annual reports, where equity increased almost fivefold.
Terbruggen has taken all possible measures to prevent criminals from abusing its services to launder money through gift cards. “We do not accept cards purchased with cash, cryptocurrency or credit card. And we only pay to bank accounts in the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria or Germany.”
“As a result, we have stricter requirements than the regulatory agency requires,” says Terbruggen. “But at this point I want to be the best kid in the class.”
Source: NOS
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
