In a world where one often finds themselves inundated with websites and apps offering to save you money with little or no effort, few are truly worth your time. One service I return to throughout the years is The Raise.com Marketplace. Raise pairs you up with owners of unwanted gift cards resulting in discounted gift cards for you to the businesses and restaurants you love. Let’s take a deeper look in this Raise.com review to determine whether it is worth your time and if it can save you money.
Disclosure- This review of the raise.com marketplace contains either affiliate links or referral codes. If you follow the links, or use the provided code, and sign up for the service, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I evaluate each tool/service relative to the value they can bring to your financial journey. The existence or lack of an affiliate program does not impact the services/tools I highlight. The opinions expressed below are my own.
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A Review of the Raise.com Discounted Gift Card Marketplace
Gift cards are over a hundred billion dollar industry and a staple in our economy. We give them in appreciation of a coworker going that extra step. Companies use them as rewards for insightful feedback. Millions give them as last-minute gifts. They’re simple and universal. They also go unused. CNBC cites a report by the Mercator Advisory Group finding that up to three billion dollars a year go unused.
Raise.com is one of several online marketplaces where a seller can list an unwanted gift card to then be purchased by someone who might put it to better use. The seller benefits from getting some value out of a gift card that might have otherwise gone unused, or which they may have simple given away. The buyer benefits from a discount on the face value of the card.
As with any marketplace, demand dictates availability of cards and the amount of discount on offer. It is exceedingly rare to find discounts on universal staples such as gas or groceries. If you have a favorite chain restaurant, however, or are often in need of an Uber, they have you covered. A quick glance at Raise may cut your expense by 5.5% (current rate for Uber) or up to 21% for a meal out at Bob Evans.
Is Raise Legit? How Are My Purchases Protected?
Raise is a well known and respected marketplace. They have earned their reputation over a decade, operating out of Chicago, IL. Their support team is available via email and live chat during extended business hours and they are active throughout social media. Their founder, George Bousis, remains part of their executive board, providing stability to the billion dollar company. The Better Business Bureau rates Raise.com as an A- company.
The scary part of purchasing a gift card and only receiving the code is the knowledge that the original seller still has the card itself. Raise guarantees the funds on any gift you purchase for one year. While the likelihood of a seller waiting a full year and then attempting to use a card they sold to see if the funds still exist are slim, I would recommend that you use any cards you purchase within that first year to ensure you have support if anything should go wrong.
Raise does audit both buyers and sellers, attempting to keep frequent offenders off of the marketplace.
Creating Your Account on the Raise Marketplace
If you use this signup link and/or enter the code KCRAWFORD7018 during sign up raise will reward you with $5 off of your first discounted gift card purchase. If you do use the code comment down below and let us know what discount you found!
The initial signup process is streamlined, with the standard optional hooks into Facebook and Apple for account management.
Registration requires only your name and email.
Once you have an account, they will ask to store your shipping address and phone number which will be used for verification.
If you will be selling gift cards you will also be able to store a seller payout address.
A Review of Raise.com – Mobile Support
Raise has a fully supported web interface as well as a five star rated app on the Apple App Store. Android users rate their app in the play store at 3.5 stars noting issues with PayPal support and account authentication.
Both apps provide you access to your purchased gift cards allowing you to scan the discount code directly off your phone.
Saving Money by Buying Discounted Gift Cards
Once signed into your account, Raise makes it easy to search for one of their thousands of verified companies, either by categories such as restaurants or by a specific brand’s name. Their search predicts as you type and displays the highest discount available in real time. Upon clicking on a brand they will present you with a listing of all gifts cards currently up for sale which you can sort by the amount of discount, the price to you, or the value of the card. They provide over ninety percent of gift cards offered on the marketplace as digital codes instead of the physical card. Digital codes save on mailing cost and time. If you prefer physical cards(say for a gift) your options will be more limited, but they clearly label each offer as digital or not and state if you can use them in store/online/or both. Mailing of physical gift cards are free to the buyer.
How Can I Fund My Gift Card Purchases?
Raise.com accepts all major credit cards, along with Apple Pay, Android Pay, Samsung Pay, and PayPal (current mobile app only). They allow you to tie your preferred payment method to your account or to authorize a one time use at the time of transaction if you would prefer it not be to be stored.
How Long Will It Take For Me to Receive My Discounted Gift Card?
I have used raise for around two years and my code is typically available in my account within fifteen minutes. The longest delay I have experienced was just over an hour. Raise allows for up to 24 hours before a code is available. If it is for a special occasion, place your order a day or two before the event.
If you purchase a physical card, allow up to fourteen business days for shipping via USPS. Raise suggests you allow for up to 30 days before contacting their support team.
Discounted Gift Cards – A Better Reward
Since the discount is made to the price of the gift card, you pay less than the value of the card you receive. Slightly better than cash back, your savings benefits you immediately.
Doubling Up on Discounts
Raise presents a great opportunity to double or even triple stack your discounts. If you use cash back credit card (such as the Citi Double Cash Back Card) you will earn your cashback on your credit card along with the discount the purchased gift card provides. If you time this purchase with a discount code or sale, the saving all stack.
Note that a gift card purchase made will not count as the merchant category of the gift card. If you looking to have a dinner out at Olive Garden, your credit card may provide 5% back this quarter on dining. If the current discount on raise is <3%, you may be better off not purchasing a gift card and simply relying on your credit card’s cash back.
Raise will often offer additional discounts either on certain brands, categories, or site wide. Often seen around weekends, these discounts are above and beyond the standard discount on that particular brand.
Raise.com Review- Should You Use the Market Place to Buy Discounted Gift Cards
There are few tools where I find the tradeoff in time to be worth the savings. Raise continues to be an exception, as I have been using their marketplace for over three years. In that time, I have saved plenty on family dinners, Uber rides, and the occasional purchase. I have encountered no issues with missing or misstated funds, and my purchases have always been available in my account within an hour of purchase. Paying with the codes provided has always been a simple experience.
If you are heading out for a group dinner, booking a hotel stay, or need transportation, take a moment to peruse the marketplace and see if you can save some money.
Make Money by Selling Unwanted Gift Cards
At some point, all of us will experience at least one of the following:
- Our favorite restaurant closes its nearby location
- Our coworker buys everyone cards to the local coffee shop despite the fact we don’t drink coffee
- We move across country rendering several of our gifts cards useless
Every year, millions of dollars remain unused on gift cards. Raise provides an avenue to recover some value by selling the gift card, at a price you choose (albeit dictated by the market), to someone who will value the card.
How Will I Get Paid
Raise allows sellers to cash out via Direct Deposit, PayPal, or requesting a check. Of these options I would advise against a check which currently carries a $30 fee which will eat into your profits.
Fees
Listing a card on the Raise marketplace is free.
In addition to the discount you chose to offer, raise will take a 15% commission upon any sale. If the card is physical raise will also charge you a min of $2.75 up to 1 percent of the face value of the gift card which they state goes towards shipping costs.
A Sellers Raise.com Review Should You Use the Market Place to Sell Discounted Gift Cards
With billions of dollars tied up in unused or lost gift cards, why not sell it to someone who will derive value from it, while you profit? With a focused audience Raise.com can help you quickly turn that unwanted gift card into cash.
Final Review- Is the Raise.com marketplace worth your time?
There are very few loyalty programs or cashback apps that hold up over time. The Raise.com marketplace stands among the select few that rewards your time with substantial savings on places you would frequent regardless. Whether you are looking to save some money by purchasing discounted gift cards, or simply looking to reclaim some value on a card you will never use, raise.com is worth a visit.
Remember to use code KCRAWFORD7018 or this link to receive $5 towards your first purchase of a discounted gift card!
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