What used to be an impersonal thoughtless gift, apparently is all the rage now. Gift cards, you can’t seem to escape ‘em. Here’s a few recent items surrounding the gift that keeps on giving:

Unused Gift Cards
Consumer Reports has an interesting article discussing the controversy of unused gift cards. The article even mentions that consumers are currently sitting on roughly $972 million in unused gift cards!

Tuning Out of iTunes
Then there’s the recent iTunes craziness. Apparently sooo many iTunes Gift Cards were giving out for Christmas, that Apple’s iTunes store just slowed down to a crawl at times, spouted tons of error messages or just kept some users out of the store completely. Guess that’s a good problem to have if you’re Apple.

Trading Gift Cards
With all those unused gift cards, you’d think there’s got to be someone out there with a gift card they don’t want for a store that you like, and maybe you’ve got a gift card for a store you don’t like, but someone else does. Well, a number of sites such as Cardavenue and SwapaGift will let you do just that. You can sell your card to the site for a percentage of the card’s value, buy cards for less than their face value, or trade your card for one you’d like.

If you like to eat out or rarely eat out because it’s too expensive, you should consider Restaurant.com. It’s an easy-to-use site that lets you find local restaurants in your area and purchase gift certificates at a huge discount. Generally you can purchase a $25 gift certificate for just $10. Definitely a good deal. But it becomes an unbelievable deal when they offer…

An additional 70% off Dining Certificates

Use coupon code CHEERS at checkout. But hurry, this crazy offer expires in just a few days on December 29, 2006!

Cheers!

Looking for a real bargain on clothes? It’s tough to beat ClassicCloseout’s highly discounted prices on any given day. But now you can get 25% off your entire order at ClassicCloseouts. Just use coupon code WETHANKU at checkout.

Plus, spend over $50 worth of merchandise and get Free Shipping too!

But hurry, the 25% off coupon expires December 31, 2006.

Few current bargains:

These jeans are regularly a low price of $19.99, but with the coupon they’re just $15!

This polo shirt’s on sale for just $6.99. That’s only $5.25 with the coupon!

And this sequined top (available in multiple colors) is on sale for $12.99, or just $9.75 with the coupon!

Eddie Bauer always has quality merchandise at decent prices. Especially comfy winter wear like scarves, hats and coats. But right now you can get 50% off select styles a the Ultimate Winter Sale! Choose from Men’s clothing, Women’s Clothing, Bags & Gear, and Bedding.

Sale runs through January 3, 2007 so hurry!

PLUS, you can save an additional 20% on purchases over $75 when you use promotion code EBEM4B at checkout. The code expires 12/31/06, so take advantage of the Winter Sale and make your purchase before the end of the year!

The Children’s Place is currently having a Monster Sale!

While quantities and sizes are limited, you can snag some really great children’s clothing for only $9.99! Dig a bit deeper (like in the Tops section) and you can find some items as low as $3.99 apiece! Plus they offer $5 flat rate shipping, so stock up on lots of great clothes for the kids and pay just one low shipping rate. Save yourself the trouble of digging through tons of sale racks at the store.

A few of the many items currently on sale:

ProFlowers has a great deal that expires today:

For $29.99 you get a Holiday Bouquet which includes:

A free vase
A free Byron the Bear
Free Chocolate Truffles!

Timberland’s having a post-holiday sale where you can save 25% off apparel, accessories and select footwear.

Just use coupon code YEAREND at checkout. Expires 12/31/06.

But you can save an additional $10 on top of that 25% off discount by using Google Checkout when you’re ready to buy all the items in your cart. The Google discount is automatic, but you need a minimum purchase of $30, and it expires most likely on December 26. So hurry and you can end up saving some serious money!

1. Use a coupon – Before finalizing any online purchase, always check to see if there’s a coupon available. Those few seconds of searching can save you some serious cash.

2. In-Store Pickup – If an item’s cheaper online with a coupon but the shipping will negate the discount, see if the online merchant offers in-store pickup (such as Office Depot or Circuit City). You get the advantage of any online discounts and the item’s waiting for you at the store.

3. Go With Who You Trust – If you’re still weary of shopping online, stick to the websites of major retail chains such as Gap, JCPenney or Macys. Not only will you feel more secure, but generally you can return items to their brick-and-mortar counterparts.

4. Customer Service – Make sure the site you’re ordering from has some form of customer service, preferably a 1-800 number with decent hours. If you can’t find anything but an e-mail address, be a bit cautious.

5. Shop Securely – Identity theft thrives during holiday times. Make sure the site’s a secure one before typing in your credit card number. You can tell a site’s secure by a small lock or key icon at the bottom of your browser, as well as the url beginning with “https://www…” instead of simply http://www… Check with the Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org) or National Consumers League’s National Fraud Information Center (www.fraud.org) for further information.