This is a tad off topic but I’d like help understanding why people on Ebay are paying more for gift cards than their face value.

I’m selling an Amazon gift card for $40. Don’t tell the person that gave it to me. I actually found the nice photo frames I wanted at Michael’s so I bought them there and decided to recoup the cost by selling the card on eBay. Even Steven.

I scanned a few similar bids before putting it up, expecting to start my bid at $30 and probably sell for around $35, giving free shipping as it’s just an envelope.

I was shocked to see this $20 bid winding down before my eyes at $43! What the hell?

This $200 card has nine minutes to go as of this writing, and selling at $202.

For some reason this Best Buy $50 card is bidding at $51

Although no bids yet, the person selling this $500 card expects at least $539 based on his “Buy it Now” offer.

This $25 card has six days left, and a “Buy it Now price” of $28.

And finally, my $40 Amazon card, after being put up yesterday with six days left is at an even $40. The face value of the card.

Is this a bidding war gone mad? Are people getting emotional when they get outbid? “Outbid me huh? I’ll show you who the winner is…”

Why would somone bother dealing with shipping and eBay fees to save one or two dollars? Or offer MORE for that matter? Especially when you can visit any grocery store and just buy one off the shelf. I think it’s a great idea to buy a card for a few bucks off someone trying to unload it that wouldn’t make use of it. But I’m baffled at paying face value or higher. To my knowledge these don’t offer any extra value or offers, and are no different than a store bought card or just plunking down cash at the register.

This isn’t new either. A few years back I received a $100 American Airlines gift card. Since I usually fly United I put that one eBay, and was shocked when it won in the neighborhood of $98.

It there’s something completely obvious I’m missing I’d love to know, and would probably remove this post in embarrassment. But as of now I’m lost, and ready to start a part time hobby of buying $100 gift cards in bulk and selling them for $130.