The StubHub Of Gift Cards

With the increase in gift card sales in recent years, there has also been an increase in the number of gift cards that go unused. 

It has been estimated that some $8 billion alone sat dormant last year. 

Enter startup Plastic Jungle, which recently announced it has secured $4.8 million in financing.  Plastic Jungle is a site where consumers can buy, sell, and/or trade every type of gift card available.

Say, for example, a consumer holds a gift card for company X.  The consumer can sell the gift card directly to Plastic Jungle for around 85% of the face value, or they can sell the card directly to other consumers through Plastic Jungles website for a 10% fee of the sales value.

Gary Briggs, CEO of Plastic Jungle, eventually hopes to become the StubHub of gift cards.  Other such exchange sites exist, but Mr. Briggs claims that Plastic Jungle’s security features are ‘unsurpassed,’ stating further that they posses ‘the only transaction guarantee in the industry.’

Mr. Briggs states that his site ‘guarantees all transactions and offers gift card replacement protection in case they [the cards] are lost or damaged,’ which as of yet has been a feature unseen in the gift card exchange industry.  Perhaps Mr. Briggs’ plan is turning over a new leaf…