Shopportunist: Making use of unused gift cards

Chances are you gave — and received — at least one gift card this holiday season.

More than 75 percent of shoppers purchased at least one gift card during the holiday shopping season, according Blackhawk Network's 2019 BrandedPay Holiday Shopping Preview. The global financial technology firm found that shoppers typically spend approximately 35 percent of their total holiday gifting budget on gift cards.

Around $100 billion is spent annually on these go-to gifts, making them yet again the most-requested holiday gift, according to the National Retail Federation.

Sometimes though these beloved bits of buyer power miss the mark.

It's estimated that $1 billion worth of gift cards will likely go unredeemed this year, according to financial advisory company CEB Tower Group. That may be low-balling. As much as $3 billion may be wasted according to research by banking firm Mercator Advisory Group.

If the plastic presents you received weren't what you had hoped for, they need not collect dust in a drawer. They still hold value — even if not for you — and there are several ways to unload them.

1. Sell them: Along with the perpetual growth in gift card giving has come a slew of exchange websites willing to give you cash for your cards. Sites like Raise.com, GiftCardGranny.com, CardCash.com and Cardpool.com offer consumers a secure marketplace to sell physical and digital cards. Expect to receive more cash for gift cards from popular retailers. GiftCardGranny.com is a good place to not only sell your cards but compare the return to more than a dozen other resale sites.

You can also sell gift cards on Facebook garage sale sites, Craigslist and Ebay. There is less security...