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Forget tearing open gifts found under a Christmas tree and leaving shreds of paper and ribbon everywhere. More and more consumers now reach for letter openers to find gift cards.

The National Retail Federation predicts that consumers will buy nearly $25 billion worth of gift cards this year, an increase of about 34 percent from $18.5 billion in 2005.

Once thought of as impersonal, gift cards will show up under more trees this holiday season. These small pieces of plastic have become today’s flexible, safe and “can’t go wrong” gift item.

Some gift-givers and employers prefer giving cards because they are “safe” purchases that seem more personal than handing someone a wad of cash.

Gift for the picky

“I get a gift card for somebody who’s hard to shop for,” said Lesli Baker of Pleasanton. “People get me gift cards because I’m hard to shop for, and I’m picky.”

For retailers, the gift card boom has come with added benefits such as free money when consumers do not use the cards or extra revenues when shoppers spend more than the value of the card.

“People tend to treat themselves when they use a gift card; they buy a luxury item or a non-sale item,” said Chris Donnelly, a partner focusing on retail with Accenture, a consulting firm. “They also tend to spend more than the total value of a gift. In general, if you’re a retailer, those are both good things.”

Extending shopping season

Selling pricier or full-price goods means larger profits for retailers, but it also means an extended holiday season. Most holiday gift cards are used in January, Donnelly said, so retailers have to keep fresh merchandise in stock.

“Smarter retailers are going to take advantage of (the longer holiday season),” he said. “If someone really wants to treat themselves to a cashmere scarf after the holidays, they can probably sell a lot of those at full price.”

A recent survey of American consumers conducted by Accenture found that 72 percent of respondents have given or received gift cards, and about 36 percent prefer receiving gift cards over other gifts.

“If it’s from my mother-in-law, definitely a gift card,” Baker said. “From my niece, I want her to get me gifts. She’s trendy.”

Cards from stores such as Gap, Target and Nordstrom typically are worth their face value and will not lose value over time.

Gift cards issued by credit card companies such as Visa, MasterCard or American Express carry fees and lose value over time.

Sunvalley mall in Concord, for example, sells an American Express card that can be used at the center or any other shopping centers owned by its parent company, the Taubman Centers. The cards have a $2.50 fee when purchased and lose $2 per month if they are not used within 12 months.

Some cards go unused, and the funds return to the retailer or state governments who categorize them as unclaimed property.

The National Retail Federation reports that in 2005, the average gift card was worth $33.42.

Determining the right amount for a gift card can be tricky. Is $10 too little? Is $100 too much?

“The amount I spend depends on how important the person is to me,” said Michael High of Brentwood.

He said he often buys $50 gift cards. Another gift card buyer, Luis Almeyda of Walnut Creek, said his normal target price is $25. Baker said her cards are normally between $25 and $50. Her mom and in-laws are usually on the top end of the range.

Avoiding the guesswork

Almeyda said he started buying gift cards because it takes the guesswork out of finding the perfect item for someone. High agrees.

“I do buy people gifts when I’m in the mood to shop or I know exactly what they want,” High said.

Some retailers, such as Safeway, Longs Drugs and Nob Hill grocery stores, sell gift cards for other retailers on aisle displays near cash registers and on kiosks.

Pleasanton-based Safeway has deals with 200 other retailers ranging from Nordstrom and Sears to Olive Garden and McDonald’s, according to Safeway spokeswoman Teena Massingill.

She declined to provide specific numbers, but she said that sales from Safeway’s “Gift Card Mall” have grown every year since it was started in 2001; Safeway does receive a percentage of the sale.

Buying a gift card during a trip to the grocery store or drugstore makes buying gift cards even easier, shoppers said.

Pick right store, online option

Nordstrom, Target and Macy’s offer a virtual gift card that can be bought and used online, bypassing the need for a piece of plastic. Some cards, such as the ones offered by Starbucks, are used for gifts and as debit cards by regulars.

Choosing the right store for the right person also is important. Some shoppers prefer stores such as Target, Best Buy or Macy’s because they offer wide selections.

Baker, for example, said she would never buy someone a gift card from Wal-Mart because she does not like the merchandise there.

“I think a gift card is a very dull type of gift,” said Susana Scarborough of Oakland. “It shows no imagination. It’s like saying, ‘Well, I have to do this, but I don’t have time.'”

Corn Card Ready to Replace Millions of Plastic Cards, Including Photo ID’s, Hotel Key-Cards and Gift Cards

Millions of PVC cards are used every day in a plethora of applications and industries – cutting across nearly every social and business sector imaginable. These include photo IDs for schools and companies, membership cards, hotel room key-cards, and gift and loyalty cards. But since their production is dependent on oil, a non-renewable resource, PVC cards adversely affect the environment, both in their manufacture and eventual disposal.

In contrast, Corn Cards are made from corn, a readily available, renewable resource. Key features include:

* Same familiar look and feel of standard white PVC cards.

* Identical quality and durability of printed cards.

* 100% biodegradable and no toxins released when properly disposed.

* Made from special corn type – not derived from corn used in human food supply.

PVC’s use is rapidly declining, as more and more manufacturers and retailers recognize its harmful environmental effects.

“Biobased plastics such as PLA are a safer and smarter choice for our health and environment than PVC, the poison plastic. PVC is the worst plastic, releasing cancer-causing chemicals that poison our air, foul our water, and contaminate our bodies. We commend companies like Advantidge for moving away from PVC and towards safer alternatives such as PLA. When companies put consumers first, opting to prevent harm where possible, we know that progress is being made,” said Mike Schade, PVC Campaign Coordinator for the Center for Health, Environment & Justice, an environmental health grassroots organizing group based in Falls Church, Virginia.

“When you work with some of the country’s largest retailers, most prestigious educational institutions and all levels of government, they rely on our consultation everyday to meet their unique needs,” said Lawrence Grafstein, CEO, Advantidge. “Corn Cards are a major step forward, easily allowing us to proactively assist our customers in addressing their ‘going green’ initiatives.”

NEW YORK — You know that Sharper Image gift card you got for Christmas? Right now, it’s worthless. And other gift cards in your wallet could lose their value, too.

As more retailers file for bankruptcy or go out of business, more than $75 million in gift cards are at risk of becoming worthless pieces of plastic this year.

“If I knew this was going to happen, I would have used them right away,” said Jon Tapper, a public relations executive from Boston who received two Sharper Image cards as business gifts just a few weeks ago. Their total face value is $50.

“I love gift cards, but now this makes me think twice.”

The Sharper Image announced late last month that it was suspending the acceptance of gift cards, at least temporarily. It urged shoppers to check the company Web site later this month for an update. That is typical of businesses that reorganize under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which treats gift cards as a loan to the company, not as cash.

For many shoppers, it’s a harsh lesson about the risks of gift cards. Consumers spent an estimated $26.3 billion in gift cards at retailers alone last holiday season, compared with $24.8 billion in 2006 and $18.48 billion in 2005, according to the National Retail Federation.

C. Britt Beemer, chairman of America’s Research Group, says, “You will see a lot of frustration among customers. You basically stole (money) out of the customers’ pocket. They will never forgive you.”

The number of retail bankruptcies or liquidations this year is expected to reach the highest levels since the 1991 recession.

Brian Riley, senior analyst at The TowerGroup, estimates that shoppers could lose more than $75 million just from stores and restaurant closings in 2008.

TowerGroup’s figure doesn’t include mom-and-pop services like the local nail salon. Riley said such small operations, which are most vulnerable to economic downturns, pose the biggest risks to gift- card holders.

The gift-card problem provides more ammunition to consumer- advocacy groups that have lashed out against expiration dates and burdensome fees imposed if cards are not used within a certain time frame. More than 20 states have passed regulations loosening restrictions on the use of gift cards.

“Consumers need to buy gift cards with their eyes wide open,” said Jack Gillis, a spokesman for the Consumer Federation of America.

Bankrupt businesses also face the risk that card holders left in the cold could defect to other stores just when struggling merchants need their customers the most.

Even if bankrupt retailers want to honor the gift cards, they may not be able to, according to Howard Kleinberg, director of the bankruptcy practice at Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein.

Either they can’t afford it, or their creditors’ committee or the bankruptcy court may not allow it. Gift cards amount to debt, and therefore holders are not necessarily going to get paid, Kleinberg said.

Sharper Image officials did not immediately return phone calls, but a customer-service representative told a reporter that shoppers would eventually be able to use the gift cards. She declined to say when.

Gift-card holders fall in the class of unsecured creditors, which is “low in the pecking order,” Kleinberg said. Those at the top of the list are secured creditors — with debts backed by assets such as real estate or accounts receivable.

Of course, if a company is purchased through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy process, the new buyer could honor gift cards.

That appears to be the case with Fortunoff, the jewelry and home furnishings chain that agreed last month to sell to an affiliate of NRDC Equity Partners LLC, which owns Lord & Taylor department stores and plans to expand the Fortunoff chain. A Fortunoff spokeswoman said the company is honoring gift cards.

Riley, of The TowerGroup, estimated that the retailer did about $32 million in business last year from gift cards.

Sharper Image’s rival, Brookstone Inc., based in Merrimack, N.H., is capitalizing on the situation. It announced last week that it would exchange Sharper Image gift cards for 25 percent off any purchase, no matter the amount of the gift card or the cost of the item.

“We thought it would be a great way of acquiring new customers,” said Brookstone spokesman Robert Padgett. “We are here for the long haul, and thought it would be good to let them know.”

Ricki Gard, a manager of the Saks Fifth Avenue’s Premier salon in New York, said it has been able to attract new clients from high- end spa Georgette Klinger, which abruptly closed its locations around the country a week before Christmas, leaving gift card holders in a lurch.

The Saks salon, leased to an outside company, has been offering 30 percent discounts on first-time services for Georgette Klinger gift-card holders, though that was little comfort to many who had thousands of dollars stored on their prepaid cards.

Carol Ann Razza, a Long Beach, N.Y., resident and Georgette Klinger customer for 18 years, lost several hundred dollars when the salon closed its doors.