Monday, November 24, 2008

Christmas Shopping Caveats

Apparently you need to be careful about where you shop this holiday season.
Better to do your homework before buying gift cards or giving a gift that might be exchanged.
I've looked on Snopes and found out that some blog entries I've read are relatively true, while some are reporting this list that is circulating as false. There are lots of stores closing, including one of my favorites, Wilson Leather.
Now I would print the lists that I've seen, but I don't want to raise alarm, so I would say check out Snopes and see the real deal.
And then continue to do your homework.
Last year a co-worker received a gift card for The Sharper Image, and then found out that she couldn't use it because the store was not redeeming gift cards while they were in the middle of Chapter 11 filing. She might have been able to use it eventually, but it took a while to redeem it.
You know what I think we should do?
Give to charity, or to a family in need.
Or knit something for a family that is struggling.
Helping others never goes out of style and is always redeemable.

1 comment:

Jennifer said...

Amen to that! I've been on a huge coupon kick which is allowing me to be extra generous at our food pantry and homeless shelter. I'm stockpiling now so when they hit their lull in late January/February we'll be able to help them out.