I’ve received several inquiries as to how I was able to get my Amazon gift cards at 80% face value which I alluded to previously. It’s not as easy to do as it used to be but there are definitely some options out there.

Interestingly, my experience with gift card deals reflects upon the general evolution of internet deals.

The landscape of internet deals has definitely changed over the past several years. Good deals are now hard to come by. With the surging popularity of various deal forums, loopholes are now closed very quickly.

• DealPass: DealPass is a membership club that used to have great programs. They would allow you to puchase gift cards from popular places (Amazon, TJMaxx, Target, Sears, Staples, Barnes & Noble, etc) at 80% of value. I bought several thousand dollars of gift cards this way. Though still around, I no longer recommend this option. Due to its popularity, DealPass has placed prohibitive limitations on obtaining gift cards at reasonable value.
• Online marketplaces: There are many, many different marketplaces on the internet. Some of them are set up to promote gift card trading or purchases. You won’t get anywhere, though, without having developed a reputation. There are sometimes people on these marketplaces who want to get rid of their gift cards and they will offer them at 80% (or less) value. These places are no longer as easy to find.
• Live.com and Ebay: Live.com recently started offering huge discounts on many purchases. Ebay purchase rebates were up to 35%. I obtained lots of Amazon gift cards which were bought at face value, but after rebate actually ended up at 65-70% value. Ebay sellers have since inflated their prices as a result of this. And the live.com discount is no longer as good.
• Amazon credit card: No, it’s not a 20% discount. But it is an easy way to get gift cards with what is currently a 6% discount (in form of Amazon GC). It’s good if you want to make a quick purchase since these gift card codes can be emailed to you relatively quickly.

Good deals, by their own nature, don’t last long. If you are saving money, then that means someone is losing money. And once they realize what’s going on, it’s all over.

So it’s no longer easy as it used to be. But with some due diligence and research, it is still possible to get gift cards (not just Amazon) at a discount.