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I don't know what Macy's is, but surely you could go and have a look and see if you find something you like? Something for your honeymoon, or your house? Or you could just regift them back to people over the next year.
One thing I sometimes do with gift cards is use 'em to buy presents for other people. So I don't know if you have another wedding or two to go to or someone's bday coming up or just want to save them for the holidays but that's an option...Also, Macy's has cute clothes and lots of nice homegoods, surely you can find maybe a splurge item that you both like?
At least $500 is a good decent amount to have to spend. We got HEAPS of gift cards for various places for our engagement party. Problem was we had say, one for each store, usually for about $50. So we'd go into shops and try and find stuff but most things were over $50 so we'd end up spending MORE money to buy something. For our wedding we've requested that if people want to give us a gift they can get us a gift card for ONE store, so that hopefully we'll have enough to contribute to a new couch or something.
I'm not really sure why you wouldnt just use them! Who cares if you dont normally shop there...you have $500 to the store! Macys has a lot of nice things - housewares, furniture, linens, clothing, accessories, etc. I wouldnt give the gift card to anyone else nor would I try to sell it and then get less money for it. If I were you I would just go to Macys and see what you can find. Is there a reason why you dont want to use the money at Macys besides the fact you dont normally shop there??
Trailmix has a point. Use them to buy other gifts. Some may think this is counter productive but I do that a lot! Especially when I am short on cash.
Just because you normally shop at Nordstorm doesnt mean you cant find anything at Macys. I agree with the others Macys has TONS of good stuff im sure you can find something to spend that money on.
8 Words that I love to chant: 800 thread count Hotel Collection Egyptian Cotton sheets....you will never leave your bed!
Or buy something you would "never" buy because it's a "ridiculous amt of money to spend on an item" Have Fun with it!
@clarebee: agree, it's a big department store with things for all areas of your home. They probably sell lots of stuff that you've registered for at other places.
Buy an espresso machine or lots of the little stuff you need for your kitchen. Buy a set of bedding for your guest bedroom or get you and your FI an outfit for your rehearsal/dinner.
I could maybe understand preferring Nordstroms for clothing (although they sell LV bags at Macys now) but as far as the home stuff goes there is not a significant difference.
Nordstroms return policy is a million times better than Macys
If you have gift cards to Macy's, go to Macy's and use them. They carry a lot of the same brands as Nordstroms. If you are totally against Macy's-give them to a family member who needs them.
I've noticed that some of the Macy's stores vary widely from one another, so maybe the one you're familiar with isn't that great? Check out their website, too, as posters have said they have a nice housewares and furniture department.
I don't know exactly what the website is but I do know there's one where you can sell your gift cards or trade them for ones you'll actually use.
I rarely go to Macys, but every once in a while I do. Last time I bought more of my usual Clinique foundation. The time before that I scored a $150 cashmere sweater on sale for $25 (I wear it all the time). It is absolutely worth looking at Macys before taking a loss on the cards.
I just checked their website - Macys carried Le Crueset. Buy a French oven - that will take care of your gift card money and it's something you'll use a lot (at least if you cook at all).
Macy's cards never go bad. No reason you have to use them right now. I agree with stocking them to buy christmas presents, and save the money later to buy a great present for you and your new husband. You will lose money if you try to sell the cards, and you have to take someone's word that the balance is there if you do a gift card swap.
For any future brides worried about the same circumstance, you can register for a mall-wide gift card. I know the upscale malls in my area offer that.
There's really nothing in all of Macy's you could possibly want? Splurge on something. That's enough for a KA mixer AND a Le Creuset. They also sell crystal and fine china ... they probably carry the same brands and items as what you have on your registries.
I will bet you $500 in GCs that you can find somethng to use them on ... if nothing else, save them for Christmas shopping.
Lots and lots and lots of people register for wedding gifts at Macy's. Almost every wedding I've attended in the last year had a Macy's registry. If you seriously think there is absolutely nothing in Macy's that you'd buy for yourself with $500 (which, to me, is kind of crazy--buy yourself a Dyson vacuum or a Le Creuset or a KitchenAid!), then at least you're set for purchasing wedding gifts for the forseeable future.
Remember you can use gift cards on the website too so go to Macys.com and just start looking..
Can you use them to buy Christmas and birthday gifts for other people? Then you have the money you've saved on gifts to spend on other things.
i'm sure there must be some overlap with other places you've registered. just use the gift cards to buy things you need, and put a big smile on your face for getting $500 worth of stuff.
Macys has pretty much the same appliance and cookware brands as any other department store.. Le Creuset, All Clad, Kitchenaid, etc, all are products you could easily wipe out your gift cards with.
Secondly, I had no idea Nordstrom carried housewares. Weird.
two words: christmas. shopping.
or you could send them to me..i could spend $500 in macys in a heartbeat (i also have an addiction to hotel collection sheets).
I'm very surprised you can't find a single thing to buy at Macy's. If you never shop there I'd say you go and take a look or search online, you may be surprised.
I agree, Macys may be a small step down from Nordstroms (very small) but you can't find anything you need? They have a ton of kitchen items! A ton! You could get a whole set of china or nice mixer or linens, towels, pillows, perfume (yes that is the same at Nordstroms!) etc. Also why don't you just keep them for gifts for other people?
I had a lot for Macy's and Bed Bath Beyond. I've spent some online trying to buy things we didn't get. But I plan to use them to buy Christmas Gifts this year for our Mom's and Sister-in-laws.
That's your best bet!
I agree. Macy's has everything. About the only thing they don't carry is food. Anything else you can think of is probably there. It's not much different then nordstrom. u can send it my way if you'd like
I agree. Macy's has everything. About the only thing they don't carry is food. Anything else you can think of is probably there. It's not much different then nordstrom. u can send it my way if you'd like
Fiance and I already live together so we have everything already. I don't know... I guess I see those gift cards and wish that I could pay off my car for a month instead of get some expensive appliances that we don't really need or use. Our wedding is right around the corner so we have lots of bills due and I would rather use it for that. I wish there was some easy way to just trade it for cash.
sucks, but presents at a bridal shower are pretty much par for the course. if there aren't shower-y things registered/listed/etc. or no specific "cash only, plz" noticed, people tend to give crystal bowls or gift cards. consider yourself lucky.
This sounds like a lot of work, but go to Macy's and buy a big bulk of things that you can easily re-sell and sell them on Ebay. OR you could do a Craigslist post to sell your gift cards for like a 10% discount, people would jump on that! Meet the buyer at Macy's to prove they actually have your stated value.
@ribbons: I'm from Seattle where Nordys started and I didn't know they sold housewares, either.
You say you'd rather have cash to pay bills, but that's like someone paying your bills as your wedding present. To me that's not really the point of a wedding present. People want to help you get started in your marriage together. You will always be able to use nice sheets and towels, if not now, then in the future. Le Crueset last forever and are SO much better for cooking. When you write your thank you cards you should be able to say "we put your gift card toward the purchase of X, which we love so much", rather than "we cashed in your gift card to pay our electric bill". X is something you'll remember and/or cherish. You'll have another electric bill to pay next month.
There is an easy way to exchange for cash: http://www.plasticjungle.com/pjweb/
You won't get the full value of the cards, maybe 80%, but not bad for something you wouldn't use anyway.
i agree-check out the macys website. maybe the store you are familiar with is a small one without much to offer. you can easily spend $500 at macys and if youdont spend it all, save the money for someone elses future wedding gift. tons of people register there.
I personally don't like gift cards period, but I never know what to do with them on the receiving end. Go ahead and use them at the store they are intended for. It doesn't matter whether you prefer other stores instead the rest of the time. It's $500 that you were gifted to spend at that store so browse and see what you find that you like.
I used to love Macy's (but I realized I *actually* loved Marshall Field's which was a lot more like Nordstrom, but with better sale racks). Do a Craigslist even or close to even gift card exchange. It would be worth losing 10% to get cash or a g.c. you could use. I buy Tiffany & C&B g.c.s all of the time on CL -my rule is 20% or more off. Why did you get so many Macy's cards? Are you registered there (doesn't sound like it)? I mean BB&B or C&B are more wedding-ish. I would check out Macy's housewares though -they sell Fiestaware, china, Kitchenaid & have great sales. Register for what you want maybe & see if you can get a fulfillment discount on the items. I think they even sell Dyson vacuums. I got a gorgeous red Guess swing coat for $65 there, so that's an option too-get a few clothing items??
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I have probably gotten $500 worth of gift cards to Macy's from my bridal shower. Problem is, fiance and I don't even shop there (we prefer Nordstrom). I would do one of those buy my gift card for cash thing on ebay, but that would be a significant loss on each gift card. I checked and a $200 gift card only sold for $160.
Any ideas on what to do with all this? I'm hoping we don't get more from our wedding. I mean, at least if we got some from Target we could use it to buy food. This would be us buying stuff for the sake of buying stuff not because we actually need it.