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I wonder how much revenue gets booked at chain stores during the holiday season when gift cards are purchased but then never redeemed? Well, count retailers to try and make the period for using gift cards shorter and shorter so that they can book more gains on those unused cards.

Not so fast, really. Most retailers I have seen do not put an expiration on their gift cards at all. But recently, it was rumored that retailer Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) had stuck a two-year expiration period on gift cards. I can't say if this rumor is true or not.

Now, I am not sure who would wait for two years to use a gift card, but the retailer was posting revenue on its sales to which merchandise was never being exchanged for via gift cards. Pretty nice built-in cash machine, eh?

To those who receive Best Buy or other retail gift cards this year for the holidays, rest assured that there will more than likely be no expiration date on them. Use them in a decade for that new $50 plasma TV, perhaps.

A great retail margin booster: Unused gift cards originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 19 Dec 2006 15:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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