Raise.com sent out a note to their bulk sellers that iTunes/Apple gift cards can no longer be listed on their site after today, 9/15. Gift cards listed today and prior will remain available for sale. If you have cards to sell, but sure to list them now. (Note, only bulk sellers are able to sell iTunes/Apple on Raise.)
Just last month, in a major shake up, Apple changed to have Apple and iTunes gift cards both work to buy products on Apple.com. More details on the change can be found here. Now, Apple is actively requesting second-hand sellers to selling iTunes/Apple gift cards. (I wonder if they reached out to other second-hand exchanges too or only to Raise who they have a relationship with as Raise sells first-hand iTunes/Apple cards too as part of the Raise Cash Back program and the Raise Slide app.)
When Apple made the change to their gift card system, two thoughts came to my mind: 1) wow, iTunes gift cards are really valuable now for resale (as well as for actual use), and 2) Apple will probably stop offering discounts on their gift cards through all the outlets they used to offer discounted iTunes gift cards.
To the first point regarding resale, it looks like they are cracking down on that. To the second point, from what we’ve seen, it seems Apple is still planning on having their gift cards widely available, with deals and all, albeit smaller deals. I think they are pursuing a new strategy in this realm, that’s my feeling.
A third interesting angle has come to light that you can use any one of various streaming bonuses to load your Apple ID and use those funds to buy Apple products (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Airpods, etc.). This is another good way to get discounted Apple products. Notably, you can get 10x Ultimate Rewards on up to $1,500 of streaming purchases through the end of September.
Raise of late seems a bit brittle…. From a sellers’ vantage point, the longgg delays in getting even new cards listed have gone from very rare to all too common and longerrrrr. Of course we can appreciate stresses of covid and all that, but Raise essentially has always been an on-line operation…. and something….. is not right. (staffing?) Raise apparently has received a “cease and desist” “order from Apple…. apparently going to court. Not counting on Raise to actually fight Goliath in a rigged Colosseum. Arrogance on stilts for Apple to try to write its own rules here…. If Raise capitulates and tells all sellers they can’t/won’t sell cards already listed with them…. anybody wanna buy Apple cards?
I have no idea why anyone will buy direct from Apple since most of time you get 10% or 20% off on Apple product from Bestbuy Amazon or other retailers. For example I bought a Mac mini from Amazon at the beginning of this year with a 20% small Biz discount plus 5% cashback while I load Amazon credit via Chase card,
The Mac mini come to 880 included tax while the same thing is selling from Apple for 1099. I saved far more than10% that’s why I never buy Appel product from Apple ( except in the good old day when you can buy them on release and sell it for a profit)
I’ve bought products on Apple when they were the same price on Amazon and others.
I always wonder how to get in touch with bulk gift card sellers? Also how the bulk gift card sellers do get their gift cards in discount?
I really appreciate any answer for this question or any connection.
Thank you
Still available on Raise pay, the Raise cash back reduced from 4% to 3.9%.
However they are also available on Slide, at 4% back + 1% back if you load slide in advance. I’ll use slide once my 10x UR is run out.
To be honest, raise has really gone downhill in the last year. Their deals and discounts have mostly disappeared, they cancel orders all the time making it time consuming to make a purchase, and the discounts have become so small that it is not even worth it. I purchased probably close to $4,000 in 2019 but have not made a single purchase on raise in 2020. Staples gift cards last year used to sell on raise for a 7% discount, now they are less than 1%. At that price, you would get a better deal just using your ink card directly at Staples.
Hello….COVID economy….Don’t blame Raise.
Discounted giftcards are listed by independent sellers, not Raise. If you aren’t seeing 7% discount on Staples, that is the choice of independent sellers on the platform, not Raise.
Cashback cards are only discounted considering the commission Raise gets from the company that issues the giftcard. COVID economy tanked the commissions. Many retailers have told sites like Raise that they are pausing or offering substantially weaker commissions program.
The only time I saw Staples gift cards on sale in the past year or so was at a local supermarket 10% off earlier this summer. If someone’s going to buy them at a 0% discount then that’s what I’m going to discount them for (and they sold the same day, I believe). If a brand is never on sale then sellers aren’t going to be listing them at a large discount losing money (and then have a seller’s fee taken out to lose even more money… 15% fee for non-bulk sellers). That being said, if you want Staples gift cards, AARP has a daily deal each weekday (12-2pm ET) and today is for a $15 Staples gift card for $11. The other option would be redeeming Discover cashback for them at a 15% discount (available in $5 increments from $5-$200).
Can anyone be kind enough to guide me as to how exactly we could load the Apple ID to trigger the 5x streaming bonus of CSP in order to purchase a product such as a MacBook? And whether its actually feasible to do so.
Load your Apple ID and you’ll see the funds there at checkout on apple.com. You can load $1 to test it out.
No different than Amazon limiting its ability to be bought online too from third parties. Not surprised.
Yeah, but Amazon is evil. Now Apple is evil too. I have some sizable Apple GCs from ages ago, back when Fidelity was playing nice. Now I feel robbed. Well, I might apply my GCs to my next Macbook or to fixing my current Macbook. I like Macbooks, my guilty pleasure; hate iphones,
Haha, Apple was evil much before Amazon but whatever.
They are all evil, but Apple is the only only one that has halfway decent privacy settings…some idiot at Google would be mining your text messages…
It’s crazy that apple is able to do this. Once apple sells the gift card to the consumers the consumer should be able to do whatever they want with it – it’s theirs now.
It’s Apple they operate above everything else.
Which now I have to wonder if there is a clause in the terms of these gift cards that say it belongs to them even if you paid for it? Im not a legal expert by any means, but Apple seems to love bottom feeding in these legal waters for anything to its advantage.
From their website (https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/giftcards/us/terms.html):
4. Additional Restrictions
“Gift Cards are not redeemable for cash and cannot be returned for a cash refund (except as required by law); exchanged; resold; or used to purchase Gift Cards. Unused Associated Balances are not transferable. Issuer maintains information about the status of gift cards or codes. …
You agree to not use Gift Cards or content codes in any manner that is unlawful, misleading, deceptive, unfair, or otherwise harmful to Issuer, Apple, or its customers. We and Apple reserve the right, without notice to you, to void or deactivate Gift Cards or content codes without a refund, suspend or terminate Accounts, request alternative forms of payment, suspend or terminate the ability to purchase Products or to purchase or use Content, cancel or limit orders, and bill alternative forms of payment if we suspect Gift Cards or content codes were obtained, used, or associated with an Account unlawfully, fraudulently, or otherwise in violation of these Terms.”
Reselling their gift cards is “unfair” and “harmful” to Apple’s profits.
Correct. Giftcard reselling destroys the “breakage” profits. Apple like many giftcard sellers count on giftcards going unused and being forgotten about (breakage). Websites that allow you to exchange or trade giftcards with the intention to be used by the purchaser, instead of laying dormant and being forgotten destroys their breakage model.
wow…… it seems Apple views itself as akin to the BORG…… and that not only is consumer/little guy resistance to their dictats futile, but will also be widely cheered by the apple fanatics.
Yes the consumers can do whatever they want with their gift cards after buying them and Apple can’t stop people from reselling them. Apple is now asking the second-hand exchanges not to list apple gc sold by bulk sellers. Apple can of course ask but it is up to the exchanges whether they will listen. Raise does because it has direct business relationship (i.e. sell first hand apple gc) with Apple and apparently it is more profitable.
In short, if Raise capitulates, it will be because Raise will calculate it’s in their interest to be a servant to the Apple BORG….. and to hell then with their sellers…. (we’ll be toast) And so it goes.
Just wait til you find out you don’t own your music….
Too late. Lost about $2k in songs because I no longer have access to my AOL email from over a decade ago
iTunes dropped DRM back in 2009. Holding them responsible for forgetting your AOL login seems… unfair.
I didn’t say forgotten. I said don’t have access. AOL stopped supporting the email, and apple refused to allow me to transfer it to a new one.
And even then, if I pay for something and apple refuses to provide it to me, that’s an issue. Even if it was a forgotten password, that’s no excuse for withholding access to data I own.