Sears is pretty desperate for that stimulus check money. They’re offering a 10% bonus to anyone who converts their stimulus check into a Sears Gift Card.
Customers can present their checks at a cash register at Sears and Kmart to convert it into a gift card at the full value of the check, and to receive a bonus gift card worth 10% of the check.
The cards can be redeemed at any Sears, Kmart or Lands’ End retail stores, as well as sears.com and landsend.com, Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based Sears (SHLD, Fortune 500) said.
The promotion is scheduled to last between May 14 and July 19. The gift cards have no expiration and no fees.
Sears representative Kirsten Whipple said details for shoppers who elect to receive the fiscal-stimulus check by direct deposit are still being worked out, but they will likely be able to register online to receive a coupon to bring to stores.
Does this tempt you? Or will your rebate check go towards paying off some debt?
Sears offers bonus to stimulus check shoppers [CNNMoney]
(Photo:OctopusHat)
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Now Meg, didn’t you just tell us yesterday to avoid gift cards under the article “Retail Bankruptcies Threaten To Wreck Economy, Empty Your Local Mall [Economy]“
Quote “All this means that gift cards are an increasingly risky investment. Changes to the bankruptcy laws in 2005 may force retailers to pay suppliers before honoring gift cards or even paying employee salaries. Give cash!”
Just giving you a hard time!
NPR, IRS and my local grocer have all told me that:
The Stimulus Rebate is NOT an advance on next year’s refund. Is NOT.
It’s one of those wife’s tales like the Easter Bunny or Republicans that work to help the poor.
@Imaginary_Friend:
Applause!!! Excellent post!
If you add a 10% bonus to the fecal mass that is Sears, you just get a bigger pile of poop.
I’m not really seeing the value-add for the customer in that.
Menards is doing the same.
This would be a good offer if sears actually had anything worth buying.
well if you think about it. thats a free $60.
Dont use the money to pay off debt. Use the money that you WOULDVE used for clothes and stuff for paying off your debt, that way you get a free $60
why did they bother starting the promotion in may? paper checks won’t be mailed out until later this year.
and do you have to convert the entire check into their gift card?
and will you actually be able to take home and/or use whatever you buy from them =)
This is PERFECT for Sears*.
1. Take all the money (Stimulus Checks) from people and convert them to Gift Cards. As we know on Consumerist…Gift Cards = Unsecured Loans (in bankruptcy court).
2. When enough people have the cards but haven’t used them…file bankruptcy, or some enact some action to no longer accept the gift cars.
3. PROFIT!
They should have offered to DOUBLE the stimulus check, they would have made a killing.
/Hides
*I reserve the right to this idea. If Sears/K-mart/ does anything similar in the upcoming 36 months, I am entitled to 5% of the revenue.
oh, i stand corrected. paper checks will start mailing on may 19…
my other points/questions still stand
@Broncoskip: LOL, really.
Hey Sears, if you want to get people in your stores, sell things people actually want, and hire staff that didn’t come from special ed.
10% isnt enough! Even on a big-ticket item that could probably be bought somewhere else cheaper or at least at the same price. Sears is just bad bad bad! I havnt bought anything from them since I bought one offroad tire (on sale with free balance & installation) maybe 10 years ago. And even THEN I had to wait forever while the automotive tech screwed around for a couple of hours. Like I said…. sears = bad bad bad.
too bad all their shelves are empty!
hmm i have been needing some new shelves…
@WraithSama: If you favor frugality and practicality over cosmetics, I highly recommend finding a Sears appliance outlet center. We bought our fridge from there. Regular retail was $1,799, but because it had a small ding on the front bottom and another on the side, it was marked down and I was able to purchase it for $913, including tax. That is some ridiculous mark-up. We figured we’re gonna ding it up anyways and can cover the dings with the kids’ drawings and pictures, so what the hell.
Also, check with your utility company to see if they offer some sort of rebate plan. Mine (SCE) does and they gave me a $50 rebate for the new fridge, plus another $50 for recycling my old fridge with them. I will probably never buy an appliance from anywhere else.
OMG what a fucking stupid idea.
If it were Fry’s, it would be tempting, but still not worth it. Sears? Nope. I intend for my rebate and stimulus checks to get me in the black.
wow. 10%. how generous.
a majority of economists say we’re in a recession. george bush rejects that idea because his great summer ‘tax rebate’ is going to pull us out of it.
i’m glad sears is doing their job to pull us out too.
LMAO.
I’m going to do the [seemingly] irrational thing and take them up on that offer. I have quite a lot of savings and I don’t have any debt (and I’m a college student – yes, I know it’s rare), so the stimulus check isn’t such a big deal for me.
*dodges bricks and bottles* Let me finish! [kudos if you caught the reference lol] By giving me an extra 10% – or $60 – the Sears is basically giving away free money. There are only 2 things to keep in mind:
1. Use the gift card ASAP, in order to avoid monthly fees, and
2. Buy something that will not lose its value.
In my opinion, the best thing to buy would be postal stamps. They are as good as money, and the “Forever” stamps are even better, because you’ll only need 1 “forever” stamp to mail a letter, regardless of the price increases on stamps. So, basically, it’s an investment, a bonus and a smart purchase all in 1.
This reminds me a lot of the scammy car dealers near me who advertise that they’ll do your taxes for free if you spend your refund on a down payment. Riiiight.