Revisited: Gift Certificates from Hell
News station and snopes debunk this Internet e-mail as loaded with misinformation.
If you tend to give gift cards around the holidays, you need to be careful that the cards will be honored after the holidays. If you receive gift cards (and you probably will), try to use them immediately!
Stores that are planning to close after Christmas are still selling the cards through the holidays even though the cards will be worthless January 1.
There is no law preventing companies from doing this. On the contrary, it is referred to as 'Bankruptcy Planning).
Below is a partial list of stores that you need to be cautious about. This list is changing all the time (See comments) but bottom line is that gift certificates may not be best way to give or receive this year.
Circuit City (filed Chapter 11)
Macys to close 9 stores after January
Ann Taylor- 117 stores nationwide closing
Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug ,and Catherine's to close 150 stores nationwide
Eddie Bauer to close stores 27 stores and more after January
Cache will close all stores
Talbots closing down specialty stores
J. Jill
Pacific Sunwear
GAP closing 85 stores
Footlocker closing 140 stores mo re to close after January
Wickes Furniture closing down
Levitz closing down remaining stores
Bombay closing remaining stores
Zales closing down 82 stores and 105 after January
Whitehall closing all stores
Piercing Pagoda closing all stores
Disney closing 98 stores and will close more after January.
Linens and Things closing all stores
Movie Galley closing all stores
Pep Boys Closing 33 stores
Sprint/Nextel closing 133 stores
JC Penney closing a number of stores after January
Ethan Allen closing down 12 stores.
Wilson Leather closing down all stores
Sharper Image closing down all stores
K B Toys closing 356 stores
Loews to close down some stores
Dillard's to close some stores
Comments
Most of this is true but some of these store closing announcements are from last year.
Posted by: BruceK | November 18, 2008 5:36 AM
How has this list been vetted?
Posted by: Darth Vader | November 18, 2008 8:23 AM
According to media reports Talbots is trying to sell off J Jill, not close all stores and Talbots does not own Pacific Sunware.
Posted by: Jim | November 18, 2008 8:57 AM
Imagine...
Charlie Bucket, a poor boy living with his widowed mother and four bedridden grandparents; learns that the famously reclusive chocolate maker, Mr. Willy Wonka, has hidden five Golden Tickets amongst his billions of Wonka Bars.
The finders of these special tickets will be given a full tour of his world-renowned candy factory along with a lifetime supply of chocolate.
Charlie finds a silver dollar in a gutter and uses it to buy two Wonka Bars. Charlie slowy opens the wrapper on his second bar. His heart begins to pound as the excitement and hope build, he peels back the golden foil to find....a gift card Circuit City. STUPID WONKA!
Posted by: JD | November 18, 2008 11:07 AM
I work for The Home Depot and this is old information. We announced the closing of 15 stores back in May. Please clarify for your readers - Thanks.
Posted by: Sarah, Home Depot Communications | November 18, 2008 11:46 AM
Yeah, well, just remember that the employees of Bennigans Restaurant found out that all corporate owned Bennigans were closed when they showed up for work in the morning. The company made their decision just hours before.
My take on it is, think twice about gift certificates. Remember the famous words of our fearless leader, "If you don't vote for $750 Billion dollars, like RIGHT NOW, the world, as we know it, is going to end".
Posted by: h | November 22, 2008 10:30 AM
One of my co-workers got this e-mail at work Thursday morning. Susan Wornick on Channel 5 in Boston did a report on this Thursday night. It's a total hoax just to scare people.
Keep in mind that Circuit City did announce that they were just going into bankruptcy last week. Linens and Things are going out of business right now(I know because I usually go to the Watertown store at Arsenal Mall). So, two items on that list were true.
Best to double check your sources when you get news like this.
Posted by: Yvonne Christian | November 22, 2008 8:02 PM
And don't buy a gift card from Tweeter, etc. Sorry to see them go under, but the company I really miss is Tech Hi-fi -- they were awesome!
Posted by: nooch | November 23, 2008 6:48 AM