GiftCardNexus:FAQ
From GiftCardNexus
Frequently asked questions about GiftCardNexus.
Contents |
How many gift card brands are tracked?
The number of gift card brands is constantly changing as gift cards continue to become more popular. Currently, the system is tracking over 400 different gift card brands. However, about 200 different gift card brands have sufficient data points to compile metrics on. Most gift card brands are limited to businesses located in the US and Canada.
Is there info on a specific gift card brand?
Most likely there is. Please, search or browse the database for the brand. However, if unable to find it on this website, feel free to nominate the brand and contribute information about it. Over time, others will provide additional information to make the content relevant.
How do I interpret the gift card metrics and reports?
Reporting Period
The time interval utilized for calculating gift card metrics. Gift cards with high volume use a short time interval of ninety (90) days. While, some gift cards use a larger time interval, such as one hundred eighty (180) or three hundred sixty (360) days, so that sufficient data points are available for calculations. A minimum of thirty-six (36) transactions during the time interval is required.
Total Amount
The total monetary amount of gift cards transacted during the reporting period.
Total Volume
The total quantity of gift cards transacted during the reporting period.
Average Daily Amount
The average monetary amount of gift cards transacted on a daily basis. The average daily amount is calculated by taking the total monetary amount of gift cards divided by number of days during the reporting period.
Average Daily Volume
The average quantity of gift cards transacted on a daily basis. The average daily volume is calculated by taking the total quantity of gift cards divided by number of days during the reporting period.
Average Resale Value
The arithmetic mean of transacted value for that gift card brand if resold on the secondary market. For example, an average resale value of 88.00% means that a gift card with a balance of $100 on average is worth $88 on the secondary market or has an average 88% resale value.
The average resale price is calculated by taking the sum of all a gift card brand's face value (balance amount) and dividing it against the sum of all final transacted price (including shipping cost) for that gift card during the reporting period.
Standard Deviation Resale Value
The standard deviation or range of variation from the average resale value. One standard deviation encompasses 68% of all the data points of that reporting period. Two standard deviations encompass 95% of all the data points. For example, a gift card with an Average Resale Value of 89.00 and Standard Deviation value of 3.00 means that 68% of all the data points have a average resale value between 86.00 and 92.00. A simplistic interpretation of standard deviation is that the smaller value the less fluctuation there is in the average resale value.
Median Resale Value
The middle resale price for all gift cards transacted during the reporting period. For example, a median resale value of 80% indicates that half of all the gift cards transacted for more than 80% and the other half for less than 80%.
Top Five Denominations
The five most popular gift card denomination ranked by volume transacted during the reporting period.
Are there any disclaimers for GiftCardNexus.com?
The gift card reports and statistics are made available for informational purposes only. No guarantee or warrants for the accuracy and reliability of the information is provided. As with any historical data, past trends and metrics are not a predictor for future results.
How accurate are the information?
The gift card information, metric, and graphs are only as accurate as the source data. Automated quality control and data analysis are implemented to filter out and correct any inaccuracies. However, some inaccuracies will slip through before being manually corrected. In addition, gift card statistics with sufficient population sample should offset inaccurate data points. Some factors that contribute to inaccurate data are users error in listing the correct balance left on gift cards. Lastly, all transaction is assumed to have resulted in a satisfactory manner between both the buyers and sellers involved.
Why do some gift cards sell for more than its face value?
Not all the reasons for this phenomenon is known. However, here are some known factors:
- The buyer forgets to take the shipping cost of the gift card into consideration while bidding, which results in the final price being greater than the gift cards face value.
- eBay and/or other third parties occasionally offer a promotional discounts that reduces the final purchase price. This in turn makes buyers more willing to bid for more than the face value of the gift cards, especially with the more popular brands.
- Charities and non-profits auction gift cards as fund raisers.
- Fraud and scam are definitive contributing factors to abnormally high and low resale values.
