Beware Of Gift Card 'Gotchas'

Weakened retailers threaten to leave consumers stranded with $100 million in worthless plastic.

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Got a drawer full of forgotten or unused gift cards? Watch out.

Weakened and bankrupt retailers may leave consumers stranded with $100 million of worthless store gift cards this year, according to some estimates, though many stores are honoring their cards, at least for now.

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Circuit City(nyse:CC - news - people ) is one. It filed for bankruptcy earlier this month but is still allowed to sell new in-store cards and honor its existing cards, the outstanding dollar amount of which it wouldn't disclose.

Still, the electronics retailer is closing some stores, meaning gift card holders take their chances if they wait too long. Uncertainty is one reason overall gift card sales are expected to fall 6% this holiday season, to $24.9 billion, according to the National Retail Federation. More bad news for retailers, as fewer cards given as gifts could also mean potentially fewer people hitting those post-holiday sales.

TowerGroup, a Boston area research firm, estimates store-branded gift card sales will take a 14% hit this year as buyers flock to bank-branded or other types of cards that can be used more universally and for necessities like groceries and gasoline. Bank-branded cards are expected to see a 5.6% increase in sales this year.