Bad Manners and Brimstone

Quote from: QueenFaninCA on December 14, 2018, 03:46:42 pm

Quote from: Rose Red on December 14, 2018, 01:47:02 pm

Quote from: QueenFaninCA on December 14, 2018, 01:30:10 pm

I think with part of a membership it is kind of iffy. Are they interested in getting one? If not, your $100 might simply go to waste if they don't want to pony up $50.

But the $100 is enough for the family to go one time so it won't go to waste.

That still assumes that they want to go at least once. And in that case there would likely be some money left over.

But you can say the same thing for any gift card except for Visa type ones. I assume the OP knows her brother well enough to know if they are zoo goers. Leftover funds can buy snacks.

Honestly, I don't think even Visa-type generic gift cards are exempt. While I have received and enjoyed many, many specific gift cards as long as they're for anything I reasonably would like and have locations near me (or convenient online options), I have found the few generic gift cards I've received to be royal pains to use. I literally just remembered to dig out and figure out how to use the one I received last year before the fees could start eating away at the value and waste it. (I tried 3 different times to use the card for various purchases and every time ran into issues that forced me to fall back on another payment method until I finally managed to use the darn thing up on groceries.)

The OP feels confident that the zoo is something they'd like and knows they have used similar gifts in the past, which is about as "safe" a choice as you can get for any gift that doesn't come straight off a gift registry. As long as the gift card would cover a "complete" gift (in this case, family admission to the zoo with extra for food or souvenirs), it seems like a perfectly nice gift. If the recipient ends up tossing the card with a few bucks still on it because their purchases didn't add up to exactly $100, that's not the end of the world--the money isn't "wasted"; it performed the intended function of giving the family a trip to the zoo without them having to spend their own money on it. If they decide they like the zoo enough to add their own funds to get a membership or another souvenir beyond what the card covers, then that's great, too--they were given the gift of a hefty chunk off of the cost.

I don’t think so. A gift is a gift and your spending limit is your spending limit. A $25 gift card to a restaurant may not cover a full dinner for a couple but it would certainly cover dessert and coffee after a movie! Just because it’s a restaurant, don’t assume they intend to have a whole meal. No one would snub their nose at an app or dessert being covered (at least most people wouldn’t). One year step son asked for gift cards to a computer store as he wanted a new laptop. Imagine if each one of us felt that our gift card should cover the whole laptop lol.

Quote from: DaDancingPsych on December 17, 2018, 09:22:58 am

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. It sounds like as long as a gift card has enough to buy something useful for the receiver, that it is ok if it does not cover the entire bill (at least in most cases.)

As far as whether my brother and his family would use a gift card for the zoo, yes, I do believe that they would. They typically go at least once a year.

I had the conversation with my brother to get a better feel for the gift. I have decided to split the money between the zoo and the movies, which are both activities that he expressed that the kids have been asking about. I should be able to come close to covering a one time visit for both and if he wants to put more money and purchase the membership, that is still an option for him. I feel comfortable that my decision will be appreciated and not become a chore for him, as he expressed that they had planned on doing both activities at least once this upcoming year.

Thanks again everyone; your thoughts were very helpful!

How'd they like it?

I think we're in the same area, if they upgraded to the membership there are several zoos that offer reciprocity, so they'd have a chance to have many zoo adventures within a 2-3 hour drive.

I think that the gift went over really well; thanks for asking. My nieces seem excited and after the conversation with my brother, I feel confident that it won't be a burden. I am assuming that they will make the purchase when they go to the zoo, so I do not know if they will buy the full membership. My brother does live a fair distance from me, so their local zoo is not the same as our local zoo, but they do have the reciprocity with our zoo. (If they buy the membership, I am hoping that they will visit our zoo and that I can go with them!) We really are lucky that there are so many amazing zoos close enough to make a day trip to. It is one of the things that I liked about the membership.

Quote from: DaDancingPsych on December 30, 2018, 03:23:10 pm

Quote from: NFPwife on December 30, 2018, 11:50:54 am

Quote from: DaDancingPsych on December 17, 2018, 09:22:58 am

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. It sounds like as long as a gift card has enough to buy something useful for the receiver, that it is ok if it does not cover the entire bill (at least in most cases.)

As far as whether my brother and his family would use a gift card for the zoo, yes, I do believe that they would. They typically go at least once a year.

I had the conversation with my brother to get a better feel for the gift. I have decided to split the money between the zoo and the movies, which are both activities that he expressed that the kids have been asking about. I should be able to come close to covering a one time visit for both and if he wants to put more money and purchase the membership, that is still an option for him. I feel comfortable that my decision will be appreciated and not become a chore for him, as he expressed that they had planned on doing both activities at least once this upcoming year.

Thanks again everyone; your thoughts were very helpful!

How'd they like it?

I think we're in the same area, if they upgraded to the membership there are several zoos that offer reciprocity, so they'd have a chance to have many zoo adventures within a 2-3 hour drive.

I think that the gift went over really well; thanks for asking. My nieces seem excited and after the conversation with my brother, I feel confident that it won't be a burden. I am assuming that they will make the purchase when they go to the zoo, so I do not know if they will buy the full membership. My brother does live a fair distance from me, so their local zoo is not the same as our local zoo, but they do have the reciprocity with our zoo. (If they buy the membership, I am hoping that they will visit our zoo and that I can go with them!) We really are lucky that there are so many amazing zoos close enough to make a day trip to. It is one of the things that I liked about the membership.

That's great! I hope they visit, too! I think experience gifts are the best.

On a side note, I just got a gift card for Dooney & Bourke for... $50. There's nothing for $50 there. I'm probably going to end up adding $100 or so. I wasn't planning on buying a purse, but after I got done blaming your thread for jinxing me, I found something cute.

Oh no! I'm the jinx!!! I have never shopped at Dooney & Bourke, so the gift card might be the excuse I need to make the purchase. I am glad that you found something that you like. I have two Sephora and an Ultra gift cards ($50 each) that I have never used. I wear drug store make-up and cannot manage to convince myself into buying anything!  =P

Yes. Ulta has at least 1/3 of the store with drugstore brands and they frequently have sales. Also, the Ulta brand is reasonably priced and good quality.

For Sephora, when you spend $50 you can do a makeup lesson/ makeover. If you have an event, you can schedule to get your makeup done and use the gift card on products they used or anything else you'd like. (They aren't high pressure. And, they're not allowed at accept tips.) If there's something you want to focus on or learn to do like contouring or a Halo eye, they'll focus on that for you. If you want to try something new, like false lashes, you can buy a pair and they'll  teach you to apply them.

The Sephora brand isn't, too expensive. I love their lipstick.