How to Buy Gift Cards Online

Buy gift cards online to avoid going to a retail store to purchase them. Purchase the card directly though a specific retailer's website, rather than taking advantage of any "Free Gift Card" offers you see in sidebar ads, which are almost always fake. Instruct the retailer through whom you purchase the card to ship it to the recipient, who is then able to shop online and in-store with the card, without your ever having left home.

Instructions

1. Visit the webpage of the merchant whose gift card you want to give. Locate and click a link that allows you to buy a gift card, which is located under a "Customer Service" heading in some instances.

2. Select a gift card amount from a menu of pre-determined values. Alternatively, input a custom amount if the gift card purchasing interface allows you.

3. Input the shipping information for the recipient of the card. Type in your own billing address, as well as the type, number, expiration date and verification code of the credit card you wish to use to make the purchase.

4. Complete the purchase and retain the confirmation email until the recipient informs you he's received the card. Having the confirmation email on hand makes the process of gift card replacement -- in the event the original is lost in the mail -- easier.

Tips & Warnings

• Although gift card swap sites and gift cards sold via third party sites like Craigslist and eBay are cheaper options than purchasing directly through a retailer, sellers aren't always legitimate -- and if you purchase through a third party, the retailer bears no responsibility for counterfeit or otherwise unusable cards.