Gift Card Basics: Best Buy Gift Cards, Visa GiftCards and More

Sunnyvale, Calif., USA (SANEPR.com) December 14, 2007 -- Consumers can purchase a MasterCard gift card, a Best Buy gift card or any one of hundreds of giftcards on a rack at the local Safeway. Gift cards come in all denominations; there are $50 gift cards, $500 gift cards or higher. Gift cards are not all created equal. Many have fees and restrictions while others don't. Retrevo's report on gift card basics will tell consumers what they need to know about giving and using gift cards this holiday season and beyond. A handy comparison chart points out important differences between gift cards like Visa gift card and a Circuit City gift card that may save smart shoppers money.

Andrew Eisner, director of content at Retrevo, says that gift cards are safe to use although it's possible to run into a gift card scam. Eisner says, "Since there is no personal data encoded on a giftcard there is no security risk for individuals buying or using gift cards. There is a slight chance that the card someone buys will have been targeted by a scammer to rob them of the gift card value." Retrevo offers advice on how to avoid gift card scams in a special report

What to Buy With a $50 Gift Card from Best Buy
Retrevo looked at product reviews, features and prices for the latest gadgets and gear and threw in a little editorial judgment to come up with this list of great products that $50 (plus or minus) can buy with a Best Buy gift card, Circuit City gift card, a credit card or plain old fashioned cash.

Shrek the Third comes on HD DVD. This direct digital-to-digital transfer results in some razor sharp video. HighDefDigest.com says "... 'Shrek the Third' is incredibly dimensional, and is about as close to 3-D as you're going to get without a pair of red and blue glasses." It costs around $29.

Mass Effect is an action role-playing game that was recently released for the Xbox 360. Players command a spaceship as it travels through a photo-realistic interstellar universe. Throw in $9 and some change for tax and buy it at with a $50 gift card at Best Buy for $59.

Shoppers looking for something a cut above Apple standard issue headphones should try the Sony MDR-EX51LP ear buds on sale now for $34 but usually cost around $43. Reviewers say they do a good job of keeping outside noise out and music in.

Read the complete list of $50 gift card product recommendations at Retrevo

What to Buy With a $500 Gift Card from Best Buy
Those lucky enough to get a big fat Best Buy gift card this year instead of a pair of socks (or two), will have a lot of cool stuff to choose from. Best Buy gift cards have some great features like free shipping for online purchases and no expiration date or added fees.

Retrevo turned its value analyzer on Best Buy's high tech gadgets and gear and came up with these great values.

Rock Band which won the Best of Show award at this year's E3 is also a popular Xbox 360 and PS3 game. For $169, future rock stars get the game, a guitar modeled after a Fender Stratocaster, four color-coded drum pads with a kick pedal and a USB microphone.

The Shure SE110 get good marks for sound quality and noise isolation. They cost around $119.

The Microsoft Zune 80GB is the latest version and is getting much better reviews than the first version. Reviewers liked the improved WiFi features and the large 3.2" screen. Shoppers can currently find it for around $249

Read the complete list of $500 gift card product recommendations at Retrevo

Retrevo is the source for all consumer electronics buying information and more.

Retrevo is the best site to find, buy or use all the latest electronics. Retrevo's AI-based information processing technology finds the most relevant reviews, articles, manuals and other product information for all popular gear and gadgets like cameras, camcorders, cell phones, laptops, HDTV, MP3 players and more.

Retrevo crawls the web, analyzes many thousands of products, expert reviews, user reviews, features and prices to report the best values in electronics. Use Retrevo's Product Advisor to find the best values in all the latest high tech products including digital cameras, GPS, HDTV and more.

Consumers can also find manuals and reviews for all popular products from manufacturers like Canon, Nikon, Garmin, Sony, Epson, HP and many more.