Review of Plastic Jungle Gift Cards – Is Plastic Jungle a Scam?
This review of Plastic Jungle gift cards is ideal for consumers, as it answers such questions as “Is Plastic Jungle a scam?”. With discount gift card websites in abundance today, it’s important to find those that provide the greatest savings and reliable results. And since Plastic Jungle is one of the biggest names in the industry, I decided it would make the most appropriate subject.
In the following post, we’ll talk about what Plastic Jungle does, how much you can save, and what kind of gift cards are available. While any review of Plastic Jungle gift cards may end up reading like a commerical, we’ve tried to be as objective as possible when presenting the facts.
What is Plastic Jungle?
The first question a consumer might ask is “What is Plastic Jungle?”. Plastic Jungle is a website that offers steep discounts on brand name gift cards. The site provides a platform for people to sell their unused gift cards to those looking to buy such items at low prices. If you’re in the market for a gift card, but don’t want to pay full price, websites like Plastic Jungle offer a more economical option.
Besides saving on gift cards with Plastic Jungle, you can also sell your unwanted gift cards to make extra money. If you’re just going to throw the card away, why not turn it into cash instead of trash?
How Much Can You Save with Plastic Jungle?
So how much can you save with Plastic Jungle? Well, buying gift cards on Plastic Jungle can save you up to 35% over retail prices. They also offer free shipping, so you don’t have to worry about putting your savings back into shipping costs. Plastic Jungle has a wide selection of gift cards from popular retailers and restaurants, which makes it easy to find a great deal on whatever you need.
Selling Gift Cards with Plastic Jungle
Selling gift cards with Plastic Jungle is a great way to make some extra cash. Plastic Jungle allows you to list your cards on their website for free, and they charge a 10% commission fee once it’s sold.
Plastic Jungle guarantees all transactions, so you’ll need to provide accurate information about your gift card in order for it to be verified. To do this, simply fill out a short form with the card merchant’s name, gift card value, number and PIN. The card’s number and PIN are only visible to Plastic Jungle’s verification team, and it will be used for validation purposes only.
When someone purchases your card, Plastic Jungle will notify you by email and send a pre-paid shipping label to be used when mailing your item. When the buyer receives your gift card, Plastic Jungle will send you a check in the mail.
Is Plastic Jungle a Scam?
There have been reports of gift card websites ripping off consumers and not providing the card they paid for or the check they were promised. With any online transaction, it’s very important to stay away from companies that do not adhere to strict consumer protection policies. Unlike scam gift card websites, Plastic Jungle provides a safe and secure platform for both buying and selling.
So is Plastic Jungle a scam? No, they’re not.
All transactions are 100% guaranteed, and Plastic Jungle also offers consumer protection services such as replacement protection. In the event that your gift card is lost or damaged, Plastic Jungle will offer you a gift card of equivalent value or a full refund.
You can also be assured that the gift cards being sold are exactly what they claim to be. Plastic Jungle’s verification team checks every card listed to ensure honest product representation.
Gift Cards Available from Plastic Jungle
The selection of gift cards available from Plastic Jungle is impressive, and fans of movies, television, and video games will be especially thrilled. While the selection will vary, you should be able to find almost any item you’re looking for. Popular gift card categories on Plastic Jungle include:
- Arts and Crafts
- Gas, Fuel and Auto Accessories
- Baby and Maternity
- Beauty and Health
- Books, CDs, Movies and Video Games
- Children’s Toys and Accessories
- Clothing
- College Clothing
- College Dining
- Department Stores
- Dining and Food
- Drug Stores and Pharmacies
- Electronics
- Entertainment
- Flowers and Gifts
- Home Furnishings and Décor
- Home Improvement and Tools
- Jewelry
- Office Supplies
- Pet Products
- Services
- Shoes and Handbags
- Sporting Goods
- Travel
Joining Plastic Jungle
Joining Plastic Jungle doesn’t cost a cent. All you have to do is sign up for a free account to start buying and selling gift cards. If you’re still unsure, you can also browse the gift cards on sale without having to be a member. Then, if a particular card catches your eye, you can complete the quick sign-up form to make your purchase.
Donating Gift Cards to Charity
Not only can you make extra money from your unused gift cards with Plastic Jungle, but you can also make a difference in the lives of those in need. Plastic Jungle offers you the option of donating some or all of your gift card’s profits to charity, and they also offer fund-raising programs for non-profit organizations. These programs allow charitable organizations to collect gift cards from donors and then mail them to Plastic Jungle in a pre-paid envelope. Plastic Jungle will then send the organization a check for up to 85% of the card’s value.
So there you have it: a review of Plastic Jungle gift cards and verification that it’s not a scam. Since Christmas is always just around the corner, I suggest heading over there as soon as possible.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 at 3:49 pm and is filed under Thoughts on Film. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
73 Responses to “Review of Plastic Jungle Gift Cards – Is Plastic Jungle a Scam?”
I’ve just saved this write-up in Delicious, thanks.
Great, thanks for sharing this blog.Thanks Again. Great.
“There have been reports of gift card websites ripping off consumers and not providing the card they paid for or the check they were promised. ”
What reports or sites? I track all the sites that offer buy/sell/trade/swap services for gift cards and would be interested to know specifically which sites have had reports of scamming customers.
I have been trying to get in touch with PlasticJungle for over a week wanting to know if they will give a bulk purchase discount. They may not be able to but the least they can do is to revert to my phone calls and emails. How do I feel certain they will get in touch with me if I face a problem with a card I order online?
I actually arrived here since this blog was tweeted by a man I was following and feel happy I made it here.
I sent in a gift card for them to purchase last month. After about a week, I received an email stating that they were going to send my check, and that I should receive it within 5-7 business days. That was 2 weeks ago. When I emailed them about the transaction, they told me that they made a mistake, and that the card was only $20 (their minumun is $25), and that they were sending it back to me.
They verified that it was $25 before I sent it because they had to have the card number. Their website still says processing payment. Sure seems like a scam to me.
I purchased a $100 Claires card for $90. I ordered it in July and recieved in July. I checked balance when I recieved and verified the amount. It stayed in my wallet for a while. Went to use about 1 montha ago and it had zero on it. When I called Claires they told me card had been reported lost and re issued to someone else. I have contacted plastic jungle on 3 different occasions and they have not responded. They must sell some of these cards and then get them replaced so that they make double money is all I can figure! STAY AWAY. There are others out there that I have purchased from with no trouble.
I purchased a $50.00 AMC Gift Card from them. When I tried to use t today I was told by AMC it had exactly $0 on it. Very uncool. Just countng the hours until I can call Plastic Jungle and scream. Will probably follow by geting my money back through PayPAl.
Love Plastic Jungle when I’m saving money with their great discounts. Love it even more when I had a problem; the card did not have the balance indicated; a refund was posted to my credit card right away; it’s great when someone stands by their guarantee.
Plastic Jungle may be on the up & up but the people trading in their unused cards might not be. They could be the ones who are reporting them lost. This has made me think twice about buying second hand gift cards.
Bought a $100 AMC gift card, verified the balance when I received it. Used $40 then a few weeks later the card was zeroed out. Plastic Jungle is a farce.
I ordered a gift card in the amount of $25 & it took out $91 from my account. I did this through Send Out Cards. Be careful!!!
Worst service EVER! Promised payment in 2 days and it ended up taking almost 2 weeks! DO NOT USE these people!
sold an American Airline gift card on plastic jungle a week ago, still have not get paid in my paypal account even though I was promised that the money will be on my account in half an hour.
Even though there is a phone number left on their website for customer support, but you will be always directed to leave a message because their customer representives are “busy”
Even though I was told that my email will be answered in 24 hrs, but it toke them three days to get back to me in writting
At this point, I am not sure whether this is a scam or not, but definitly, their bussiness need to be tighted up quite a bit
Buyer beware!!!!!! So far not good. I tried this site because I heard about them in the news. Now I’m thinking I made a big mistake. I ordered 9 gift cards in various amounts and when I tried to use the first one it was $0. It was a $300 card and I have zip! So far I have not been able to reach a representative and have left 2 messages. I even e-mailed them and no response. I feel duped. After reading other comments here about balances going to zero even though they initially contained funds, I think I’m going to go shopping immediately to offload the good cards ASAP. I’ll follow up with another comment to let everyone know how this works. Either way I’m not shopping with them anymore.
In response to Brielle’s post, I will soon be in the process of making free “Plastic Jungle is a Scam” T-Shirts. With tens of thousands of dollars at stake, this deplorable service and customer support is unacceptable. This company should be reported to the BBB and shutdown until they get their act together.
I have just bought a Marriott gift card, they sent me from plastic jungle an ecode for that. There is no way I can use this card at Marriott. Plastic jungle is not returning any calls or emails. Can any one help me out to connect or take action with plastic jungle?
Thanks.
Long story short: Plastic Jungle is a SCAM for SURE!!!
Similar situation as previous posts: I purchased AF gift card from them and checked the balance immediately when I received. Everything is find by that time. Today I finally want to use this card for the very first time, it turned out nothing left in this card. I contacted AF customer service (why? because plastic jungle doesn’t work during the weekend) they told me that gift card has been used in 12/27 just 3 days after my receipt.
Maybe it is spent by the seller, maybe it is used by someone inside plastic jungle. But it is definitely not used by me who paid $225 real cash.
Guarantee from plastic jungle? According to their terms buyers need to check the balance in 1 week of their receipt and make the claim if there is any difference. What will they do to handle my case? I don’t know yet but i m not too optimistic….
Maybe it is actually not the fault from plastic jungle, but this kind of transaction has ZERO SECURITY AT ALL.
Don’t ever buy a second hand gift card again!!! Not worth it!!
I sold a couple gift cards to plasticjungle.com and not only did it take a month and a half to get my check, their check bounced! And I was charged with a 12 dollar fee for THEIR check bouncing! I can not get a hold of ANYONE from plastic jungle. Biggest rip off i’ve ever encountered! Nobody use this website!
I am in the middle of my first transaction with them and so far their responsiveness and reliability has been ZERO.
DO NOT USE PLASTIC JUNGLE until you start to see some trustworthy positive comments from users. Clearly their customer service is non-existent.
I had sold an AMC giftcard that I could not use and after three weeks and reading these reviews, I was convinced my gift card was probably lost forever. I just received the amazon.com coupon code that I had sold my giftcard for. I used it right away, not wanting to encounter any problems that other people have stated. I have some change remaining on the balance and it will be interesting to see if that disappears anytime soon. While I have not had near the issues that other people have had with this website, I will not use it again.
I guess you can add me to the list of people who have had an awful experience with plasticjungle. I sold cards to them on 12/31/2010 and have gotten no response from them. My inquiries with the company have received only automated email responses. It has been 12 days and still not real reply from these guys.
I also have had a bad experience with this low-life company.. sent in a card about 2 weeks ago and have yet to receive my check. They have an automated system on their phone line so there is no way to directly talk to them. Also have tried contacting through e-mail 3 separate times and have yet to receive a response. Stay away from this site. SCAM! SCAM! SCAM!
The check they sent me bounced and I was charged $12 on top of it. I’m furious. It’s too late for me to call them tonight, but I’m scared I will have a hard time getting into contact with them.
I received an $18.75 check from Plastic Jungle two weeks ago and it bounced. My bank said it was not written on a valid account. My bank also charged me $8. Can’t reached Plastic Jungle via phone or email. This is definitely a scam.
I’m glad I found these comments. I was about to spend a good deal of money at the site.
DO NOT USE PLASTIC JUNGLE!!!!!!!!!Sold gift cards to them end of December, sent me a check for almost $400.00 which bounced!!!! Scum bags!!! Now I am out the money and dont have the gift cards either!!! Trying to reach them no response through email or phone!!!!!!! Going to Better Business Bureau to file complaint!! Oh by the wasy their bank told me they issued a bunch of checks and then put stop payments on them!!! SCAM!!!!!!!!!!!
I wish I have seen this post earlier… Is there any way to report this terrible company?
I wish I had seen this site earlier today. You can add me to the list of dissatisfied customers. I sold a Best Buy gift card to Plastic Jungle earlier today with the promise that the money would be in my Paypal account in thirty minutes. It’s been five hours and no payment yet. I also attempted to reach the company via phone and email and they do not answer calls or return messages of any sort. I am relieved that I am only out $50 unlike some of the other people on here. Plastic Jungle seems to be a total scam. Not sure how they acheived a “B” rating from the Better Business Bureau. If everyone on here filed a complaint, perhaps Plastic Jungle would lose their accreditation from the BBB.
I am so glad I found this website! I was about to sell a gift card to plastic Jungle, but just kept getting an uneasy feeling about it. After reading such terrible things about their company,I’m glad I went with my gut feeling.
http://sanjose.bbb.org/Business-Report/Plasticjunglecom-1000002285 This might be one place to report them…
Plastic Jungle has been doing this a long time and has always protected consumers like me from fraudulent gift cards. I read that they have experienced an extremely busy holiday season, which I think is why they are struggling with customer service. They are in no way a scam. Sounds like they had an issue with the wrong bank account being used, but knowing what I know about them, all will be made good. For those of you that have not used PJ in the past, you can be assured that they are completely reputable and have always taken care of my transactions. In this case their success is creating the problem, in my opinion. Need more customer service. I will continue to be a loyal PJ customer!
Well, I am still hesitant on using Plastic Jungle..I have 2 ($500) gift cards from Lacoste, and with all of these mixed reviews, I cant afford to lose my $$$ or the gift cards.. )0: I got Plastic Jungle , Cardpool & Giftcardrescue sites off of HLN, (Clarke Howard) ?! I guess I will keep researching… I won these gift cards…And I really dont want to spend $1,000 at that store. (0; I am glad I stumbled across this site! Thanks for the info.
Beware the positive reviews you see posted on this thread — I suspect they are being generated from within the company.
I am currently having a very serious issue with Plastic Jungle that is similar in nature to some of the posts above. I have contacted the Better Business Bureau in the hope of getting some assistance as the company is virtually impenetrable in terms of accountability.
In the meantime, if you are considering a transaction with Plastic Jungle DON’T DO IT!!
Customer Support is hugely important to Plastic Jungle. In fact, it’s a core principal that we serve our customers as best we can, and as you deserve. We recently had a huge surge in business, and we didn’t have the customer service support structure to handle every matter as gracefully as we would have liked. We certainly understand that it is frustrating when we don’t do a good job at customer service, so we’ve made a number of changes to ensure your experience is a positive one. We added customer service staff and phone lines, and we are restructuring our entire customer support function to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
In the vast majority of cases, our customers are delighted with us – and often let us know so directly. So please bear with us as we work to make your experience as excellent as possible. We promise we will.
~Russ Novotny
Director of Operations, Plastic Jungle
Casey,
First and foremost, I want to apologize for the trouble you’re experiencing. We’d like to help resolve the issue, but we’ll need a bit more information (your name and email address) so we can look up your account. Why don’t you email me at blog@plasticjungle.com, and we’ll get this taken care of for you.
Second, I’d like to assure you that the only comment from someone at Plastic Jungle is the one Russ posted this afternoon (see above). We believe in open, honest, transparent communication at all times. And we even have a Social Media Policy which all employees must abide by (included in this policy is a requirement that an employee disclose their connection with Plastic Jungle in a public forum such as this).
Hope that helps!
~Kristin Donelson
VP, Marketing
Plastic Jungle
p.s. For anyone else experiencing difficulties, we’d really like the opportunity to resolve them for you. Please do write into our Contact Us webform on our site if you haven’t already, and feel free to also pass along your feedback to me at blog@plasticjungle.com. Thank you in advance for taking the time!
Well, this sucks. Its bittersweet finding this blog. Its nice that I can warn my family/friends about the scam that is plastic jungle. It sucks that I had found this site too late and have just become a victim of their scam.
I sold a $100 macys gift card to them and got my check from them very quickly (it was delivered within a week…maybe its because I live in california and the offices are apparently in the same state?)
I, too, got the feeling this may be too good to be true so I went directly to wells fargo(the bank the check is issued from) to cash the check. After a lengthy verification process, I was told they had put a STOP PAYMENT on the check! it was a waste of time and embarrassing…not only do I not have money, I don’t have my gift card and I’m left with a very hollow feeling that can only come from being suckered and scammed. Besides filing a complaint with BBB and telling everyone I know how much of a scam this is, what can I do to get my money back?
Lauren,
I believe Customer Support has been working with you this morning to get this resolved. From what I understand, we did not put a stop payment on the check, and you should be able to resubmit the check with no trouble. Please accept my apologies for the trouble you experienced, and do let us know if there’s anything else we can do to help.
Thanks!
~Kristin Donelson
VP, Marketing
Plastic Jungle
I used to love ordering from Plastic Jungle, but I’ve given up on them for good.
The past few weeks, I’ve attempted to order cards from them about 2 dozen times. I am not rich, but have good credit and thousands of dollars in available credit on my credit cards that I use frequently, both online and off. Now, whenever I submit an order, I get a lame message from them saying that they are experiencing some sort of difficulties and can’t complete my orders. I can understand this happening once in awhile, but 2 dozen times in a row over a several week time span? With this kind of poor service, I would rate them “Not Worth the Hassle” if I was doing an evaluation of their company.
Hi Shawn,
I can completely understand your frustration! I want to assure you this is in fact a problem with our credit card processor, and not at all a reflection on you or our desire to serve you. We hope to have this all resolved today (ideally).
In the meantime, do you happen to have a PayPal account? Orders purchased via PayPal are going through just fine.
Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help. We hope to earn your trust and confidence again.
Thanks!
~Kristin Donelson
VP, Marketing
Plastic Jungle
Regardless of the negative comments here I went ahead and gave them the benefit of the doubt. I sold a Old Navy gift card through them and I received the money via PayPal instantly after I submitted the info. If the payment sticks I’ll be returning to them in the future. At the moment I have no problems with Plastic Jungle.
I’ve just had my first purchase experience with plastic jungle, and I have to say it sucks. I was told they are experiencing some tech difficulties on processing the payment. Then after almost one and half days later, I checked the updates on their webpage, and I was happy to see the status changed to “code delivered”. But the fact is I’ve waited an extra day and there’s simply nothing.
I’ve tried to call them but appears their phoneline is always busy. I don’t know what I’m going to do with my purchase. But if they can’t handle their business in a prompt way, they are going to lose. No matter what kind of excuses they may have. I don’t think I’m going to deal with them again. Yes, we’re trying to save money, but not at the cost of spending a big amount of time and bad mood.
Hi Larry,
I’m sorry to hear you’ve had a difficult time with your transaction! Sometimes our eCODE delivery emails are blocked by a user’s email provider. Perhaps that’s what’s happening here. We can absolutely resend it to you. If you send me your full name and email address that you have on file with Plastic Jungle to blog@plasticjungle.com, I will have Customer Support follow up.
Thank you for your patience!
~Kristin Donelson
VP, Marketing
Plastic Jungle
I recently emailed them about a bulk selling question (has been 3 days no response). I was going to sell them 1k of burger king gift cards witch i dint use. Also a 500 j.jill gift card. After seeing this website thank god i dint go thru with it. If i lost my money i would of had done anything to get it back
Hi Jose,
I hope to allay your fears and earn your trust and confidence… all transactions are guaranteed on Plastic Jungle, and I assure you we stand behind them all.
If you’d like to email me at blog@plasticjungle.com, I’d be more than happy to have our Volume Seller team follow up with you. In the meantime, you might want to check out our Volume Seller page at: http://www.plasticjungle.com/partner-solutions-pj-volume-sellers
Thanks!
~Kristin Donelson
VP, Marketing
Plastic Jungle
I have used plastic jungle for over a year and have never had any problems.
Kristin, why dont you go and do something else, like… something more usefull ? then trying to bulls*** people around here? or maybe you should try helping customers on PJ ? not here? doesnt that sound more usefull ? anyway, you’re all a bunch of scumbags, and scammers, no matter what other bulls*** you have to say, it’s quite the same, it’s easy to speak/type, but harder to get things done.
Thanks for everybody’s opinion on Plastic Jungle I was about to send them a $500 Nieman Marcus gift card. I tried to call the customer service number and got a standard leave a message or send a email like the rest. It’s a shame what a wonderful business idea. Anybody know any real sites to sell cards on?
Wow, guys I was about to spend 500 dollars on these clowns before I started reading these reviews. Thanks! Everyone unite! Lets get them off the better business bureau.
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Brielle
Thank you so much for the review, just wanted to clear up a couple points for your readers. Plastic Jungle purchases all gift cards directly from customers for up to 92% of the balance. This protects our customers and guarantees all gift card transactions. We would like to get in touch in order to send you a Plastic Jungle t-shirt, feel free to contact us when you have a moment.