Is CardCash Legit Or A Scam? (The Complete CardCash Review)

CardCash is one of the platforms I’ve tried selling gift cards on. And I suppose you’re wondering if my experience with them is different from the many reviews out there. Is CardCash legit or should you sell your gift cards elsewhere?

CardCash allows people to buy and sell gift cards online, but it’s not a fully reliable platform to transact. Hundreds of customers complain about shady sales and mysterious disappearance of card balances. Such complaints are so serious that they make Cardcash unreliable and unsafe to use.

I’m not about to say that CardCash is as reliable as I initially thought it is. Even my personal experience with them confirms my doubt about the genuineness of the platform.

Given the mixed experiences from different people and the hundreds of negative reviews in particular, it looks to me like CardCash has a different agenda.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet.

Let’s at least take an in-depth look at CardCash review, learn how it works, and see why I wouldn’t personally recommend it to anyone.

What is CardCash?

Founded by Marc Ackerman and Elliot Bohm in 2009, CardCash allows you to buy, sell, and exchange gift cards online.

The business has had a growing consumer base since start and even big sites such as this and this have it right at the top as one of the places to sell gift cards online.

There are three entities involved in this business: a buyer, a seller, and CardCash. The company acts as the intermediary between a seller and a buyer, which means they sell on your behalf and get you the money.

Here’s how it works:

CardCash will ask you to specify the balance in your gift card and the respective merchant. Next, they’ll give you an offer and, if you accept it, they’ll pay you either with hard cash, a check, direct deposit, or through PayPal.

How Much Does CardCash Offer for Gift Cards?

It’s one thing to be able to sell gift cards on CardCash. It’s another thing altogether to know how much you’re getting for your cards.

The truth is:

You aren’t going to get the full value of a gift card on CardCash. From what I understand, you can expect at least 92% of the actual value of the card.

Here’s even what’s more startling:

CardCash makes it clear that the cash value of your gift card will depend on the popularity of the merchant. So if your gift card isn’t from bigger merchants such as Amazon, Walmart, and Target, you may not get a good value for your gift card.

That’s eerie – at least in my point of view.

It’s important to note that CardCash doesn’t have a refund policy for buyers. Instead, they claim to have a buyer protection policy, which is only valid for 45 days.

Is CardCash Legit And Safe? Can I Trust CardCash?

I’ve won dozens of gift cards more than I can count. Some come at a time I least expect and others are offers from places I would never go. More often than not, I find myself selling them on platforms such as Gift Card Granny and CardPool.

But I wanted to try  CardCash, too, to see if it could amount to something.

Here’s what I learned:

CardCash gives you a platform to sell gift cards you don’t need, buy gift cards you find helpful, or do exchanges with another person. But can you trust CardCash with your gift cards?

Unfortunately, you can’t.

Here’s why:

1. Gift Card Balances Disappear Mysteriously

You can’t trust CardCash with your gift cards because hundreds of buyers have reported their card balances disappearing mysteriously after the 45-day buyer protection elapse. This complaint pattern is consistent, with the number of consumers claiming to have lost money going up from time to time.

Here’s the worst part:

CardCash doesn’t have a customer support system in place. And you cannot get help from them once the buyer protection period ends.

You either use the card within 45 days of purchase or starting counting your losses thereafter.

Better yet, don’t sell your gift cards on CardCash.

2. You Don’t Get the Best Value for Your Gift Card

You first have an “aha” moment when you learn that CardCash can give you at least 92% of the value of your gift card.

Clearly, you’re not losing a lot of money here.

The problem is, CardCash isn’t truthful about its compensation and such a claim is just a marketing gimmick than a reality in the business.

The brutal truth is:

CardCash will give you far less than what your gift card is worth. Some offers go as low as 50% of the actual value of the card, which means you will not get the best value for your card.

Add to this the claim that how much they’re willing to you for you depends on the popularity of the merchant who issued the gift card, and you can be sure you won’t get the best value for your money.

3. CardCash Has Negative Rating on Better Business Bureau

If you look at the BBB rating for this business, it takes only 10 seconds to realize that something is completely off about this business.

I took an interest to look at the BBB ratings here, and I’m shocked to see over 200+ complaints from different customers. The worst being that money disappears from the card, and it does so mysteriously.

Clearly CardCash is doing the bad job of stealing from the very same people it’s supposed to serve, making it a failing business model since its establishment.

On July 2016, Better Business Bureau reached out to CardCash on the issue of the pattern of complaint. In response, CardCash stated that they would include an insert that inform customers to use their gift cards within 45 days of purchase.

On October 31, 2017, BB established that CardCash failed to eliminate this pattern of cheating, which continues to this day.

Frequently Asked Questions.

1. Is CardCash Legit or a Scam?

I don’t think that CardCash is a fraud. But their way of doing business is definitely questionable.

For example, they have a 45-day buyer protection guarantee, which lowers the level of confidence in the business. Moreover, consumers complain that they lose their gift card balances after 45 days, which lead to losses.

Again, valuating a gift card based on the popularity of the merchant is unprofessional and makes the business difficult to trust.

2. How Long Does it Take to Get Money From CardCash?

CardCash sends money to sellers within 1 to 2 business days. They claim to give you at least 92% of the actual value of the gift card, but you can expect this value to be lower sometimes.

3. How Does CardCash Make Money?

CardCash makes money by making deductions from the sales of your gift card. As we said, the business claims to pay you up to 92% of the value of your gift card. The rest of the 8% is the earnings for CardCash.

Final Thoughts: Is CardCash Legit?

CardCash is on the receiving end of many people’s disapproval. And we’ve seen why that’s so in this CardCash review. If you want to sell gift cards online and get the best value without being scammed, you should consider alternative platforms such as Gift Card Granny and CardPool.