Safely buying iTunes gift cards from private party?

[steveroberts]

Friends,

Looking to make a $200 purchase from the app store, and I've seen some pretty good deals on iTunes gift cards on the local Craigslist.

Is there any way to verify the validity of these cards prior to purchase?

Thanks for any insight you can provide.

SR

[rz]

If it were me, I'd meet the person in a public place (maybe an Apple Store), and make them sit there while you purchased the app before giving them the money.

[DavidS]

Big box stores like Best Buy and OfficeMax frequently have 15% off iTunes cards. I'd look around for one of those deals and buy from a legitimate source before using Craigslist.

That being said, I have a $25 Google Play gift card that my mother gave me for Father's Day. As she knows that I use Apple products, I'm not sure if she is making an unspoken comment about her opinion of me as a father.

[DRR]

Can you meet them in a public place, put cash on the table, and put the gift card balance into your itunes account? That's probably the safest.

[rjmacs]

How will you know they're activated before you hand over the cash? Anyone could grab a bunch of non-activated cards from a store rack and sell them to dopes on CL.

[DRR]

rjmacs wrote:
How will you know they're activated before you hand over the cash? Anyone could grab a bunch of non-activated cards from a store rack and sell them to dopes on CL.

That's the whole point of the discussion?

[Robert M]

Steve,

I personally wouldn't do it. I have, on the other hand, bought discounted iTunes cards via bestbuy.com and other retailers. The last one was $85 for a $100 card or something along those lines. Not a hefty discount by any means but a savings is a savings.

That said, if you purchase an item from the store using gift cards, the item may lose its eligibility for "double the manufacturer's warranty for up to a one year" protection. Not an issue if you're buying Applecare for a new or refurb machine, though.

Robert

[DRR]

You can't use an iTunes gift card in a store, or for any hardware. It is for media purchased through iTunes only. Apps, music, videos, rentals, books, etc.

[DavidS]

Staples' Deal of the Day is a $50 iTunes card for $42.50, which is 15% off.

http://www.staples.com/iTunes-Gift-Card-...uct_970603

[DCrunch]

Check out Costco.