Is Staples Hiding Visa Gift Cards?

Screen Shot 2014-05-23 at 1.24.40 AMOver the past week my favorite Staples has had no stock in $200 Visa gift cards. I asked the friendly early morning cashier what was going on and she told me that it seemed like more and more people were coming in for them.

If I wasn’t in such a hurry to get the cards, I’d just order more online. However, with there not being a Walmart close to home, I need to capitalize and visit Walmart to load my Bluebird whenever I can.

(Later today we’re heading to Atlanta for a long weekend.  While there I plan to visit Walmart a bunch of times.)

I decided to visit another Staples location.

I went over to the gift card rack and it looked pretty bare. Besides a couple of $50 Amex gift cards, I didn’t see a single Visa or Mastercard. (Yes they had some store & restaurant cards but besides Visa, the only cards I buy are Shell gas cards, Whole Foods & Groupon on occasion.)

I decided to ask an associate about the cards. I thought he’d check inside the display where many cards are stored but instead he headed straight to an area behind the main registers. I asked for five $200 Visa cards. I saw him pick up one card and keep searching through one of the shelves.

A moment or so later, he turned to me and said that he could only find four cards. I was happy with what I got and figured that I could always try to find a Staples in Atlanta.

This made me wonder- Are Staples stores starting to make their own policies when it comes to gift card purchases? Better yet, are some stores starting to keep $200 gift cards off the shelves, hiding them behind the registers?

Considering the Staples associate knew exactly where the cards were kept it seems like this was consciously done and not a case of the store not getting a chance to re-stock the gift card racks.

Have you been having a hard time finding $200 Visa gift cards at Staples locations?

11 thoughts on “Is Staples Hiding Visa Gift Cards?

  1. RNP- I agree with that for some locations. Others have the cards behind counters, not visible to us.

    Caveman- With the right card you get 5X points.

    GlennPhok- I’m guessing stores decide on their own where to place the Visas.

    Kate- Definitely true.

  2. Yes. Have asked. Apparently, they don’t get a large amount, and the just sell out super quickly. Now that I can order online, it is a bit less of an issue.

  3. The 3 Staples within 3-mile radius from my house all have $200 Visa/MC GCs. But only 1 of them keeps the $200 ones stashed away somewhere and I have to ask for it if I need some.

  4. Is it worth buying $200 VGC from staples then $500 one vanilla from CVS? because I beleive the fee is quite high (almost double) on $200 VGC

    1. Caveman, the fees are $5.95 for the $500 VGC at CVS and $6.95 for the $200 VGC at Staples so over $17 for $500 worth. The reason to do the $200s is the 5X when buying them with Ink cards.

  5. Staples is NOT hiding the $200 VISA gift cards. It is just TOO MANY people buying it. More demands less supplies.

  6. Kate- Wondering if you’ve ever asked if they had $200 Visas?

    Tim- Is this a newer thing or have they always been behind the counter? Are the Visas visible behind the counter?

    1. In SE CT, they show the display card but are never stocked. You have to ask the sales associate and they keep all the 200s behind the service counter.

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