Gift cards have been around for a long time and many of us like giving them as gifts, especially around the holidays.  BE CAREFUL with it this year!  Many stores will be closing in 2009 and your gifts may become WORTHLESS pieces of plastic. 

A technique called "Bankruptcy Planning" incorporates the selling of gift cards as a strategic business move for companies that are having financial issues.  They sell the gift cards, yet later on, many of them will not honor the very gift cards they sold mere weeks prior. 

It is all perfectly legal and the consumer has no recourse.  The following stores MAY present this problem with their gift cards: 

Circuit City          (filed Chapter 11)

Ann Taylor          117 stores nationwide closing;

Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, and Catherine's to close 150 stores nationwide;

Eddie Bauer         to close stores27 stores and more after January;

Cache                   will close all stores;

Talbots                 closing down specialty stores;

J. Jill                     closing all stores (owned by Talbots);

Pacific Sunwear    (also owned by Talbots);

GAP                     closing 85 stores;

Footlocker            closing 140 stores, more to close after January;

Wickes Furniture closing down;

Levitz                             closing down remaining stores;

Bombay               closing remaining stores;

Zales                              closing down 82 stores and 105 after January;

Whitehall              closing all stores;

Piercing Pagoda    closing all stores;

Disney                  closing 98 stores and will close more after January.

Home Depot         closing 15 stores, 1 in NJ (New Brunswick);

Macys                  to close 9 stores after January;

Linens and Things closing all stores;

Movie Galley        closing all stores;

Pep Boys              Closing 33 stores;

Sprint/Nextel        closing 133 stores;

JC Penney            closing a number of stores after January;

Ethan Allen]         closing down 12 stores.

Wilson Leather     closing down all stores

Sharper Image      closing down all stores

K B Toys             closing 356 stores

Loews                   to close down some stores

Dillard's               to close some stores

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