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Ways to Make Quick Cash: Trade in unwanted Gift Cards

Do you have a bunch of gift cards to places you'll never shop or restaurants you'll never go to? Turn them in for cash. You can get up to 92% cash back at certain websites.

Do you have a bunch of gift cards to places you'll never shop or restaurants you'll never go to? Turn them in for cash. You can get up to 92% cash back at certain websites.

News 8's Marcella Lee went searching for the best bang for your buck. Here's what she found:

Plasticjungle.com and Giftcardrescue.com are two of the more popular sites.

Most of the websites will either buy your gift cards for cash, Paypal, or even a trade with a different store. But you won't get the full value. They can pay you anywhere from 10% all the way up to 80 or 90% cash back for the balance of the card, depending on the store, the value, and the demand.

Sometimes you need to mail in the actual gift card, but shipping is free. And once the website receives your card, they'll send you the money.

Stacey Ross, of SanDiegoBargainMama.com, says holding onto unwanted gift cards is risky.

"A lot of them are just sitting, collecting dust, and they're no place you would even shop," she says. "They might expire soon, or the store might go out of business, which has happened."

According to the National Retail Federation, $41 billion dollars in gifts cards have not been redeemed since 2005. So don't let yours go to waste.

And if you're looking for another bargain, you might want to check out the gift cards for sale. These same websites offer discounts of 5, 10, and 15% off. And many sites sell both physical gift cards that they mail to you, and also e-card codes that are used for online shopping.

If you're going to shop at a store anyway, why not save a few bucks by purchasing a discounted gift card?

You can follow all of Marcella's reports from her series "Ways to Make Quick Cash" at cbs8.com/yourmoney.

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