"In my line of work, I give away gift cards to my clients. I was using a variety of these gift card re-sellers because it was cost-effective. I have NEVER had a problem with Raise and have purchased over $14,000 worth from Raise. Using SaveYa, I only purchased somewhere around $500 and then was accused of fraud by them and they blocked my account. Ridiculous customer service who will do nothing to listen to your views. I bough close to $1,000 with CardPool and nearly half were fake or used. Their customer service took over a week to solve the issue. I have had to only contact Raise CS once and they were exceptional. Here is to another $14,000 in gift cards for my clients, Raise! Keep up the great work!"
"I had the exact same problem as reported below by advantageg.
Had two $24.75 gift cards in my cart, with a $10 off $25 coupon. But when I submitted the order, one of the cards had already sold so it went through for just the 1 card and didn't apply the coupon code on the order because it was now under $25. The site gave no warning that one of the cards was sold and the coupon was now invalid, nada, zip. Doesn't give you a chance to cancel the order because the coupon won't apply anymore.
I chatted with, then called customer service. Even spoke to a Supervisor. They couldn't give a flip. Offered another $10 off $25 coupon - which would require me to over purchase AGAIN, since few cards go for $25 - they either go for less than that, or significantly over. And the one I want is $24.75!! So no. Just No. I specifically requested any of the following resolutions (1) cancel my order, (2) refund my credit card the $10 for the coupon on the order that did go through (it was just $.25 shy of the value needed for the coupon anyway) or (3) give me a $10 off any purchase coupon, to allow me to get me roughly to the same level of discount I should have had on my first order. All 3 resolutions options were refused.
Clearly, they know about the problem but have trained their customer service team to not really address the problem until you make a public stink about it!! I kept hearing from ALL 3 customer service people I talked with that it was "their policy" to not offer to give anything else after I was given the new $10 off $25 coupon (WHICH I DIDN'T ASK FOR AND MADE CLEAR I DIDN'T WANT - I even have a copy of that chat!). That was a common refrain. Think about it - it's THEIR POLICY to not address issues properly!!
It looks like advantageg complained about this problem, and the customer service's team refusal to properly address it, on the BBB website just two weeks ago. Raise's response to that complaint "The customer contacted Raise Member Services and asked to be provided with a satisfactory resolution, and this however, did not happen....Raise Rewards [were] also offered to the member for the inconvenience and for her patience through this situation...We would like to again apologize to the customer for this inconvenience". Well apparently that apology was just lip service, and Raise hasn't changed a thing about how they do business, since today when I report the exact same problem, I got nothing but stonewalling by customer service. "
"I have used Raise consistently over the last several months, and have had only one issue. I bought one card that ended up having a zero balance. I contacted Raise and received my refund promptly and the customer service rep was very helpful. Something to remember is that Raise is a marketplace. They facilitate sales between people wanting to buy gift cards, and those wanting to sell them. Unfortunately, not everyone is honest in a marketplace. When you receive your cards check to make sure that they have the correct balance, and use them within the 100 day refund window. "
"Bought three gift certificates for a local grocery store. Two of the three didn't work. It was a pain getting a refund. Never again. "
"Buyer be aware! they steal your information and sell you nothing. Not just that, you waste your time and money
Note:
DON'T BELIEVE ANYONE WHO GIVES 5 STARS, THEY WORK AT RAISE. THEY TRYING TO TRICK YOU INTO THERE BAD BUSINESS.
RAISE.COM Replied to MY Review and they still lying, Shame on you, this business without the sincerity and integrity.
I thought that the employee in customer service rude, but the response has proved to me that who runs this business is shameless.
I will tell everyone everywhere you are Internet fraudsters."
"I use Raise for almost every store I purchase from. I love the extra money I save with every gift card purchase."
"I bought Overstock gift card from them. When I tried to apply gift card it didn't work. I reported this to raise.com with screen shot proof that it didn't work. I called them they said they will process after 14 business days for refund. After long time they get back to saying that refund is denied. When inquired with them they gave big documentation which doesn't make any sense. Simple logic I bought gift card from you and it is not working disputed transaction with my credit card company lets see how it goes. I don't want to give even 1 star rating as I want to give them 0 star for wasting my time. They are all bunch of looters beware. If you want to loose money or time go to them. Good Luck."
"Have bought GC's over a yr now. Had one that was a fraud and Raise.com refunded my money. Very courteous. Thank you"
"I have bought several gift cards at a good price an the 1 time I had an issue customer service resolved."
"I have bought couple of HomeDepot gift cards, in-store only and egift types, totalling around $6,000.00. got scammed 3 times by different sellers, seller stole my money after I received the card and used at HomeDepot stores. I reported to Raise.com and all got immediately refunded, immediately felt peace of mind and relieved coz the night before my wife was grudeging on buying these 8%, 4% discount Homedepot cards online. Thanks, Raise.com support team!
Customer,
Frank S.
Los Angeles, California"
"Any legit website will not allow you to check out if the items in your cart are no longer available. Raise.com, however, is not one of them. My order summary screen showed 3 $25 Applebee's gift cards with a $10 off promo code. I submitted the order and was shocked when the order confirmation screen showed ONE gift card at regular price. I contacted Raise.com customer service and was told that 2 of my gift cards had been purchased as I was checking out. They offered me $10 in Raise Rewards if I submitted another FULL PRICE order for 2 gift cards. They refused to either refund me the amount I was charged so I could submit another order or add the Raise Rewards now so that I could order 2 more at the discounted price. I escalated the issue to no avail. No one at Raise.com found it wrong that I was given something completely different than what was on my order summary screen. Most new businesses these days realize that customer service is priority #1 (especially when they are the ones at fault) but Raise.com is not one of them.
UPDATE: Raise.com contacted me shortly after I posted this review. They were able to resolve my issue by adding $15 in Raise Rewards (extra $5 for the inconvenience). I was able to use them for my purchase and had no issues redeeming both gift cards that I purchased. While I wish they had been more understanding when I first contacted them, they did address my concern in the end."
"SIX times in the last few months have either received gift cards with $0 balance or after using some funds, remaining funds disappeared! Phoning RAISE is extremely time consuming and customer service reps are scripted and can only issue "refund within our 100 day policy". No real concern for the embarrassment of trying to pay using your gift card and being told $0 balance or respect for the inconvenience and your time. Hesitate to buy from them again since they have no real control over their sellers and the customer suffers. Tough to count on a savings from a card to find out it is worthless!!"
"Please read useful tips at bottom.
I have been buying discounted cards for years and use Raise over the past year. Must have saved thousands of dollars. I am fully aware that sooner or later I will get burned with a bad card (have always got a refund so far), and so should anyone buying such cards. It’s part of the deal, and usually the fault of some dishonest person selling cards on sites such as Raise and waiting just long enough to cash in safely.
Last month I got two Pier 1 cards worth about $300 from Raise, both of which turned out to be “bad merchandise cards”. The refund was back on my credit card less than 24h after I contacted Raise. Thanks Wren!
So here are my tips:
Buy only cards you intend on using soon.
Choose denominations less than $100.
When shopping online buy the card (Egift) just before you check out. Once you are an established buyer at Raise, the card will arrive instantaneously.
Never let a card languish past the 100 day guarantee (dishonest seller may cash it).
Just a week ago I tried to use a Macys card that I had bought in January and used to have $106.56 on it when I bought it. I used $90.10 on 01.21.2016.
Someone else (not me), probably original seller, used the rest ($16.46) on 08.13.2016. Raise refunded the money although it was way past their 100 day guarantee. Thanks RJ
"
"I love Raise. They have a great website, a great selection, and super fast delivery. The latter is the most important to me, so I use Raise even when other sites have lower prices. Raise also has a very low rate of failure of cards (I've bought many this year from many sites), and are very quick to respond and refund bad cards."
"I wasn't sure how well this site would work, but it was so simple to put my gift card up for sale. It sold immediately and I opted for a paper check (just to make sure it was real) and sure enough I received a check in a short manner of time. I have nothing but praise for Raise."