Every year, billions of dollars in gift cards go unused. Many of us have experienced the frustration: a drawer full of cards we don’t need, or the hassle of selling them on platforms that take large commissions, impose restrictions, or require trusting a third party.
I built Gift101 (https://gift101.xyz/) to solve this problem.
Gift101 is a peer-to-peer gift card exchange designed to eliminate unnecessary middlemen, reduce transaction fees, and give users full control. It’s simple: you list the cards you want to sell or trade, connect directly with buyers, and complete the exchange without paying the excessive spreads charged by traditional brokers.
Today, I’m excited to share our first public announcement and explain why Gift101 matters.
The Problem: High Fees and Low Liquidity
Traditional gift card resale marketplaces often charge:
- 10–20% commissions
- Delayed payouts
- Strict verification steps
- Limited flexibility for buyers and sellers
These platforms operate as custodians, setting their own prices and capturing most of the spread between supply and demand.
This creates a market where sellers receive less and buyers pay more, despite the actual exchange being simple.
Gift101 takes a different approach.
The Gift101 Model: Peer-to-Peer, Trust-Minimized
Gift101 is designed around three goals:
1. Remove the middleman
No centralized intermediary controlling pricing or settlement. Users can interact directly and negotiate freely.
2. Reduce transaction cost
By eliminating platform commissions, Gift101 keeps the economics transparent. Sellers capture more value. Buyers pay closer to true market price.
3. Support global user flows
Gift card liquidity is fragmented worldwide. Gift101 allows international participants to connect, exchange, and transact.
As the ecosystem evolves, we will introduce:
- Reputation scoring
- Escrow automation
- Crypto settlement (optional)
- Offer aggregation and matching engine
- Programmatic APIs for power users and bots
But the foundation is simple: connect people directly and remove unnecessary friction.
Why Now?
Gift card trading has become increasingly global, especially with the rise of:
- Gift card arbitrage
- Cross-border e-commerce
- Merchant-specific digital credit (Steam, Amazon, Apple, Walmart, etc.)
- Stablecoin usage for small-value international transfers
Yet the infrastructure for exchanging and pricing these cards remains outdated.
A lightweight, transparent, low-fee peer-to-peer platform fills a significant gap. Early adopters—arbitragers, resellers, crypto-native users, frequent shoppers—stand to benefit the most.
Who Should Use Gift101?
Gift101 is built for:
- People with unused or unwanted gift cards
- Small resellers looking to operate with lower fees
- Arbitrage traders hunting for price inefficiencies
- Crypto users seeking cross-border liquidity options
- Anyone wanting to buy gift cards at a discount
If any of these describe you, Gift101 gives you a more efficient alternative.
What’s Next?
This launch is only the beginning. We are working on:
- Marketplace improvements
- Instant communication channels
- Broader category support (gaming cards, prepaid cards, etc.)
- Enhanced safety and dispute-resolution workflows
- Incentives for early users
Our long-term vision is a global, decentralized marketplace where gift cards become liquid, tradable assets accessible to anyone.
Join Gift101 Today
If you believe gift card exchange should be simple, fair, and low-cost, I invite you to try Gift101 at:
This is our very first marketing effort—your early feedback will directly shape the platform’s evolution.
Let’s build a more open and efficient gift card marketplace together.