I recently asked a family member what they wanted for their birthday, and the answer was “cash, and B&N gift card”. To answer the question of “why not just cash”: “if it’s a gift card, I won’t feel guilty about spending it at B&N”. Depending on the answers here, I’m probably going to give them a combination.

I don’t go to bookstores much myself these days, so I don’t know what the price of books has done in recent years, and how much is a usable amount. If I had to pick one genre they’d be shopping for, it’s probably YA Fiction, with Fantasy being a close second.

  • Tolookah@discuss.tchncs.de
    9·
    1 year ago

    How much were you going to give them in cash? Books range in price greatly, and it sounds like a cash gift would be put into their normal every day money, while a gift card would HAVE to be spent on something fun for them.

    If I were given a $20 and told go have fun, that $20 might be used for groceries. If I’m given a $20 specific gift card, I might spend $25-30 at the store, and not worry about the difference.

      • FriendOfElphaba@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        4·
        1 year ago

        Then I’d just make it $100 and call it a day. $100 seems like a very generous amount in gift card form (like you’re less likely to forget it in your sock drawer), while $100 cash doesn’t seem like as big of a deal.

        I’m not generally big on giving gift cards, but if they’re asking for one it’s going to be appreciated.

  • ryan@the.coolest.zone
    8·
    1 year ago

    Depending on whether it’s a hardcover or paperback, new books can retail anywhere from $15 to $25 generally (pre-tax). I might say $25 is a good amount for a gift card because it will generally buy one expensive book or partially cover two less expensive ones.

    I totally agree with what your family member said about gift cards - if I get money, I just hoard it, but if it’s a gift card it’s not “real” so I can spend it with better peace of mind. That’s exactly how gift cards get you. 😉

  • drcouzelis@lemmy.zipEnglish
    8·
    1 year ago

    Any amount is fine. :) $5, $20, $100… I recently received a gift card for Ebay for $25 and happily spent in on buying $80 headphones that I wouldn’t have normally got.

  • Protoknuckles@lemmy.world
    51·
    1 year ago

    Each book is under $10 unless they are hardcovers, so $20 should be fine. Probably $30-35 if they like hardcovers.