Plastic Jungle is an online marketplace for selling, buying, exchanging or donating gift cards.
Founded by Tina Henson in 2006, Plastic Jungle caters to a large community looking for a common place to exchange unwanted gift cards with ones that they can actually use; one can also get money in exchange and also have the option of donating it for a non-profit organization.Kristin (Cunningham) Donelson, Plastic Jungle's Marketing Director has been very kind to spare some for an interview with us. Read further to learn more this brilliant gift card exchange website.
Plastic Jungle helps people get the most out of their gift cards by unlocking the estimated $30 billion unredeemed gift card economy. Customers can sell gift cards to Plastic Jungle for cash, buy gift cards to their favorite stores for up to 30% off, or donate gift cards to their favorite cause. Plastic Jungle pays up to 92% of the verified card balance and pays out even more when you exchange a gift card for an Amazon.com Gift Card. All transactions are guaranteed, and shipping is always free for buyers and sellers.
Plastic Jungle sure us a great idea, what is the story behind it?
Back in 2006, our founder (Tina Henson) had a friend who found herself with a $1,000 Bloomingdales gift card she couldn't use. When Tina looked online for a safe solution for her friend, she didn't find any good options. As an entrepreneur, she realized this could be a good business opportunity, and with support from her friends and family, she launched the first iteration of our marketplace in 2007. Since then, Plastic Jungle has rapidly grown into the leading gift card exchange.
How do you guys prefer to market yourself? What has been the most productive channel or method for promoting Plastic Jungle?
In addition to search engine marketing and PR, we find social media to be quite effective for us. We have lively communities on both Facebook and Twitter, and we post articles on our blog 2-3 times a week. We've also been working directly with quite a few bloggers (especially writers focused on creative ways to save money) to bring information about Plastic Jungle to their readers and offer them incentives to try our service.
What future plans do you have?
We aim to unlock the estimated $30 billion unredeemed gift card economy for the benefit of consumers as well as merchants. With our recently announced PJ Payments and PJ TopUp products, we've created the ability for consumers to use gift cards to fund their purchases of goods and services on other websites. For instance, Facebook’s 500 million active users can now exchange gift cards for Facebook Credits via Plastic Jungle.
Considering the huge level of consumer participation required on both end (buying and selling gift cards) how do you ensure a prompt and efficient customer support?
Central to Plastic Jungle is a personal, responsive service. We make it our highest priority to ensure that we respond to any requests or questions from our customers efficiently. We have a team dedicated to doing this.
Tell us about the wonderful team behind Plastic Jungle.
The team behind Plastic Jungle is second to none, comprised of senior leaders with experience in online marketplaces (eBay), online payments (PayPal), and gift cards (Blackhawk Network and First Data). We also have a fabulous set of investors from Shasta Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, First Round Capital, Bay Partners, and Harrison Metal.
What is your advice to those who wish to enter the E-commerce world?
The E-commerce world is a very busy space with a lot of competition, so it’s incredibly important to set yourself apart. For example, Plastic Jungle maintains over 400 brands of gift cards, the widest selection in the industry. We always make sure to put our customers first and all our transactions are 100% guaranteed.
Thank you Kristin for the wonderful interview, we wish Plastic Jungle all the success in the future.
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