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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.
Total budget is quite high comparative to those numbers.
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.
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.
Each book is under $10 unless they are hardcovers, so $20 should be fine. Probably $30-35 if they like hardcovers.
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. 😉
33 bucks should be nice enough if the person is not really close yo you. Even 25 is acceptable