Amazon experiments with removing gift cards from stores

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – If you’ve tried to buy an Amazon gift card at a local store lately, you might be out of luck. The company is pulling them out of New York stores as an experiment.

Jason Ferguson buys gift cards two to three times a year and likes to do it in between errands. He likes Amazon, because it gives the person a lot of options on what to buy.

“If it’s Amazon, it’s usually for my niece and nephew,” Ferguson said. “If they want something they can just go online, or for my brother or sister-in-law, they can pick whatever.”

News10NBC’s Eriketa Cost went to 7-Eleven, Wegmans and Tops and noticed there were in fact, no Amazon cards. She talked to the store manager at a 7-Eleven in Brighton, who said about half a year ago, there were reports of criminals cheating the system.

News10NBC’s Chief Investigative Reporter Berkeley Brean has spoken with victims of what’s called “card draining.” The Amazon spokesperson didn’t say if this move was connected in any way to those scams. The spokesperson also did not specify what motivated the change. 

Amazon said it’s experimenting with the ways customers purchase gift cards.

You can still buy them at Whole Foods, an affiliate of Amazon. A manager at the Brighton location said once shoppers learned of this, they were sold out. The store added that cards should be restocked in about a week.

Amazon said customers can go to their website for more information. Gift cards are still available online.

The company advises shoppers to never provide gift card details to individuals you don’t know or trust. If you think you’ve been scammed, contact Amazon immediately.

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