Business View Magazine | March 2018

87 buy that ‘currency’to usewith that brand at a discount- ed rate,essentially savingmoneyon all their purchases. “We started the companyback in 2008-2009,right after the financial crisis.We sawthis as a silver lining for manyconsumers looking to savemoneyon things that theyneeded; being able to buydiscounted cur- rency to use for their shopping.So themaster plan has always been to solve a problem for consumers on both sides.It’s reallyall about helping people get themost value for things that theywant,and things that they don’t want.” BVM: Howdoes it all work? Bohm: “It is a secondarymarket soyou have buy- ers and sellers,and then there are the retailers-so there are really three participants in everytransaction. There’s Macy’s,who issues a hundred dollar gift card; there’s Bobwho got the hundred dollar gift card for a gift he doesn’t need and he’d rather have cash; and then there’s Joe,whowants to shop at Macy’s and get a hundred dollar value for 90 dollars. “So,we’re helpingMacys get these gift cards re- deemed byputting them in the hands of a customer whowants one and taking it out of the hands of a customer who doesn’t want it.We’re helping the seller get cash andwe’re helping the buyer savemoney.” BVM: I understand the benefits to both buyers and sellers,but don’t retailers hate it? It seems tome that theymake out better bynot having to trade product for the card,at all.I mean,since Macy’s alreadyhas the money for the gift card that somebodypurchased for