I've seen several articles in the press lately about the Borders brand living on and the notion of consumers still being able to shop at borders.com after the liquidation of all Borders locations. While this is likely true, it's also a bit misleading and important to keep in mind, there will be a new owner of the Borders brand and Borders Gift Cards will not be accepted by the new entity.
Here's Why Borders Gift Cards Will Not Be Accepted
In short, during the liquidation process, Borders will sell all company assets to help repay it's debts. Most of us think of assets such as: inventory, books, cd, shelves, charis, etc. However, the company will also sell it's intangible assets; things like the rights to it's brand name, logo, website and customer marketing lists. The new owner of the Borders brand will not be required to accept the existing Borders Gift Cards. They are merely buying assets of the company and not liabilities (gift cards).
This Has Happened Before And Will Happen Again
One only needs to visit hollywoodvideo.com to see this in action. The company went out of business for good in 2010. If you visit their website today, you'll see the same familiar logo and a link to shop now. It turns out NECA Inc. purchased the rights to the Holllywood Video brand. Often times a company who purchases the brand name of a defunct company is interested in the traffic it can drive to their existing business. In fact, if you click on the 'Shop Now' link, you'll be directed to NECA's Amazon shop. And guess what, Hollywood Video Gift Card are not accepted for payment.
So, to sum it up: if you own a Borders Gift Card, go out there and use it ASAP. It will soon become a worthless piece of plastic.
