Patrick F.

Paid for a 1 year membership which wold allow me to see 3 movies/month. Then was told to be able to use it immediately I'd have to pay another 9.99. I paid that 'instant activation fee' and went through the steps to purchase a ticket. Then get told i need to pay convenience fees.

I never managed to obtain a ticket. They're quick to answer on Twitter to request a DM (there's no phone number to reach them) but not so quick to actually reply. I've had to file a dispute with my bank because I can't get an answer from sinemia.

I buy and sell at cardpool and have never had problems. When I purchase e-cards they usually arrive in my email the next day. Physical cards take 3 or 4 days. I Haven't had a bad card yet.

When I sell e-cards, the payment is usually mailed within 48 (business) hours, and in my hand 2-3 postal days later (including Sat, excluding Sun). I haven't sold a physical gc so I don't know the timeframe for that.

They tell you on the site what they're willing to pay; you can almost always get more if you're willing to trade it for another card--you get less for cash/check payment.

[This review is solely regarding a selling experience]

I usually sell gift cards to cardpool, but chose GCS this time because they were offering slightly more money.

BIG MISTAKE.

I initiated a sale on July 7,2018. Apparently, you don't simply sell, you 'submit an offer' for how much you're willing to sell for (which they don't make clear). They claim they will respond to your 'offer' within 24 hours.

They FINALLY accepted my 'offer' on July 15. And that is likely only because I emailed them.

I provided all the required information immediately. And waited to get paid.

And waited. And waited.

On the last possible day (per their guidelines), July 31, they issued my check. Great!

August 9, I still haven't received it. It mails from Chicago, I live in New York. It doesn't take that long for mail to go from Chicago to NY. I suspect that it hasn't left their facility yet.

I called today to ask about it, and they say I should have it on/by Aug 14 (literally 5 WEEKS after initiating this ordeal). I expect that I will get it no earlier than the 14th.

I saw the complaints of unfairness, scamming, etc. I just ran approx 15 speedtests on 5 sites OTHER than speedtest.net. All were the same +/- 10 Mbps (normal). All put me at an average of 60 Mbps download and 5.70 upload.

It should be noted that for an accurate test, you should run it with a wired (ethernet) connection, not over wifi, which can cause extremely varied results.

If you don't trust me, or speedtest.net do your own tests.

Of note is that AT&T is one of the sites that put my speed as almost equal to what speedtest said. They have no financial interest in fudging my data upward--if they were trying to benefit, they'd fudge it downward, and try to convince me to leave my isp.

[this may be a duplicate of another review--I didn't realise I wasn't logged in then and can't seem to claim it]

I pre-ordered Harry Potter & the Cursed Child because they had a great price. They promised delivery within 5 days of the release date. I got two purchase 'updates' both of which were useless and said the exact same thing.

Then nothing. No shipping notice, no reply to my email, facebook message, or facebook post on their wall. Reading their facebook, I could see that dozens (at least) of other people had the exact same problem. Others reported being overcharged.

I had to open a paypal dispute (for the record, this is literally only the second dispute I've had to open in more than a decade of having an account and using it regularly). Paypal replied 2 days later with tracking info, and the book finally arrived today (10 Aug). It was released 31 July. I still haven't received a reply from GiftsWave, except a notification of delivery.

I will absolutely NEVER use them again. The meagre savings aren't worth the utter headache.

I watched a movie with almost no problems. A few times the video 'stuttered' (froze for half a second or so then resumed). No buffering.

Sometimes poor quality.

And if you receive a defective or pre-opened (open-box) item, they expect you to return it at YOUR expense, and then reimburse you the shipping. They also don't refund your purchase--they send you a like item.

Normally I'm fine with that, especially with the intimate nature of the items. But receiving an open box item of this nature has rather put me off wanting to deal with them again.

They make you go through about 8 pages. THEN they tell you if you wish to continue, you have to call them.

The call is to Germany (Munich) and is NOT a toll free number. Absolutely not.

You get ONE credit report/score and credit monitoring for ONE credit bureau (Mine is TransUnion, I'm not sure if it varies by member) for the $29.95/month.

Identity monitoring? Another $9.95/mo

In order to cancel your free (for 7 days) trial, you're obligated to call.

When you call in there are no problems. However the moment you tell the agent you want to cancel, the call 'starts breaking up'. How convenient.

Happened twice in a row, and both times, reception was perfect till I uttered the dreaded 'C' word. Then suddenly the call started breaking up.

At the same point.

Twice.

They'll try to lead you through their cancellation 'process'. You needn't sit through it. Broken record that you are cancelling your account, and that they need to cancel. You'll get a confirmation number (if you can understand it), as well as an email confirming it.

Also, they will ask for you phone # when you call in, to find your account. You're not obligated to provide it, you can use your member ID #

I made the mistake of applying for credit before researching them. In a span of 3 hours and 15 min, I received two emails AND a phone call. I sent an email stating not to contact me again. Yesterday I got another call, so I rang up the sales person. In a ten minute conversation (slightly less, actually), I lost track of how many times I asked with whom I needed to speak to close my account.

He actually told me it wasn't possible. Utter bs--EVERY creditor retains the ability to close out accounts. Finally he called his supervisor who told him whom to email to close my account. It's closed, now.