Sharper Image rejects its gift cards again.

Bankruptcy retailer Sharper Image is closing all its stores and once again rejecting its own gift cards and certificates.

That leaves most card and certificate holders with three options:

• File a claim with the federal bankruptcy court.
• Take advantage of the offer from competitor Brookstone to give a 25 percent discount to anyone who surrenders their Sharper Image gift card or certificate.
• Try filing a claim with your credit card issuer, if you used a credit card to buy a Sharper Image gift card.

Sharper Image filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Feb. 19 and initially suspended accepting its gift cards and merchandise certificates. Within weeks, though, it obtained court approval to resume taking cards and certificates under certain conditions. But that ended on May 30 when the retailer sold its assets to a joint venture firm and announced that it was closing all of its stores. In a press release, the company recommended that card and certificate holders file a proof of claim form with the bankruptcy court.

The statement made no mention of the outstanding offer by Brookstone to give holders of Sharper Image gift and rewards cards and merchandise and gift certificates a one-time 25 percent discount off most purchases, regardless of the card or certificate value or size of the order. For example, someone with a $50 Sharper Image Gift card would need to purchase $200 in Brookstone merchandise to receive the card’s full benefit. A Brookstone spokesman could not say when the limited-time offer will end. The offer is not valid for purchases made on the Brookstone Web site.

For those who would prefer to file a claim with the court instead, time may be running out. Sharper Image has asked the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to set an August 18 deadline for all claims. A proof of claim form and details on where to file it can be found on the Web site of Kurtzman Carson Consultants, the firm Sharper Image hired to handle its bankruptcy filing. It’s uncertain how much, if anything, card and certificate holders will receive.

Lastly, anyone who used a credit card to purchase a Sharper Image gift card should check whether they can request a refund from their card issuer. American Express spokesperson Desiree Fish said the company is “working on behalf” of its cardholders who submit such claims, even if the submission is beyond the 60-day statutory limit federal law allows for challenging credit card charges. “We’re not just holding ourselves just to that [limit]. We are looking at things on a case by case basis,” she said.

Also, American Express cardholders who opted for a Sharper Image gift card as part of the company's membership reward programs can return it and have their rewards point re-credited to their account, Fish said. But they must do within the six-month period before the gift card expires.

Earlier this week, a Consumer Reports reporter found $100 Sharper Image gift card still for sale at an A&P supermarket in New York. Consumer law experts we consulted said that if you purchased a worthless Sharper Image gift card from a third party in recent weeks, you should return it to the place of purchase.—Anthony Giorgianni

Comments

[Austin Chu]

wow, I really thought Sharper Image was going to hold on. I work for a company that manages and tracks gift cards and we blogged heavily on the sharper image incident on savvywallet.com. Thanks for the update. I'll be blogging and commenting all day on this.

[Austin Chu]

By the way, Leveragecard.com initialized a bankruptcy policy for consumers that purchased The Sharper Image gift card on our website. You can email me at austin@leveragecard.com and I can check our records to see if your card was purchased through us. If it is, then you're in luck and you can swap it with any of our other retailers. The bk policy can be found on our blog at savvywallet.com.

[Giftcardblogger]

This is really sad news for Sharper Image gift card holders. It also shows how important it is to use those gift cards sooner than later, especially in today's economy. I have blogged on the issue of bankruptcy and gift cards on http://www.giftcardblogger.com/category/bankruptcy-gift-cards/. I think the best bet for Sharper image gift card holders is option 2 of the choices above (Take advantage of the offer from competitor Brookstone to give a 25 percent discount to anyone who surrenders their Sharper Image gift card or certificate.). I don't think filing a claim against the bankruptcy court will yield anything, since the company is actually liquidating its assets.

[Martha Davidson]

Buyer beware! I saw at least 30 Sharper Image gift cards still for sale at Stop & Shop in Manchester, CT on June 14, 2008.

[Riley Nelson]

Sharper Image's website just went down. The problem is that I used that site to make payments. The company did not send me a bill because they are completely shut down. Sharper Image's bank, World Financial Network National Bank forced me to pay an extra 10 dollars to pay the rest of my bill over the phone. I explained that they should wave the fee because there are no other payment options available right now. They told me that the 10 dollar fee is non-negotiable. This is one of countless examples of how banks dishonorably squeeze cash from consumers so they can fill their coffers with billions.

[sara krieger]

I received a gift from someone through sharper image.com. I wanted to exchange the gift for another item that was exactly the same price. A rep from sharper image gave me a return auth # and told me to send the gift to them in little rock arkansas and they will send me out the item that I wanted. I have not received it, I can not call anyone and they have my gift. It costs $90 and I would like the item or the $.

[marg kane]

my mother's one of the people left out in the cold by sharper image.
from info i just read, am I to understand bringing this merchandise certificate to a Brookstone store they will give 25% off the perchase.
so y mother has to purchase something valued at $2000.00 in order to receive a discount of $500.00?, which is approximately the amount of the merchandise certificate she has.
Has anyone heard of a situtation like this where the consumer received something for filing a claim?
thanks for your comments.