CardCash is an American company headquartered in Brick, New Jersey, that operates an online gift card marketplace where users can buy and sell discounted gift cards. It was co-founded in 2009 by CEO Elliot Bohm and COO Marc Ackerman.[2]

CardCash
Company typePrivate
IndustryConsumer Products & Services
Founded2009; 15 years ago (2009)
Founder
  • Elliot Bohm
  • Marc Ackerman
HeadquartersBrick, New Jersey, U.S.
Area served
United States
Key people
  • Elliot Bohm
  • (CEO)
  • Marc Ackerman
  • (COO)
  • Thomas Butt
  • (CTO/CIO)
[1]
ServicesTrading, gift cards
Owner
  • RDE (2024–present)
Number of employees
120
WebsiteCardCash site

In January 2024, it was announced that its acquisition had been completed by RDE, an American company that operates the website www.restaurant.com.[3]

History

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CardCash was created by Bohm and Ackerman after one holiday season when they were left with several unused gift cards, much like other consumers. In fact, a 2008 Consumer Reports survey found that a quarter of gift card recipients do not use the cards within a year and eventually lose them.[4][5]

Before creating CardCash, Bohm made a living reselling discounted electronic devices and Ackerman worked in the real estate industry in Brooklyn. Their experiences with markets, price fluctuations and price algorithm technology have been invaluable since the company was founded in 2009.

From its humble origins, the company grew over the years to being cited in Forbes magazine,[6] and in Inc.’s list of the fastest growing private companies in America.[7]

Eight months after raising $6 million in equity funding from Guggenheim Partners,[8] the firm acquired its Silicon Valley competitor Plastic Jungle in July 2014. Through this acquisition, CardCash now owns Plastic Jungle's technology infrastructure, business partnerships and domain name, PlasticJungle.com.[9]

In October 2014, CardCash entered into a strategic partnership with Incomm Corporation. The relationship will allow CardCash to integrate its online gift card exchange with thousands of InComm's retail partner locations across the country[10] CardCash has also signed deals with CVS,[11] United Airlines and Walmart.[12][13][14]

Recognition

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CardCash has been cited by multiple media outlets including Forbes,[6][15] Inc.[16] ABC,[17] and Orlando Sentinel. It has been included on Forbes' list of America's Most Promising Companies for 2014 and also featured twice in Forbes[18] and Inc.[7][19]

In 2014, CardCash was included in the list of “Top Consumer Products & Services Companies” category and “Top Companies in New Jersey on the 2014 Inc. 5000”. In 2014, CEO Elliot Bohm was recognized as one “America's Most Promising CEOs Under 35.”[15]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Thomas Butt". LinkedIn.
  2. ^ "CardCash profile". Inc. Retrieved 2015-02-14.
  3. ^ "Restaurant.com owner RDE completes acquisition of CardCash". Verdict Food Service. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  4. ^ Maggie Shader (2011-12-26). "Four reasons to use those gift cards now". Consumer Reports News. Retrieved 2015-02-14.
  5. ^ "Business Headlines: Gift Cards Still Popular; New Minority Business Center". CBS Boston News. 2011-01-21.
  6. ^ a b Karsten Strauss (2015-02-14). "Your Unwanted Gift Cards Are Worth Millions--These Guys Are Building An Empire With Them". Forbes. Retrieved 2015-02-14.
  7. ^ a b "The 2014 Inc. 5000". The Editors of Inc. Retrieved 2015-02-14.
  8. ^ "Why You Shouldn't Always Be Looking for Venture Capital". The Editors of Inc. Retrieved 2015-02-21.
  9. ^ Sarah Drake (2014-08-01). "Gift card exchange Plastic Jungle bought by rival CardCash.com". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Retrieved 2015-02-14.
  10. ^ "CardCash.com Enters into Partnership Agreement with Prepaid Giant InComm". Yahoo! Finance. Archived from the original on 2015-02-13. Retrieved 2015-02-14.
  11. ^ "Trade Gift Cards". CVS. Retrieved 2015-02-14.
  12. ^ Davidson, Jacob (December 24, 2014). "Walmart Will Trade You for Other Merchants' Gift Cards". Money.com. Money.com. Archived from the original on August 17, 2020. Retrieved 2015-02-14.
  13. ^ Anne D’Innocenzio (2014-12-24). "Walmart letting customers exchange gift cards". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2015-02-14.
  14. ^ Karsten Strauss (2015-01-27). "CardCash Inks Wal-Mart Deal To Grab A Bigger Chunk Of The Used Gift Card Market". Forbes. Retrieved 2015-02-14.
  15. ^ a b "America's Most Promising CEOs Under 35". Forbes. 2015-02-14. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved 2015-02-14.
  16. ^ John McDermott (2012-04-09). "CardCash: The Cure for Unwanted Gift Cards". Inc. Retrieved 2015-02-16.
  17. ^ "Walmart Will Trade You for Other Merchants' Gift Cards". ABC. 25 December 2014. Retrieved 2015-02-14.
  18. ^ Wendy Furrer Egan (2014-01-22). "Forbes Ranks America's 50 Most Promising Private Companies". Forbes. Retrieved 2015-02-14.
  19. ^ "Top Consumer Products & Services Companies on the 2014 Inc. 5000". Inc. Retrieved 2015-02-14.
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