When George Bousis was developing a loyalty and rewards platform for his family business, he observed that many gift cards usually go unused. Bousis thought he would resolve this problem and decided to create an online platform that would help consumers sell, redeem and even claim the lost value of gift cards. In 2011, he partnered with Bradley Wasz to bring the idea to life. They initially founded an end-to-end savings platform called CouponTrade. Two years later, they launched Raise.com as an exclusive marketplace for buying and selling gift cards. The online platform allows users to purchase gift cards at a discounted price, thereby helping them save a lot on almost every essential commodity. On the other hand, the platform allows the sellers to earn cash by selling the gift cards that would otherwise go unused. The company experienced huge growth over the next few years, and was moved to a 50,000 square foot office in Chicago.
Raise.com's Values
Raise.com was founded to help shoppers increase their purchase power. The company was originally launched as a platform to resell online coupons and deals. Two years later, the company was re-launched as Raise, a platform exclusively for selling and buying gift cards. Despite the focus shift, the company’s mission statement has always been the same - “Give yourself a raise.” The company has kept most of its original core values. Raise.com maintains a commitment to customer value creation. It aims to raise the purchase power of its members, rather than just giving discounts and coupons. Eventually, it is working towards building a more advanced online platform to help its members buy and sell gift cards more conveniently from each other, while Raise wants to take care of the transaction. The company’s focus has always been on execution rather than on self-promotion. Raise.com aims to share its product’s success story rather than its own.
What makes Raise.com unique?
Raise.com is the first-of-its-kind marketplace to allow online shoppers buy and sell gift cards. On one hand, it allows the customer to save money by buying discounted gift cards; on the other hand it enables them to earn cash by selling gift cards. They accept gift cards and merchandise credit from almost every brand or restaurant, and offer discount gift cards for almost all leading brands, such as, Target, The Home Depot, and Macy’s. Those who want to sell a gift card through Raise.com just need to choose a selling price, and the card is listed on Raise.com in front of an active shipping community.
