By now you’ve probably heard the Sharper Image is in financial trouble and has filed for bankruptcy protection. Company officials say they want to re-organize. The idea is to close nearly half their stores and come up with a plan that will bring the once cutting-edge retailer back to its prominence. In the meantime, the same company spokespeople are saying it will be business as usual. Well, it’s not, exactly.
When I hear “business as usual”, I think just that: go into a store and you won’t notice anything different. Well, a quick check at the Sharper Image at the Natick Collection, and things ARE different. One big change: they are no longer accepting gift cards .. so, that pile you got over the holidays .. I am sorry to tell you, they are worthless. That credit you received when you returned the things you didn’t want: worthless. How can you retrieve the value? You can’t.
Unless otherwise noted by a court, that’s what a bankruptcy filing is .. protection for the business, not the consumer.
As you may have heard me say so many times before, this is one big reason I don’t like the a-fore-mentioned means of gifting. When you receive a card, use it ASAP .. in case something like this happens.
