Go Figure: Starbucks offers $50 Gift Card — for $200

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Mother’s Day is just around the corner. If your mom loves nothing more than relaxing with a hot cup of joe from Starbucks, a gift card from the popular coffeehouse chain may be the perfect present.

Starbucks is selling a limited-edition Mother’s Day Premium Starbucks Card online. The metal and ceramic card, the first of its kind, is described as an “elegant gift with its laser-etched floral details and satin ceramic finish.” It comes gift-boxed and preloaded with $50. Here’s the catch: It costs $200.

If you’re confused, join the crowd. Spending $200 for a gift card that’s worth $50 doesn’t seem to make sense, no matter which way you look at it, but that’s not stopping Starbucks from moving forward with the cards and their 300 percent markup. According to Slate, Starbucks plans to sell 1,500 of the “special” cards. There is a limit of one per customer.

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time that the coffee giant has sold a gift card for hundreds of dollars over its face value. During the 2014 holidays, Starbucks sold a $50 card made of silver for $200, and the card actually sold out, Slate said.

One person reviewed the gift card on the Starbucks website. They gave it a whopping five stars and added this remark: “Much heavier than your standard card … made from ceramic material. It’s a keeper!”

Starbucks is offering free shipping on the gift card, so there’s that extra perk.

Still, I don’t know about you, but I could buy a lot of ceramic dishes with the $150 extra charged for the special ceramic card. I think I’ll give this one a pass, no matter how cool the gift card looks.

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