The Cork Board

[DiscoverGold]

Starbucks goes into the precious metals business

* November 27, 2014

Coffee chain is selling a silver gift card for $200

Forget the seasonal coffee drinks. Or the gift-worthy brewers. Starbucks’ newest item for the holidays is something seemingly mundane as a gift card.

Well, make that a solid silver gift card.

The coffeehouse giant SBUX, -0.64% has unveiled the $200 card “for Starbucks fans looking for a premium gift,” the chain recently announced. Starbucks goes on to note that the item is a “beautifully crafted, fully-functional gift card” made with sterling silver and “engraved with the Starbucks logo.”

Oh, and like other gift cards, it comes loaded, but in this case only with $50. In other words, the other $150 is the price for the physical card itself.

So far, the card appears to be a hit: The chain notes that the card sold out online and only “limited quantities” are available at select Starbucks stores nationwide.

But not all consumers seem so excited. As one announced on Twitter: “Paying $200 for $50 gift card redeemable for high profit-margin coffee is the most American idiocy there is.”

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/starbucks-goes-into-the-precious-metals-business-2014-11-27

George.