Were you one of the many shoppers who hit the pavement at 5 a.m. for those Black Friday deals? We at InventHelp love good bargains on the newest gadgets, but the holiday shopping frenzy can be little much. Rather than trudging from store to store in huge crowds to search for that perfect gift, going the easy route with a gift card sounds pretty tempting.

For lazy or uncreative shoppers, gift cards might be the best holiday invention in recent years. They’re simple to use, easy to find and don’t require much thought. You don’t have to worry about buying the wrong color or size. But, does all this convenience come at a price?

In today’s shaky economy, some experts warn that gift cards might be a risky buy. If a store goes out of business, a gift card turns into a useless piece of plastic. And although they might seem handier than cash, bank cards are often laden with hidden fees for everything from customer service support to non-activity charges.

You might be surprised to learn that gift card holders lost an estimated $100 million dollar last year. Most of these losses came at a handful of big name retailers who went out of business. And this year, who knows how many businesses will ultimately fold? Even InventHelp’s Gadget Girl was burned when a $75 gift certificate for a bike store suddenly became a useless piece of paper when the business went under.

This holiday season, avoid the gift cards and use your creativity when gift shopping this year. In the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing my tech picks for this holiday season. So if you need some help, just stop back and visit the blog – your one-stop shop for holiday gift ideas!