Clock ticking for some gift cards

If you have a gift card from Toys 'R' Us, you probably have just until today to use it in the Twin Cities.

Employees and managers contacted this week said that customers have until Saturday to use them at most of Twin Cities Toys 'R' Us/ Babies 'R' Us stores. A rep in the Blaine store said Friday was the last day for that store.

Some stores on the East Coast were refusing to accept them earlier this week. Stores are expected to close in June.

Toys 'R' Us represents only the tip of the iceberg of national retailers that are teetering — and leaving customers with little time to spend their gift cards and otherwise shop for discounts.

This week, Bon-Ton announced that it will liquidate its 200 department stores, including 14 Herberger's stores in Minnesota. Earlier this year Claire's jewelry filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Regardless of the business, smart money isn't letting any gift cards collect dust these days.

Rating agency Moody's puts 26 retailers on the list for most at risk in 2018. They include Sears, Kmart, J.Crew, Neiman Marcus, the Fresh Market, Charlotte Russe, David's Bridal, GNC nutritional supplements, Guitar Center and Nine West.

Consumers shouldn't wait until stores or restaurants are in their last days to redeem gift cards, said Dan Hendrickson, spokesman for the Better Business Bureau of Minnesota and North Dakota. Generally, the later consumers wait, the more likely they will walk away empty-handed.

When rumors of Gander Mountain's bankruptcy started in March 2017, gift cards were still being accepted, but by the time stores were starting closing sales in May, gift cards were no longer being accepted. Consumers who expected post-liquidation Gander Outdoors stores to accept them were also disappointed.

Unfortunately, with these sudden closings, consumers don't have a lot of options, Hendrickson said in an e-mail. "In many cases, the best they could do is follow bankruptcy proceedings closely and try to file a claim. My understanding, though, is that such consumers would be toward the bottom of the list of creditors who might see some kind of refund. And even then it would likely be pennies on the dollar."

Consumers need to be just as careful about sudden restaurant closings. In 2017, more than 60 Twin Cities restaurants shut their doors. Some closed without warning.

Greg Christian of Auction Masters in Osseo, which often sells restaurant equipment from local mom-and-pop restaurants that have closed, said that restaurants only one or two years old are often the most vulnerable to closing. "Maybe the concept doesn't work. In one or two years it's still being tested," he said.

• Redeem gift cards promptly.

•If someone offers to give you a gift card, ask for one from a place you go often.

•Before buying gift cards, search online for news articles about the business' financial condition.

• Buy gift cards with caution from restaurants less than two years old. In 2017, seven Twin Cities restaurants closed that had been open less than a year.