Stardoll, Meez, AdventureQuest, and Gala-Net have all partnered with GMG Entertainment to launch individually branded prepaid cards at Best Buy. The Meez card will come with an exclusive virtual good, and Stardoll, which has previously worked with GMG Entertainment, is expanding its prepaid offerings to include a $15 card that will unlock various virtual goods.
In a blog post, Meez CEO Sean Ryan explains the basic reasons for the boom in prepaid cards (retail is a good way to reach offline users, prepaid cards are an alternative for teens who have lots of disposable income without credit cards, and gifting), but also the problems.
"There are a limited number of slots available, and the retailer/partner margin takes a significant part of the overall revenue, but since we're selling virtual goods with high margins, we believe the increase in revenue is worth the transactional cost," explained Ryan.
Of course, he points out, that's a particular boon for retailers. Since cards take up limited shelf space and prevent theft (they're only valuable if registered at checkout), it's no wonder more and more retailers are picking them up. Best Buy, in particular, is showing a new focus.
"This plan doesn't mean just throwing the cards next to the Macy's and TGI Friday's gift cards, as I have seen at other stores since they will get lost in the increasing blizzard of cards, many of which are aimed at different demographics than entertainment cards," blogged Ryan. "That's why we're excited about GMG's efforts to work with Best Buy to launch a specialized area of the video game section in Best Buy stores, and to provide an array of entertainment cards, from hard core MMO's to broader virtual world offerings like Meez. When I asked about the cards this weekend at the Columbia, Maryland store, the employee knew exactly where it was, and took me directly to it."
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