Plastic Jungle picks up $7.4 million

Gift card exchange company raises a second round, competing with CardPool and Swapagift

Plastic Jungle, a gift card exchange marketplace for buying, selling, and swapping, has raised $7.4 million in a Series B round of funding.

The Mountain View, CA-based company in 2009 raised a $6 million Series A from Shasta Ventures, along with Bay Partners, First Round Capital, Harrison Metal Capital, and Western Technology Investment. Redpoint Ventures led the latest round, with returning investors Shasta Ventures, Bay Partners, and First Round Capital.

Plastic Jungle seeks to solve the bigger problem of all those unused gift cards lying around, providing users with an online market in which to trade and sell the cards.

Customers can receive up to 92% of the gift card's remaining balance if they want cash and can purchase gift cards at 30% of the value.

Buyers save $35 on average and sellers receive $110 on average, according to Plastic Jungle's data.

Nearly $5 billion of gift card credit will go unspent this year, according to data from TowerGroup, a financial services consulting firm.

CardPool and Swapagift are other examples of sites that offer gift card exchanging services.

Founded in 2006, Plastic Jungle is led by CEO Gary Briggs, who previously served as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at eBay. President Bruce Bower served as CEO of Amelio Solar, a thin film photo-voltaic project developer.

Plastic Jungle saw 450% year-over-year growth for its holiday sales season.