This is a doozy!

The 12 Days of Thatz Not Okay: 2 Ebay Gift Certificates

Welcome to The 12 Days of Thatz Not Okay, a special holiday edition of a regular column in which I school inquiring readers on what is and is not okay. Check back tomorrow for our next seasonal installment. As always, please send your questions (max: 200 words) to caity.weaver@gawker.com with the subject "Thatz Not Okay."

A friend from my wife's high school sent her a note asking for an eBay gift certificate as a Christmas present. Two things weird us out about this. First, when my wife sent one to the same friend last Christmas - without prompting - her credit card was compromised. (The big cuddly card-issuing mega-bank took its time to sort things out.)

But we're even more disturbed at being asked to send a present in the first place. The friend is nice, and has seen some rough times, and we're cool with helping. But being approached as Santa Claus by an adult is, well, weird.

We'd like to respond with a polite "no", on account of our past credit card woes. Is that okay?

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