you've put a definite monetary value on it. A gift has a few levels, and only one is the money. Another is the originality, a third is "aptness" etc. So with gift vouchers, the trick is to choose the location wisely. The location has to pass the originality and aptness filters, overriding the monetary value.
So, a restaurant voucher can work. Specific book shops can as well.
But originality and aptness can trump price anyday. I've gotten gifts for 50 cents at yard sales that were just so damn apt and original that they've not only been treasured, they've reaffirmed the basis of friendships.
You might want to think about a thing that people might not otherwise get. I saw some good stuff at genericgifts.com like cool-looking bird houses and reading-monkey bookends. Other useful gifts might include Swiss Army Knives, cool ashtrays, 8-track tapes of reviled bands, a piggy bank, a photocopy of the newspapers from the day a person was born, a street caricature artist's rendering of the person from a photo, a framed poem.
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