That gift card from Target or Best Buy not ringing your holiday bell? One Little Five Points record store will gladly take it off your hands.

A $50 gift card from Macy’s might buy Kenneth Cole slacks. But if it’s music that soothes your soul, Criminal Records will exchange that unwanted card for one of its own — at the same value.

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JAMIE GUMBRECHT / jgumbrecht@ajc.com

Criminal Records in Little Five Points recently moved around the corner from its old location. The new store is three times the size of the old one.

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“Our main goal is to superserve our customers,” said Eric Levin, owner of the indie music emporium.

That means sticking it to corporate competitors by being able “to trade my logo for their logo,” Levin said. “It’s guerilla marketing at its peak.”

The idea isn’t unique to Criminal Records. Specialty retailer Brookstone has a similar program, offering gift card holders from any other retailer a store discount of 15 percent. Levin lifted the idea from a record store in Austin, Texas, and ran with it four years ago.

He said the exchange is geared mostly to high school and college students.

Which gift cards are accepted? Lowe’s, LongHorn Steakhouse, Target, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Macy’s, Barnes & Noble and even PetSmart are fair game, as long as the card’s value can be verified, Levin said. He draws the line at other indie stores, Starbucks, Tower Records and Circuit City.

“I try not to have too many rules,” Levin said.

The exchange isn’t just a holiday phenomenon. It goes year-round. Last year, the store exchanged hundreds of cards amounting to thousands of dollars, with most cards in the $25, $50 and $100 range, he said.

The cards prove useful for store expenses, employee bonuses and family gifts, Levin said.

“I took a LongHorn card for $75 and I’m a vegetarian,” he said. “But I was able to break it up into three $25 gift cards for employees.”

Levin said he doesn’t see any legal implications. “It’s trading legal tender for legal tender,” he said. “If someone gave me a $100 bill and I gave them 100 singles, it’s the same thing.”

The exchange benefits the store and customers. “They get what they want, and I get to take care of them.”