I don't really see how selling them on eBay helps out on the ethical side of things. Passing the cards along via sale still supports the stores the LW hates--they get the exact same amount of profit as if she'd used the cards herself, only now she herself will have profited monetarily from it. At least donating them to charity keeps her from profiting off the deal.

It's awfully hard to go through life analyzing every gift you receive. And I wonder how serious the student really is about this stance: Is she avoiding all products from China since working conditions there are generally lousy, for example?