Well, it turns out my previous happy experience with GiftCertificates.com sending the gift certs by email was just pure luck -- it turns out that both Talbots and Marshalls insist on sending actual hard-copy gift cards by snail mail. /cry
Am coming to really hate GiftCertificates.com. The pages kept reloading at utterly random moments, usually when I was trying to enter information. Quelle PITA. And even though I went through all the gyrations of creating an account back in February to redeem the last round, somehow that account has disappeared and I had to go through said gyrations AGAIN today. Argh!
Oh well. I may nip down to the mall and try stuff on at Talbots anyway. I adore their stuff, though I'm not usually in the mood to pay their prices. And last summer's awesome trousers, although quite well loved, are just too darned big! (Luckily "summery" is EXACTLY what I need tons more of. Stupid LA climate...)