The state consumer agency is urging people who have Sports Authority gift cards, certificates or store credits to spend them and return unwanted merchandise before the chain closes.

Last week, Sports Authority told the bankruptcy court that it will sell or close its 463 stores this month.

“An important guideline with gift cards is to use them as soon as you can, because if a store closes or goes bankrupt, there may be little to no recourse for a consumer to recover an unspent balance,” said Stephen Levins, executive director of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affair’s Office of Consumer Protection. “If you currently have a Sports Authority gift card, you should use it immediately to avoid losing whatever credit it contains.”

Sports Authority operates eight stores in Hawaii — in Hilo, Honolulu, Kahului, Kailua-Kona, Kaneohe, Kapolei, Lihue and Waikele.

The company, based in Englewood, Colo., filed for bankruptcy in March, burdened by high debt from a $1.3 billion buyout in 2006.

The company has abandoned its hope to reorganize and exit bankruptcy as a smaller chain.

Instead, the company will attempt to sell as many of its stores as possible through an auction to a buyer who wants to keep them operating. The company will also sell leases on about 140 of its 463 stores. Those stores are currently being liquidated.

The stores will be auctioned in two batches. The company hopes some stores may remain open and operating under a new buyer. Other stores may reopen after its merchandise has been liquidated.

Rival sporting goods chain, Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc., which does not have stores in Hawaii, has said it is interested in Sports Authority real estate and would be “aggressive” about going after Sports Authority customers.

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Bloomberg News contributed to this story.