Frequently asked questions about our Instant Gift Certificate & Gift Card Shopping Cart System!
We have compiled a list of some of our customer's most frequently asked questions to help you better understand our Instant Gift Certificate Shopping Cart:
- I already have a page on my website telling people we offer gift cards or certificates, so why should I do this?
- Should I use the Pay Per Order Plan or the Monthly Subscription Plan?
- Does your system allow me to sell Virtual or Instant Printable Gift Certificates?
- How do I track when a printable Instant Gift Certificate has been redeemed?
- Can I offer discounts for holiday specials or promotional offers?
- Can I export customer data out of your system so I can market to them via email or regular mail?
- I am new to online sales, what about support and do I need to know about online security?
- How is your shopping cart system different from the free Paypal or Google checkout buttons?
- I added your shopping cart to my site but how does the customer get the gift card or certificate when an order is placed?
- I am getting online orders but how do I get the money for these orders?
- I am selling physical gift card, how much should I charge for shipping?
- Does your system handle state sales tax?
- I have special packages, can I offer gift card or instant gift certificates for those special packages?
- Can I create individual logins for my staff?
- Can I use your system if I have multiple locations or a franchise?
- Do you supply physical gift cards or certificates?
- What type of payment does your shopping cart accept?
- What happens if my customer wants a refund or loses the gift card or instant gift certificate?
- What happens if a gift card or instant gift certificate is purchased from my website with a stolen credit card?
- What is the length of the unique instant gift certificate order number that your system generates?
- Can I use your system to sell products on my website?
- Can your system integrate with my existing point of sale or back office system?
- What if I don't have a website for my business?
- I already have a page on my website telling people we offer gift cards or certificates, so why should I do this?
Having a page on your website just telling people to call your store to place an order is NOT the same as offering actual online sales where the order & payment is collected online! Some people may call, but you are missing out on the millions of core online shoppers that expect the convenience of ordering & paying online not to mention the time you will save your staff from fielding these calls. These days it's simply too easy to click to a competitors website...and then you have lost a sale. Our shopping cart system can be easily added to any page of your website in just 5 minutes to begin accepting secure online gift certificate orders.
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- Should I use the Pay Per Order Plan or the Monthly Subscription Plan?
If you are new to online sales we always recommend the Pay Per Order Plan. It's simple, fast, and easy to get started with no up front fees. You only pay when you get an order and you can upgrade seamlessly to the Monthly Subscriptions Plan at any time.
However the real answer is determined by simple math. If we take into account the monthly fees for our Monthly Subscription Plan and monthly fees plus transaction charges for the required PayPal Website Payment Pro or Authorize.Net Merchant Accounts you need an average of $1,500 per month or more in online sales to gain a savings compared to the 8% per order fee of the Pay Per Order Plan.
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- Does your system allow me to sell Virtual or Instant Printable Gift Certificates?
Yes! Our system allows you to offer customers the conveience of Instant Printable Gift Certificates online. You can also offer your current physical gift card/certificates that you ship yourself. You can even offer both and let the consmer decide which they prefer.
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- How do I track when a printable Instant Gift Certificate has been redeemed?
Your printable instant gift certificates are assigned a unique Gift ID #. When you are presented with the printed gift certificate at any of your locations, you just login to TheGiftCardCafe.com Merchant Login to look up and check that it's a valid Gift ID #. If the gift certificate is used in full you can mark that gift certificate in the merchant login as REDEEMED or if it was partially used just enter the amount and our system will track the remaining balance. You can then print an updated gift certificate with the remaining balance or email it to the customer with the click of the mouse.
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- Can I offer discounts for holiday specials or promotional offers?
Yes! Easy to use controls allow you to offer an across the board discount for all purchases, or choose to discount based on a specific dollar amount. For example offer discounts like: Get 10% off when you order $100 or more! or Get 10% off all orders!
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- Can I export customer data out of your system so I can market to them via email or regular mail?
Yes! Quickly export a comma delimited .CSV file with the purchaser or gift recipient email and mailing address. This feature is perfect for importing into another database or third party application. We also offer email marketing services for an additional fee.
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- I am new to online sales, what about support and do I need to know about online security?
Don't worry we got you covered! You don't need to know anything about online security because we handle all of that for you. We have the best support in the business, because if you are successful then we are successful. But don't just take our word for it, check out some of our client Success Stories & Testimonials. If you have support needs or questions about our service we are available via our toll free # 1-800-410-8103 7 days a week and 24/7 via email.
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- How is your shopping cart system different from the free Paypal or Google checkout buttons?
There are many differences, but the most important is that our system has Instant Printable Gift Certificate features not offered by these other services. Also, both Paypal & Google checkout does not allow your customers to freely make a purchase without being prompted to create an account on their system. This is a HUGE obstacle that turns many people away! While some people have these accounts the vast majority of online consumers do not.
We provide a "professional" shopping cart which allows for easy checkout and does not put hurdles in front of the purchasing process. Our clients have found that our shopping cart converts 3 times higher than when they were using services like Paypal or Google checkout.
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- I added your shopping cart to my site but how does the customer get the gift card or certificate when an order is placed?
For Instant Gift Certificates, nothing needs to be done! You will receive an email notification with all the order details and the Instant Gift Certificate is automatically sent to the recipient [View Instant Gift Certificate Sample]. The gift recipient will print the Instant Certificate and present it at your store just like a physical gift certificate or card. You can validate and redeem the instant gift certificate via our secure merchant login.
When an order is placed for a physical gift cards/certificates, you will receive an email with all the order details [View sample email]. This is your order receipt and your cue to ship the gift card or certificate to the shipping address listed on the receipt.
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- I am getting online orders but how do I get the money for these orders?
Pay Per Order Plan: we are securely processing the customer's credit card and collecting the payment. We then issue you a payment via Direct Deposit into your bank account twice a month for all sales calculated between the 1st to 15th and 16th through the last of the month less our per order fee. You should ship physical gift card orders as soon as you get the email order receipt because that guarantees the customer has paid. Also, you can check payout status and history by logging into your online secure merchant login.
Monthly Subscription Plan & Pay Per Order Merchant Plan: our system securely transmits payment through your online PayPal Website Payment Pro or Authorize.Net Merchant Accounts and the funds go directly into your account in real-time.
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- I am selling physical gift cards, how much should I charge for shipping?
This is up to you, but the good thing about shipping gift cards or certificates is the ease of shipping because they are small items that can fit in an envelope. Most merchants that sell gift cards online charge a nominal fee of $1 to simply cover postage. During the holidays you may consider Free Shipping to help boost sales.
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- Does your system handle state sales tax?
Yes, our system is capable of calculating state sales tax on shipping costs. The actual amount of a Gift Card is not taxable however some states require that you charge sales tax on the shipping amount if shipped to an address within your own state. Sales tax would not apply to Instant Gift Certificates.
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- I have special packages, can I offer gift card or instant gift certificates for those special packages?
Yes! In addition to the standard purchase by dollar amount, you can also offer special packages. We provide easy to use controls to add all of your packages with pricing, descriptions, and a sorting feature to prioritize your most popular packages first. You can add, edit, or delete packages at any time so offering promotions and holiday specials can be done in a snap [ View sample packages in our demo shopping cart ]..
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- Can I create individual logins for my staff?
Yes, you can create as many additional staff logins to your account as you need. You can also set various permission levels to limit the access of what a staff member can view or change.
- Can I use your system if I have multiple locations or a franchise?
Yes, our system allows you to track which location an instant gift certificate is redeemed and we provide reporting to give you the redemption amounts for each locations by date range. If you are selling physical gift cards then there is also no issue because you would redeem and track gift cards same as you do today.
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- Do you supply physical gift cards or certificates?
No, you need to supply your own physical gift cards or gift certificates. If you don't have an existing gift card system then Instant Printable Gift Certificates sounds like the perfect solution for you!
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- What type of payment does your shopping cart accept?
Our system accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover.
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- What happens if my customer wants a refund or loses the gift card or instant gift certificate?
Pay Per Order Plan: Since we collect your online payments, you do not have the ability to offer a refund back to a customer's credit card. We post a Non-Refundable policy for all online gift orders using our system. Once a valid purchase has been completed online you are then responsible for resolving customer complaints for lost or stolen cards and refunds due to customers dissatisfied with your services. If there is an error during an online transaction like a double payment we will take care of that right away, usually before you know about it. If you need to report an issue we are available toll free at 1-800-410-8103 7 days a week and 24/7 via email.
Monthly Subscription Plan & Pay Per Order Merchant Plan: Since you are collecting payment, you can establish a return policy that meets your business needs. You have the ability to refund payments back to your customers credit card via your PayPal Website Payment Pro or Authorize.Net Merchant Accounts. However, due to the nature of gift cards and certificates we recommend a no refund policy unless there was a transaction error like a double payment. Again, you are responsible for resolving customer complaints for lost or stolen cards and refunds due to customers dissatisfied with your services. We recommend clearly posting your refund policy on your website.
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- What happens if a gift card or instant gift certificate is purchased from my website with a stolen credit card?
We do everything we can to prevent this from happening by requiring industry standard address verification and credit card security code validation during the online checkout process. However if it does happen our support team will work with you through the resolution process and if it is truly a case of fraud you would be responsible for returning the funds back to the credit card company. Essentially it's no different than if someone walked into your store and made a purchase with a stolen card.
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- What is the length of the unique instant gift certificate order number that your system generates?
The max length of our instant gift certificate number is 10 characters. Perfect if you need to enter into a third party point of sale system.
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- Can I use your system to sell products on my website?
No. Our system is specifically designed to handle the sale of Instant Gift Certificates and Gift Cards. There are tons of shopping cart systems on the market for products. We recommend e2eTech for ecommerce website development.
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- Can your system integrate with my existing point of sale or back office system?
Yes, TheGiftCardCafe.com can post instant gift certificate order data to a specified URL once a successful transaction has been completed. This method allows you to feed instant gift certificate order data into your existing Point of Sale or back office systems in real-time for easy management. View integration details here
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- What if I don't have a website for my business?
That is not a problem, because we offer a great All-Inclusive Website Package. Let our web developers build you a professional website, customized with your logo and content, using the latest social media website platform for only $199...Learn more here.
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Schedule A - No Obligation - Personal Demonstration:
 One of the best ways to learn about how our system works is to have one of our consultants give you a personal tour, and to answer any questions you may have about getting started. Use the schedule button to select a time that works for you.
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