How do Gift Certificates work?

General Forums General Questions
1

Okay, I am going crazy trying to figure out how gift certificates work. Well, I know how they work but can’t understand how a customer can purchase them from my cart. This is the first Christmas I’ve had using CS so I would like to take advantage of this feature.



I have the add-on enabled in my cart.


  1. Can a customer purchase a gift certificate for any dollar amount?
  2. Does a coupon code get generated automatically?
  3. How does the customer know the code?
  4. Do they get a print out of the certificate with the my logo on it so they can physically hand it as a gift?



    Maybe this should be obvious but I keep seeing things in the forum for “purchase a gift certificate” but I don’t know where this is located. I’m just not seeing anywhere that a customer has the option to purchase a certificate. I am only seeing how to manually add one.



    Normally I am pretty good about figuring this stuff out on my own but I am going crazy on this one as it seems it should be really simple.
2

I’ll help you with gift certificates if you’ll help me figure out why deleting the demo data broke the shipping methods I had working before and why the cart has arbitrarily decided to add the cost of the global option for gift wrapping to every product I add. :slight_smile:



Gift Certificates:



Go to Administration → Addons

Edit Gift Certificates for minimum, maximum and step amounts

Save (duh!)



After this, customer may choose gift certificates, fill in the details, add their private message and either send by mail or email. The certificate code is assigned at the time it is issued and when the shopper used it, they must “apply” that code to their purchase.



The cart decrements the value of the certificate based on the cost of the product buyer has purchased and will charge any overage to the consumer.



If there is a balance, it remains on that certificate ID and is trackable by administration trhough the back end of the cart.



When I was customizing it earlier, it seemed like the certificate might show the remaining balance to user or supply it by email but that didn’t turn out. Too good to be true, I suppose.



Now, back to my shipping conundrum.

3

Once you have the Gift Certificate add-on enabled you can preview certificate in the shop to see what the layout will look like.

4

Oh yeah! It has to be enabled to work. :stuck_out_tongue:



The problem that I thought I had with shipping turned out to not be a problem so all is good with the world. :cool:

5

This is the problem: WHERE do the customers purchase these from? This is the part I’m not seeing.



I have everything set up with my minimum and maximums. All that was done a long time ago. I just can’t seem to find the obvious.

6

In the Quick links area (Home About Us Contact Us Gift certificates Sitemap) at the top of the page, there is a link for Gift certificates.

7

[quote name=‘nmb’]In the Quick links area (Home About Us Contact Us Gift certificates Sitemap) at the top of the page, there is a link for Gift certificates.[/quote]



Well no wonder I’m not seeing it because it isn’t there. Even in the Design section under Quick Links there is no option for it. Suggestions on how to fix this?



Just to make sure, I went through and unistalled the addon and reinstalled with it still not showing up as an option.

8

Create a new item with the following URL:

9

[quote name=‘nmb’]Create a new item with the following URL:[/quote]



When you say add a new item…do you mean in the Quick Links section using that as the link? If so, that didn’t work.



If you are referring to a new item as a product, I’m not sure how to force it to have that URL. ???



Thanks in advance though…at least I know I’m not totally blind now.

10

[quote name=‘IsItFast’]When you say add a new item…do you mean in the Quick Links section using that as the link? If so, that didn’t work.



If you are referring to a new item as a product, I’m not sure how to force it to have that URL. ???



Thanks in advance though…at least I know I’m not totally blind now.[/quote]



Nevermind…a space somehow got put in after the link when making the quick link URL.



That fixed it! THANK YOU!!!

11

Yes in the Quick Links section.

I am using the latest version (2.1.2). Sorry I don’t know the URL for the version that is in your signature.