Best way to sell physical gift cards in online store?

[DaoDeJing]

My business is only open by reservation, so it's hard for people to buy my physical gift cards unless they're already visiting for a booking.

They could buy an e-gift card through the link I put on my website, but if they're going to be giving someone a gift many people want something more presentable than an email.

So I'd like to let them order physical gift cards through my online store, which I can then send to them through the post.

How might be the best way to set that up? I realize there would be a disconnect between the physical card's number and the online transaction, so I would need to maintain a separate record system.

I was thinking I'd just list a gift card item (with variations as different amounts to load it with) on the online store, then when I'm loading up the gift cards I can select "comp" or something for the charge so that my sales records don't show the revenue twice. But could that cause accounting problems later on? And is there anything else I might not be considering?

[pessosices · Accepted solution]

We do what you described, @DaoDeJing !

First we give our customers the option of choosing between a digital eGift Card by email, and ordering a traditional Plastic Gift Card by regular mail.

For the Plastic Gift Cards, we created an Item called "Gift Card - Mailed" on our Square Online Store, and then after someone purchases it, we load the gift cards in-store on our Square POS and run the sale with a 100% discount called "Online Gift Card Sale"

This way is pretty simple, and it doesn’t mess up any accounting things, at least for us, and we can fulfill these online orders for physical Gift Cards.

[Kassi_]

Hi @DaoDeJing

Right now, the best option would be to have the customers order the eGift Cards. This would help with the potential accounting issues you could see down the road. 

You wouldn't be able to sell the plastic gift cards through your Online Store. This would be a feature request. 

You can see more information about Gift Cards, here. 

[PetalOrchard]

Is it possible to sell the Physical Gift Cards online via my website and then take the physical card, process it through my POS as a cash purchase? And then mail/deliver the physical card to the customer?

This way I would be only charged square fees with selling the card product on my website, but not when loading the card.

Would this work?

[pessosices · Accepted solution]

We do what you described, @DaoDeJing !

First we give our customers the option of choosing between a digital eGift Card by email, and ordering a traditional Plastic Gift Card by regular mail.

For the Plastic Gift Cards, we created an Item called "Gift Card - Mailed" on our Square Online Store, and then after someone purchases it, we load the gift cards in-store on our Square POS and run the sale with a 100% discount called "Online Gift Card Sale"

This way is pretty simple, and it doesn’t mess up any accounting things, at least for us, and we can fulfill these online orders for physical Gift Cards.

[sipphotog]

Hey @pessosices ! I am just starting to use physical gift cards as my customers asked about it but wanted to order online. Anyway, I like your approach, but don't seem to find the option to run the POS sale with 100% discount. Can you provide the steps on how to do it? Much appreciated.

[pessosices · Accepted solution]

Hey @sipphotog 

You just create a discount and set it to 100% off, and then when you’re doing the transaction you add that discount. 

You can make a discount either on your web dashboard or on your POS.  

[sipphotog]

Thanks, @pessosices ! Worked!

[pessosices]

So glad to hear it, @sipphotog !

Let me know if you have any other questions

[DougSchuster]

This reply was created from merging an existing thread: Will Square be making it possible to sell pre-loaded gift cards online?

Will Square be making it possible to sell pre-loaded gift cards online?

[Valentina]

Hey there, @DougSchuster 👋 You can set up your free ordering page to sell digital gift cards right now! The page will allow your customers to buy eGift Cards online - your customer can email the eGift Card to themselves, or send to a friend. These gift cards can be redeemed either in-store or on your Square Online Store. 

Follow the steps outlined here to get started, and let us know if any other questions come to mind!

[cmonster42]

Hi @Valentina,

But is there any quick or easy way to load Physical cards with funds from online purchases? So far, the way I have found is:

Look at the order on my dashboard,

Go into Square app on my Android phone,

Go to the online library and select gift card,

Select Sell Physical Card,

Tap in the number,

Load the amount

Hit the Charge Button

Select More

Select Other Payment Type

and then use the optional note field to tap in the online order number

Now, granted this would be easier if I had a thing plugged into my phone to swipe the card in, but only nominally (and anyway, that's in my store which is closed for obvious reasons and inaccessible).

Since I am trying to use the Square online store via weebly to bring in *some* income during COVID and many customers want physical cards, it would be really nice if there was a way I could at least do this from my laptop dashboard. Is there any hope of that?

Thanks,

Charlie

[Valentina]

Hey @cmonster42 - selling physical Gift Cards from the Online Store is still a feature request. While eGift Cards are the best suggestion I can offer in the meantime, a few sellers discussed selling physical Gift Cards online in this thread.

It may be worth taking a look there, as @pessosices shared how he sells physical Square Gift Cards online - I hope this helps!

[cmonster42]

is there any quick or easy way to load Physical cards with funds from online purchases? So far, the way I have found is:

Look at the order on my dashboard,

Go into Square app on my Android phone,

Go to the online library and select gift card,

Select Sell Physical Card,

Tap in the number,

Load the amount

Hit the Charge Button

Select More

Select Other Payment Type

and then use the optional note field to tap in the online order number

Now, granted this would be easier if I had a thing plugged into my phone to swipe the card in, but only nominally (and anyway, that's in my store which is closed for obvious reasons and inaccessible).

Since I am trying to use the Square online store via weebly to bring in *some* income during COVID and many customers want physical cards, it would be really nice if there was a way I could at least do this from my laptop dashboard. Is there any hope of that?

Thanks,

Charlie

[Valentina]

Hey again, @cmonster42 - I've moved your post over to this thread where @pessosices described how he sells physical Square Gift Cards online, as this is currently a Feature Request. This should get you pointed in the right direction, but let us know if you have any other questions!

[cmonster42]

Thanks @Valentina for the response and the merge. I've seen this question around the site more than a few times. Can you give us an update on when this feature might get some love from the developers? In this time of social distancing and closed shops, it seems like this could fit in with your priorities to help us small businesses survive.

thanks

[Valentina]

I don't currently have a timeline to share in regards to this feature request, @cmonster42.

Square eGift Cards were introduced to make it easy to sell Square Gift Cards online, so I'd recommend sticking with that option for now. Added bonuses - customers can't lose them, and you won't feel the need to wear gloves to avoid handling a physical Gift Card with your hands before shipping it out.

I hope this helps in the meantime - we'll be sure to update this thread if something changes.

[Shop2020]

how do i get the gift cards to show up in the online shop

[sweetartist]

I'd like to offer our gift cards as an item in our online store.  Then I could even deliver them for the holidays.  Right now all I can figure out is to offer them in the store and with a link to the eGift site.  Anyone figured this out?

[ashc]

Hi @sweetartist,

I moved your post to an existing thread where this question has been answered already.

Check out @pessosices's post above for a workaround.