This is going to sound lame, but I searched for gift certificate posts and did not find any. I was wondering if anyone has offered them to be used in SCCP, and if so, how did you implement them in SCCP so the receiver can use them when needed? With Web Form Builder? Or would this be essentially the same as a coupon code issue, which I have read about, and is not yet available?

Also has anyone tried Free Shipping? Most of my items are jewelry pieces = lightweight. I am going to free US shipping [ many hundreds of items ] and I am assuming it will not gum up the works in the 'View Your Shopping Cart' page ~ but will just not charge the customer anything? [ realizing that no Price entered = the item is not published ]

Just a random thought: my field is very competitive, and the American consumer is quite spoiled by Amazon and other 'free shippers'. Especially in this economy, and being new on the web ~ I am looking for some advantage to get my foot in the door so to speak.
Recent forays on auction venues have convinced me that items listed with Free Shipping have a psychological edge in the mind of the consumer.
Any thoughts or experiences?

Norma

I really dislike paying for shipping... It is normally a no sale for me... I can always find something cheaper and with free shipping.

There's no way at this time to accommodate anything like a gift certificate without using the Catalog system instead of the shop. Mostly because there's no way to verify anything to do with a gift certificate or input any type of amount for one, etc. Hopefully this is something that will be included in the release come fall/winter that has been projected. I am thinking the only way you can do this is to do it manually using a Catalog shop (meaning it doesn't take orders at all just provides information on the shop for the products and they call in their orders). You would of course need to keep a manual record of your certificates used also to keep people from using them multiple times etc. Bout the only thing I can think of you can do. Incorporating form could do parts of it, but it won't be able to facilitate any part of the sale so it can't really be integrated for that either.

A followup on these subjects. Jo Ann:THX for your quick reply. I figured that I would have to wait for a way to do a coupon code in order to accomplish gift certificates. You have confirmed

SirAGE: I know everyone loves free shipping, but I was asking if anyone had tried it and how they made out.

On a whim, I published a second shop that I had been working on.
- On the Shipping tab, I set Shipping Calculations to "Manual'.
- Under Default Shipping I named the shipping as 'Free First Class Shipping' and used $0.00 for Minimum Charge, $0.00 for Shipping Per Item & $0.00 for Handling.

On the item page under Optional Charges I clicked 'Apply Default'.

I published an item with these settings, then I 'bought' the item and it all seems to be fine, no shipping was charged.

So, this seems to be a way around charging for shipping. Hopefully it will work every time and I will have solved one issue I was having.

Hi Norma. As others have already pointed out, the gift certificates module is still under development. There are however many other practical ways to give value to customers in the meantime. Buy two items and get a third free, spend over xxx and get a free gift etc. With one of my sites I always enclose freebies with their order. There is no mention of that on my site, so it comes as a nice surprise when they open their package and has led to many repeat orders.

Shipping is always a tricky one and free shipping is practical if you ONLY ship to your own country. Obviously there's no such thing as FREE shipping as postal and packing charges are real costs that you have to factor into your product. Incorporating your shipping costs ultimately only inflates your product selling price. On my own sites I never offer free shipping as I ship internationally, and for me it creates a bad impression if I were to ship free within my own country but charge foreign buyers, so I just have sensible shipping costs for all locations.

I am a great believer in the product itself making the sale.

Will UK, hello and what are the items that you sell?
There is no way to do 'buy one get one' for me, as I sell [ hopefully ] pricier vintage jewelry pieces or OOAK.

As for free shipping, I am giving it a spin this week and I'll report back. My site is new and not even fully indexed by search engines yet, so ..... it may take time to measure any impact. I just feel it will make ordering so much easier for the customers.

As most of my sales will certainly be to the US I can offer free First Class Shipping without raising many prices. With USPS rates being what they are for International shipping ~ and to so many different countries, each a different rate ~ I have to quote each international order individually anyway via email contact from the customer.

All that may change, but for now its the only thing I can see that works for me.
I am all ears to any other input and would love to hear how anyone with similar product has tackled this issue.

Norma

I would love one of each. Gifts and free shipping are great.

Gifts and free shipping... both good ideas....

I am experimenting with free shipping. But, I agree that it seems unfair to average in charges for overseas customers within an item cost.

Hi Norma, the buy one get one free concept is not suitable for all ventures, as it does depend on what you are selling, the profit in the items plus of course whether someone would actually want a second one. One thing that is often overlooked is the postage weight of enclosing a second item and something that needs to be factored into any offers. The buy one get one free concept is great for things that have a good profit margin and are relatively light for postage.

There are lots of inexpensive ways of enclosing 'freebies' with an order. It can be something as simple as a badge or keyring with your web site address on it. One woman I know sells a lot of specialist secondhand books to university students and she encloses a little eight page booklet containing inexpensive recipes and other money saving tips.

It is not so much the value of the gift, but the thought and goodwill that is behind it. Customers are the lifeblood of any business and anything that makes customers come back, or recommend you to others is absolutely without price.



As regards free shipping it is an assumption to presume that customers will automatically come from your own country. The internet is a global marketplace and for businesses that creates greater opportunity. International shipping rates are significantly higher than domestic rates, but I have found from experience that if someone wants your product enough and your shipping charges are reasonable, then the international orders will come.