do you sell gift certificates?

Ive seen a few groupon threads being discussed, and if done right, it can make you some money. Done wrong and your bankrupt. But I dont like the fact they get 50% of the sales for doing no real work, other than letting you reach an audience you couldnt reach before.

So I was wondering if anyone here uses other methods to sell gift certificates to bring in new business, bring in more business, or just hope that a % of the sales dont come in before the deadline.

If you do sell gift certificates, how do you get them out there, other than services like groupon.com

This could be an interesting thread.

I have started selling gift certificates.
Seems to be catching on a bit.
They are also useful for people looking for donations for benefits and fundraisers.

I have seen several threads here and other locations - seems like that route is a shortcut to bankruptcy for the photographer. We have only issued gift certificates as donations to organizations fund raising - the latest to the local YMCA.

I have offered them but only for family members who are the ones buying them, as a personal favor.

rincon wrote in post #10703728
I have seen several threads here and other locations - seems like that route is a shortcut to bankruptcy for the photographer. We have only issued gift certificates as donations to organizations fund raising - the latest to the local YMCA.

How does selling gift certificates lead to bankruptcy? Its sales, not a loss.

Now if your doing the groupon thing perhaps, if your not careful. But ive seen deals on there where the photographer makes money and a pretty good hourly wage. Maybe not as good as some nyc or la photogs expects, but pretty good by some standards.

rincon wrote in post #10703728
I have seen several threads here and other locations - seems like that route is a shortcut to bankruptcy for the photographer. We have only issued gift certificates as donations to organizations fund raising - the latest to the local YMCA.

No it doesn't. If you are losing money with gift certificates, you need to adjust your pricing. I am in the process of getting gift cards done that will be able to be swiped into my system and will have a balance on them. Marketed properly, gift cards/certificates can increase sales and profits. If not, then you're doing something wrong.

How much are one of those electronic systems? Its probably not worth the money at this point for me, but it does look much more professional.

rincon wrote in post #10703728
I have seen several threads here and other locations - seems like that route is a shortcut to bankruptcy for the photographer. We have only issued gift certificates as donations to organizations fund raising - the latest to the local YMCA.

you talk about avoiding bankruptcy yet you donate money to one of the largest and most prevalent charities (who probably see more donations a year than you ever will).

I might sell them, But not on those type of sites. It'd have to be for a certain service and for the same
price. Clients might think buying their Son/Daughter Sister/brother Mom/Dad a gift certificate for one
family session or something else might be a nice gift. I don't see how it hurts.
You sell just as if your selling to the actual client. Client gives gift, and gift receiver calls you to set an appointment.

You've alrdy been paid in full. All is left to schedule said services.

Perhaps I'm out of my mind?

ya i don't really see the problem that much either. Unless you get a bunch of certs, then spend that money. A few months pass and business is slow. Then all of a sudden everyone with a gift cert comes knocking on the door to cash in on their gift cert, that money has already left your business now you can't book someone else who wants to pay because you have all these clients with a free sitting or wedding or whatnot. That would be one of the pitfalls I could see.

Im not sure on this, but I think in some states you legally cant spend the gift certificate money until the service has been rendered. I would have to double check this one, but I think I recall reading that after the cards expire, the money goes to the state, not the business?

Im really curious about the electronic gift cards.

So I did some googling, and it seems a gift card terminal is like $500 and 100 cards is like $99. thats from one source. Another one seems to charge to activate each card and might even have a per transaction fee.

Theres got to be a simpler way to do it. The card just needs to have an id on the magnetic strip, and a card scanner that can hook up to a pc via usb that hooks up to a database.

Since this is for a small business, that doesnt plan to sell hundreds of these, im thinking it might be cheaper to buy some moo business cards, with the company info one one side, and then a custom image for the other side with a unique set of numbers per card. And just keep a database or spreadsheet and do it manually. It requires a bit more work, and will want to make sure to keep many backups of the file, but it seems to be worth the savings.

Any opinions?

I realize im rambling here, but im hoping my thoughts may spark conversation and more ideas. : )

instead of a magnetic stripe card, what about using a barcode. You could print custom barcodes on the back of the gift card/business card with the number. I hear that some cells can scan a barcode and bring up a website or certain content. So in theory if you have one of these phones, it could even access a database of gift card values. These values could even be stored online if the cell has internet access. These barcodes are a square, but thats all I really know about them.

I wonder how many numbers I should use on these gift cards, since its a small business, I dont expect to sell millions of these, and the more numbers there are, the mor eyou have to type in or write down. im thinking 4 or 5 numbers, but will that seem "small business" to the customer?

To save even more money, im thinking of getting single sided cards, and use a rubber stamp to print the numbers on the back of each card. But then that could be smudged off and/or new numbers put on with the same device. If its printed on the card or with a font thats hard to recreate it should be a bit more secure.

I priced moo.com and 200 cards is like $70 plus shipping. Theres a current deal for 250 or 500 cards for $10 but its single sided. Thats why I was thinking about using the stamp. Its to bad my printer cant print some something this small. It would make the custom side easier and cheaper.

Oh and it seems VA has no strict laws about gift card expiration dates, it just has to be on the card or a phone number/website to access this information.

And another idea is to turn the gift card into a loyalty program as well. From what ive read this encourages people to keep the card after the balance is used up and its a reminder to use the services in the future.

perhaps once business is a bit better, I could invest in some cool business cards, perhaps metal or flexible plastic ones. it'll hold up better in people's wallets.