Here are some guidelines and tips for sellers who wish to offer gift certificates.

How to Set Up Your Listing

Be sure to include pertinent information in your item listing, even if it seems obvious to you:

• When you list your gift certificate, make sure to follow Etsy's rules for item listings.
• Be sure to use the words "Gift Certificate" in your item listing's title and as a tag.
• Your listing must be for a set price; this should be the full value of the gift certificate.
• Be clear in your description that this gift certificate is only redeemable in your Etsy shop.
• Let your buyers know how you will handle an order redemption that has a balance. For instance, will you send the gift certificate redeemer a revised PayPal invoice?
• Your listing must be an actual, tangible item for purchase. This could be a traditional, formal paper certificate, notecard, MOO card or something the recipient might want to hang on to a little longer, like a sticker, coaster, patch or badge. A digital file, like a .pdf, is also acceptable.
• Let your buyers know how long it will take you to ship the gift certificate (or email the digital file).
• Please change your Etsy settings to allow "other" as a checkout option if it is not already enabled. This will allow the gift recipient to redeem the gift certificate in your shop.

What to Include With Your Gift Certificate

• The name of your shop and your shop's unique web address on Etsy (for example, username.etsy.com).
• The words "gift certificate" and the value of the gift certificate.
• A unique secret code, which the redeemer of the gift certificate will be instructed to type into the Message to Seller section when checking out.
• Clear instructions on how to redeem the gift certificate. For example: "Go to my Etsy shop and select the items you would like to buy with this fine gift certificate. Click the green Checkout button. Choose the 'Other' payment option. In the Message to Seller section, please type in the code. I will send you a convo to confirm your order. Thanks!"

After the Sale

• Be organized and keep track of the code of every gift certificate that is purchased and redeemed in your shop. When the gift certificate is redeemed, you may need to send a revised PayPal invoice to the buyer if there is a remaining balance that needs to be paid on the sale.