How to accept gift codes on my online shop?

[Joks99]

Want to start sellimg online on my own store. For now i sell refubrished phones and computers on facebook and other sites.

But i also want to be able to make my own gift codes so people can buy and give to friends/family or something. Then when they add like a 100 dollar item and also add the gift code the price will be like 80 dollar if its a 20 dollar code.


How to do this? Would be best if it worked with paypal but not a requirement.

[Harold Mansfield]

Do you have a website, or are you using any kind of eCommerce platform? If so, which?
Or are you using Facebook as your online store?

[Joks99]

No i dont. Since i dont know where to start i have not made anything yet.

I have kniwledge of making a simple website but its the gift code part i dont know how to do.

[turboguy]

Since you have not made anything yet, how are you planning to create your web site. Are you thinking about WordPress, Wix, Shopify or what? I think most online carts will let you do gift cards. If you use WordPress you should be able to use WooCommerce to do that. If you go something like Shopify the built in shopping cart should let you do that. If you are using something different you should be able to find a shopping cart that would let you use PayPal and coupons.

[Harold Mansfield]

I agree with the above, you need somewhere to sell the stuff first...some kind of ecommerce website or platform in order to be able to apply any features like that at check out.

How are you doing transactions now?
How are people paying? Through what system or CC processor?

[Harold Mansfield]

No i dont. Since i dont know where to start i have not made anything yet.

I have kniwledge of making a simple website but its the gift code part i dont know how to do.

If the answer to the above question is that you are already using some kind of checkout system there may be something available within that system that you can use now.

For the overall issue of needing some kind of permanent site online to sell your goods, give us some kind of indiction of where you are on this...how much you already know, do you want to host your own custom site? Do you need something quick and easy for now? Have you done any kind of research into what you might want? Lotta ways to go so if we could narrow down your needs we could make some suggestions with pros and cons or each.

[Joks99]

As i said. I have knowledge to make eshop. For example there are many free templates.

Dont really care if its shopify or something else but free is allways good.


I have actually not seen anything about this when searching on google. Thats why im asking here.

[Harold Mansfield]

So again, you need a store with a check out, before you can set yourself up to accept codes, coupons, gift cards, at check out.

SO it sounds like you need to look for a website or ecommerce solution to build a store, and you're looking for one that has these features.

Check out Squarespace. https://www.squarespace.com/ecommerce-website
Website templates, hosting, security, and ecommerce tools all in one solution.

It's a great place to start until you figure out whether or not you need more than that. But at least you get something up that does what you want. And they're really hard to mess up.

[Joks99]

So again, you need a store with a check out, before you can set yourself up to accept codes, coupons, gift cards, at check out.

SO it sounds like you need to look for a website or ecommerce solution to build a store, and you're looking for one that has these features.

Check out Squarespace. https://www.squarespace.com/ecommerce-website
Website templates, hosting, security, and ecommerce tools all in one solution.

It's a great place to start until you figure out whether or not you need more than that. But at least you get something up that does what you want. And they're really hard to mess up.

God damn.

Either im slow or its you.

I need to be able to accept gift codes. For example paypal dont have this option. What check outs do?

And why is it so hard to code it and just add it to the site? Dont think it would be that hard really.

Its the gift code part that is the most important

[Fulcrum]

And why is it so hard to code it and just add it to the site?

Why reinvent the wheel when there are good, and probably better, options available? Spend a few bucks and set up a decent ecommerce site with one of the multiple builders available. You will have your PayPal integration through the shopping cart as well as the ability to set, and track, gift codes easily.

[Joks99]

Why reinvent the wheel when there are good, and probably better, options available? Spend a few bucks and set up a decent ecommerce site with one of the multiple builders available. You will have your PayPal integration through the shopping cart as well as the ability to set, and track, gift codes easily.

Where should i set it up then?for example 000webhost dont have any gift card option

[turboguy]

I think it would be very difficult to program your own shopping cart so you would need to go with some kind of ready made shopping cart. Most any shopping cart will take coupons and most any shopping cart can be set up to accept PayPal. There are free shopping carts. I use a free one that is simple to use but never checked to see if it will accept coupons but my guess is it would so you have many options but probably need to decide what you are going to use to create your site since that might make one option better than another.

[turboguy]

Where should i set it up then?for example 000webhost dont have any gift card option

My guess is that 000webhost is a hosting company. It hosts a site and may incorporate some kind of web site builder in their package but it isn't anything more than a place to store your files. It isn't "how" you are going to build your site.

If you want to check out the one I use check out mals-e.com It is free although they do have an inexpensive paid option with more features. My guess is that you can use a coupon but I don't know that for a fact. It is simple to use and doesn't require a page template like many do so you simply add a button with a link and it takes them to Mal's secure checkout page. It isn't as fancy as some of the expensive carts but does the job and I have been using it for a dozen years with no complaints.

[Harold Mansfield]

God damn.

Either im slow or its you.

I need to be able to accept gift codes. For example paypal dont have this option. What check outs do?

And why is it so hard to code it and just add it to the site? Dont think it would be that hard really.

Its the gift code part that is the most important

It's not, You said you don't have a site, you're just posting things on Facebook. So you need a site and your own shopping cart and most are going to have that feature. We're all pretty clear about that.
I'm giving you a suggestion to get a site up on a platform that already has this feature by default.

No, you can't just code something out of thin air to work on whatever, and you just said PayPal doesn't have that option.

Other options include pretty much any major site builder like Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress.com.

You can also use stand alone solutions like:
Self Hosted WordPress using Woo Commerce.
Shopify
Big Commerce
Magento
Open Cart
OS Commerce
Presta Shop
Zen Cart

eCommerce solutions are everywhere. Check them out, read the features.


Where am I missing the point here? You can't just add something to what you have, because you don't have anything.

[Joks99]

On wix you can accept cuoupon codes. Problem is i dont have a creditcarf to pay with. Bitcoin would work for me.

Is there any other sites where you can accept cuopon codes/ecodes?