eBay Gift Certificate

The whole idea of an eBay gift certificate was developed by (no prizes for guessing) eBay, which is a presence on the Internet. This online seller has come up, through eBay gift cards, a way to send electronic gift vouchers to a recipient who can then proceed to use them. The recipient can use these certificates to buy items in eBay auctions or while Internet shopping on eBay, provided that the transaction follows certain conditions imposed.

Details on the eBay Gift Certificate

The prime condition that must be met before these certificates can be bought online or redeemed is as follows. The three parties involved in each transaction i.e. buyer of the certificate, its recipient and the seller of eBay items must have Paypal accounts. This makes the individuals under 18 years of age ineligible to receive these certificates. It is a known fact that an individual under 18 cannot open an account with Paypal. No doubt this a handicap for the sales figures of eBay. However, on the other hand, involvement of Paypal ensures secure transactions. eBay must be counting on the fact that everyone is going to turn 18 some day and be their customers and will then know how to buy on eBay.

Let us now know more about the gift certificates below:

• One can purchase this certificate even when one is not a member of eBay, although, he must pay for it by using credit card or debit card that are approved by Paypal, by using U.S. checking account or existing Paypal balance. If you do not know what is Paypal and how does it work, this is high time for you to know it as a seller or a buyer.
• At the time of purchasing one, you may enter and submit, sender's and recipient's name, email address of the recipient and a message, at the most, of 200 words.
• Providing sender's name is optional for the buyer of the eBay gift, certificate so is the recipient's name.
• These certificates can be e-mailed or printed by the sender, which one can do by choosing the mode of delivery method and this opens two avenues of actions for him.
• If he is going to email the certificate, then entering recipients email is a must for him. This email address is linked to the certificate sent which is very useful if, somehow, the eBay code is lost or hacked by someone.
• Additionally, he can choose to email the gift certificate to the recipient on the same day or within 30 days of purchase.
• If the email address associated with this certificate is different from the one associated with the Paypal account, then the recipient, while logging in with Paypal, a new email address must be added to facilitate the redemption of the eBay gift card.
• Giving this email address is optional if the sender intends to print the certificate and personally hand it over to the recipient or use it for himself. However, its best to provide email address, for security reasons, as it is linked with each certificate purchased.
• He can choose to immediately print it after the purchase has been made.
• If he is unable to do so at that time for some reason, he can do so later on, by opening Paypal confirmation email or from the 'transaction detail' on his Paypal account. Both of these options provide links for the printing of these certificates.
• If by mistake, sender mistypes the recipients email address then, within 60 days of the purchase of the certificate, he can cancel it by going to his Paypal account. If this mistyped email address exists and belongs to a Paypal account holder, then it cannot be canceled by the sender. In this situation, this unintended recipient must be contacted and requested to cancel it. On the other hand, sender can take help of Paypal customer service for its cancellation.
• If a recipient finds that his email address is mistyped, he cannot redeem the gift certificate. He must call the sender and ask to cancel it and purchase another certificate depicting recipient's correct email address.
• The recipient can cancel a gift certificate by going to his Paypal account and the funds will be refunded to the sender of the certificate.
• The sender can buy these gift certificates for recipients living in the United States and Canada only and has to pay in the U.S. Currency.
• The recipient has the option of using these certificate for buying items that are priced in U.S. dollars, Canadian dollars, British Pounds or Euro.
• There is no expiry date associated with them and they stay active. Although, Paypal sends as many as 5 reminders to the recipient to encourage them to redeem these certificates.
• If it is used and if the value of the item purchased is less than its value, then the rest of the amount can be used for later day purchases.
• On the other hand, if the purchased item is of more value than the certificate, then it must be paid for using a payment mode acceptable to Paypal. Alternatively, such an eBay item can be paid for by combining a gift certificate, coupon, multiple certificates or eBay anything points and it won't affect the amount received by the seller who has things to sell on eBay.
• A word of precaution about a minor scam. While using option of 'eBay gift certificates' on forums or websites, if you pay someone using this option then it won't be a buy from him, rather it will be a gift from you to him.

This is a dynamic way of showing your appreciation and love for your dear and loved ones. However, you must plan in advance for purchase of eBay gift card, if you are going to spend more than USD 500 on it. As yet, this system authorizes an individual, within a 30-day time period, to buy only USD 500 worth of certificates. However, it helps you to buy as many certificates as you want, provided total purchase for the period is within dollar limit. The process of filling out a purchase order is simple enough without the need of a sample gift certificate. In short, you can buy a gift certificate at eBay and send it to the individual who is dear to you to show him that you appreciate him. I hope, the information presented here is satisfactory.