Selling Gift Certificates for Your Jewelry

© by Rena Klingenberg; all rights reserved

Offering gift certificates for your jewelry is an excellent way of increasing sales. Many customers would like to give your jewelry as a gift, but are hesitant to choose a piece for someone because they're uncertain what their recipient would like best. Gift certificates are also often purchased by bosses who want to give their employees something nice but don't feel comfortable choosing the exact jewelry themselves.

When I realized I was losing sales to these potential customers, I started offering gift certificates, and I found that they’re a wonderful sales tool! Be sure to emphasize to the person who’s considering purchasing a gift certificate how much fun the recipient will have using the certificate for a "jewelry shopping trip".

Use your computer and printer to make special, fancy certificates using perforated paper or postcard stock you can find in office supply stores, and have matching fancy envelopes to go with them. They should really look like a special, festive gift to give them extra appeal!

I like to have some photos of my jewelry on my gift certificates - see Tips for Photographing Jewelry. Of course one of your business cards accompanies the certificate for the recipient to keep.

Information your gift certificates should have on them:

• your business name and contact info
  
• a "To:" line
  
• a "From:" line
  
• an "Amount:" line (for the dollar amount)
  
• "Custom Orders Welcome" printed on them...the recipient might want to use the certificate for something special and customized, adding some of their own money to the gift amount so they can get something really nice
  
• the certificate’s unique number printed on the bottom corner (more about that follows).

Here is an additional gift certificate security tip from Gary Bernauer of Purple Door Gifts:

"I place a permanent sticker on the certificate. It has to be in an area that gets printed over. This raised sticker tells you it is an original, if someone tries to make a copy. If it is removed it destroys the certificate. I also add a line, This item has embedded security and is void if not present."

It’s important to keep a log for your own records of each gift certificate you sell. Keeping a record of each certificate sold will ensure that you don’t wind up honoring a counterfeit certificate, or one with a changed dollar amount when someone comes to use it!

On the bottom corner of each gift certificate, hand-print a unique number (101, 102, 103, etc., or whatever numbering works for you), so each certificate can be individually accounted for.

When you sell the certificate, you should write the dollar amount on the certificate yourself, and then have the person purchasing the certificate from you fill out the To and From lines on the certificate, so it will be in their own handwriting. Then enter its information in your log.

My log has 6 columns, and for each certificate I sell, I record in my log:

• the certificate’s unique number (101, 102, or whatever)
  
• the purchaser's name
  
• the recipient's name
  
• the date sold
  
• the dollar amount of the certificate
  
• the date redeemed.

I keep my log sheet and a stack of ready-to-sell certificates together in a two-pocket folder, along with a fancy pen for filling out the gift certificates in style when they’re sold.

If you sell your jewelry at shows or home parties, be sure to have an eye-catching sign advertising "Gift Certificates Available in Any Amount". And tell undecided customers about it verbally, too, emphasizing the benefits of a gift certificate (that their recipient will enjoy choosing exactly the jewelry they want, etc.).

Then, when the recipient comes to redeem the gift certificate, do your best to sell him/her an add-on item or two. They often want to splurge on something to go with the item they're using the certificate for--like a neckwire or matching earrings. So be sure to show them enticing things that could accompany the item they choose for their gift!

And in any case, obtain permission to add both the giver and the recipient to your mailing list.

Here's what my gift certificates look like: