About the Gift Card Expansion

THIS IS AN EXPANSION PACK FOR CASPERVEND. IT REQUIRES A FUNCTIONING CASPERVEND SYSTEM.

If you don't have one, you can get our free version - search for CasperVend on the SL Marketplace, or teleport to the CasperTech store inworld

The Gift Card expansion pack for CasperVend allows you to give (or sell) gift certificates for use in your store. They work just like a store card in real life - you can sell them or give them out however you wish, and the recipients can use them to buy things at your store.

VERY IMPORTANT!

IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE THE PERMISSIONS ON THE CARDS ARE SET CORRECTLY BEFORE HANDING THEM OUT. YOU MUST SET "NO COPY" PERMISSIONS ON THE SCRIPT INSIDE THE CARD AS WELL AS THE ACTUAL PRIM.

DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, ATTACH A GIFT CARD TO A GROUP NOTICE!

If you hand out a "copy" gift card, it could give that person unlimited access to your store products! We have safeguards in place to help prevent this, but at the end of the day, we accept no responsibility for damage caused by gift cards being handed out as copy.

There is a security process in place which will disable your gift card if it's given out with the wrong permissions. This is for your protection, but don't rely on it. Check your permissions anyway.

If you need any help with setting the permissions correctly, please contact Casper Warden.

If you do make a mistake and hand out a gift card with copy permissions, CONTACT US IMMEDIATELY. We can block gift cards, but we will not compensate for damages.

Brand Your Gift Cards!

By default, the gift cards show up in inventory as CasperVend Gift Card vX.XX.

Now, what happens when you don't change this name and you sell them with the name unchanged? Your customer now has a gift card named "CasperVend Gift Card vX.XX" - and absolutely no clue what store they came from!

How do you brand your gift cards? There's a few ways, and we recommend utilizing ALL of them:

Rename the object inworld to include the name of your store
Change the floating text over it to include the name of your store (Instructions below)
Change the main texture on the gift card to something that includes your store name

After all, gift cards are supposed to get people to your shop. How can customers FIND your shop if there are no indicators ON the gift card? Notecards and landmarks can be lost - or if the gift card is passed along by the purchaser, to a friend of theirs (as often happens) - do not count on any included notecards or landmarks being passed along with the card.

In the image below, anywhere within the bright green box is a safe place to drag your shop texture, in order to retexture the gift card without your texture vanishing later:

Compatibility / Version Notes

Current Version: 2.12 (As of last check in 2014 January)

Disabled versions: 2.08 and earlier If you have gift cards from these older versions, you WILL need to update to get functional gift cards.

Other CasperTech products - CasperLet rental units, etc. - do NOT work with gift cards! Only vendors!

If you are having trouble getting ANY version to work, upgrade to the latest version.

Bought Gift Card Expansion on SL Marketplace?

Known Issue: Marketplace sometimes screws up permissions on delivery. This is not something CasperTech can code a workaround for - this is a LINDEN-caused issue.

If you have purchased the Gift Card expansion via the SL Marketplace, and it arrives as "no modify" when when the card itself is rezzed inworld, please visit the CasperTech store inworld and use one of the redelivery terminals there to get a fresh copy without Marketplace's screwup.

Please note that when the card is in your inventory, or in the inventory of another object it is normal to appear as "no modify" due to the no-mod permissions of the script itself.

Rez the Gift Cards shipping crate

You should see the following two messages - in local chat (so check your local chat buffer) - when all works well:

 CasperVend2 Gift Card Expansion Pack v(____): Please wait, registering this plugin with CasperTech..
 CasperVend2 Gift Card Expansion Pack v(____): Your purchase has been registered successfully. Thanks!

If you do NOT see ANY message, you need to try again on land where you can run scripts. Or change your group tag and try again.
If you get an ERROR message of some sort, like this:

 CasperVend2 Gift Card Expansion Pack v___ *REZ + TOUCH*: Please wait, registering this plugin with CasperTech..
 CasperVend2 Gift Card Expansion Pack v___ *REZ + TOUCH*: There was a problem registering this plugin! It might not work until it's registered. Please contact CasperTech support!

Then check the version. If it's too old (see above), then update. If it's up to date and you still get an error, send an IM to Casper Warden and follow the instructions in his second offline responder message with the link.

Setup by Merchant

Follow these steps EXACTLY for best results.

Step 1 - Rez the gift card on the ground

WAIT! It's REALLY important that the card really is rezzed on the ground and not simply attached or worn. This is important because renaming and permission changes have to be done inworld (on the ground) in order for them to stick when the item gets sold or passed on to the next user.

Step 2 - Add store texture (Optional)

If you have a texture to brand it for your shop, apply it to the front of the main prim at this time. Make sure YOU have at least copy/transfer permissions on the texture you are using.

Step 3 - Rename the Gift Card

(A) Right-click, then "Edit"

(B) On the "General" tab, click to put the cursor in the "name" box

(C) Give it a new name (something like "[Your Shop] Gift Card")

(D) STAY IN EDIT MODE

Step 4 - Setting the gift card permissions

(A) At the bottom of the edit window (still in the "General" tab), under the "next owner" section, UNCHECK the box for "copy".

(B) Wait a few seconds for SL to update that status

(C) Go to "contents" tab

(D) Right-click on the script, select "Properties". A separate properties window will pop up.

(E) On the bottom of the properties window, under the "next owner" section, UNCHECK the box for "copy".

(F) Wait about 10 seconds for SL to update that status

(G) Close the properties window, then the edit window.

WAIT! It's very important that you follow these steps in the correct order - set the permission on the card itself BEFORE you set the permissions on the script. This is to allow our security process to update itself. If you didn't, then please tick the "Copy" permission on the script, wait a few seconds, then untick it again.

The script is no-mod, and will not open. This is normal. You are working with the "next owner" properties, which does not require opening the script. The permissions absolutely need to be set this way ON THE SCRIPT, otherwise you risk customers finding a way to copy the gift card, and reuse it multiple times!

Step 5 - Set Balance

Issue the following command in local chat, where ### is the amount of LINDENS.

NOTE: No commas, quotes money signs or any other symbols are necessary. (You can, however, set it to a specific product - see below.)

 set balance ###

Step 6 - Gift Card Hover Text

By default, the hover text shows either "Please click on a CasperVend Vendor to use" or "Please click on a CasperVend Vendor to get the option to use your remaining balance of ___". If you want to change the "CasperVend Vendor" portion in that hovertext to something else, use the following command:

 set text [your store vendor]

where [your store vendor] is the replacement text of your choosing.

NOTE: The "Please click on" hovertext isn't tied to a vendor or a product. It's just hovertext.

Set To a Product

If you prefer, you can set your gift card to dispense a specific product, rather than giving the customer a balance. This means they won't have to visit your store to get the product delivered.

NOTE: You CANNOT use the "set product" feature with texture vendors. This is because the texture vendors themselves don't use networked delivery.

Step 1: Rez the gift card on the ground

Rez the gift card on the ground, NEAR the vendor of the product you want to set it to. (As long as it's a gift card for YOUR store, this automatically puts it in merchant mode.)

Step 2: Issue "set" command

Type the following command:

 set product

This puts the gift card in "set product" mode. If you change your mind before selecting the product, just issue the following command to go back to merchant mode:

 cancel

Step 3: Select the product

Click a product on one of your vendors, and the product image will appear on the card.

Step 4: Check your results

As soon as you select the product, the gift card will automatically go back to merchant mode, AND the gift card will now show a picture of the product that it is set to.

If you've ALREADY set a product onto your card and want to cancel it at this step, then:

1) Click "Buy Now"

2) Ignore/discard the delivery

3) Begin again at Step 2.

Step 5: You're done!

The card is all set, and you may now pick it up again.

When the product is delivered, the card will be "depleted" and will default back to balance mode. Defaulting back to balance mode SHOULD leave the card with a L$0 balance. If you have a top-up terminal, the user can top up the card for future use.

About "Merchant Mode"

As long as YOU have one of YOUR gift cards, YOU will always have full perms, and the card will ALWAYS be in merchant mode when you rez it out. THIS IS NORMAL.

CasperVend cannot change permissions on your products!

By default, the gift card will ALWAYS be in "merchant mode" when you (the merchant) have the card. This means it will also say "Please follow your user guide", even after you've completed the setup.

It only goes into "customer mode" when it's passed on to someone else. You can see what the customer sees by using the "test" mode detailed below.

If YOU buy a gift card as a test from YOUR vendor, the next-person permissions will NOT kick in yet, because YOU are still the owner.

Test Mode

Step 1: Finish setup first

Complete the card setup first. You can't test what's not set up.

Step 2: Issue the test command

WEAR the card, and then issue the following command:

 set test

The gift card hover text will change to show what the customer will see. The gift card is now in test mode.

Step 3: Click one of your vendors

If you have one of your vendors nearby, click it, and the gift card image will change to show a picture of the vendor's item, with a "buy" button.

NOTE: Once the card is properly set up, you will NOT see a product picture OR the buy button until you click on one of your vendors with a product showing.

Step 4: Get the product

Click the "buy now" button. You should get your product delivered to you.

Step 5 - Exiting test mode

(A) If you have the card rezzed on the ground, right-click, then "take" the card

(B) If you are wearing the card, right-click, then "detach" the card

(C) If you want to issue an exit command, type: exit test

About the Topup Terminal

Rez out your Topup terminal
Grant Debit Permissions (the orange popup) when asked

If you rez your Topup terminal and do NOT get an orange popup for debit perms, reset the script using whatever your viewer has for Edit > Reset Scripts In Selection.

There is no admin menu, so once it is rezzed, it is active. The topup terminal only accepts payments in Lindens (Your inworld SL L$ balance) - the script does not have any option to pay by credit card or other VirWox options like the vendors do.

By default it ships with "touch" as the default action. If you wish, you may Edit the terminal, and on the "general" tab, set the default action to "Pay" instead of "Touch".

Usage of Topup Terminal

Whoever currently has the gift card will need to:

Wear the gift card (it will appear on their HUD)
Pay the terminal to increase their gift card balance

If they are not wearing the gift card, then after about a minute they will get a "Your topup failed. Please wear your gift card!" message.

You, the merchant owner, will get a "Sorry, that didn't work..." message if you wear the gift card and try this WHILE it is in merchant mode.

If it fails, it will refund the money, as long as debit permissions were originally granted. (It will still accept payments, even without debit permissions - YOU will need to manually process refunds in case of error, though.)

Common 'Cards Won't Work' Error Points

Cards are too old
Scripts are not allowed/on for the avatar testing the card
Adding the quotation (") marks when you shouldn't
Trying to test it while it's still in Merchant mode

Debit Permissions

There is one occasion where the gift card will ask the customer for debit permissions: When the amount on the card doesn't cover the cost of the product the customer is purchasing.

The customer will get a popup box telling the user WHY it'll request the perms, before the debit window comes up.

This information popup must be acknowledged by the customer before the debit permissions window will come up. If the customer complains to you about the debit perms window, they likely haven't read the information popup before clicking through it.

The gift card will ask for debit permissions EACH time the card is used, whenever the purchase price exceeds the balance on the card.

Additional Notes On Debit Perms

Fees, discounts, commissions and profit shares are ONLY paid if the customer pays an "extra amount" beyond what is available on their card (otherwise known as "part payments").
Fees, discounts, commissions and profit shares are ONLY paid based on the extra amount paid by the customer, not the full purchase price of the product.
.. this means that if the customer has a balance on their card which fully covers the purchase price of the product, no payments, discounts, fees, commissions, or profit shares are made.
In the case of affiliate vendors, payments are made FROM YOUR account, not from the affiliate's account. This is because the "excess" gift card payments are made DIRECTLY TO YOU, and don't go via the affiliate.
This means that if you have affiliate vendors and you also have gift cards, you MUST HAVE AT LEAST ONE VENDOR REZZED YOURSELF, or transactions will get stuck on payments and DELIVERIES WILL FAIL!
NONE OF THIS INFORMATION APPLIES TO TEXTURE VENDORS. No profit shares, discounts, fees or commissions will be paid on texture vendor transactions. This information only applies to transactions with regular vendors.

How Do I Sell Gift Cards?

Selling your new gift cards is easy! Here are some of the ways merchants have mentioned selling theirs in the past:

Sell through CasperVend

You can box up the gift card (and include a notecard of instructions and a landmark) if you wish, and drop the box in the DropBox to sell through the vendors. The box isn't required - if you just want to drop the gift card itself into the DropBox, that works too. You'll need to set up the product listing, either way.

Sell via a "Buy" box

Just drop the gift card in a box, and sell it right from that box. You won't see statistics in your CasperVend, though.

Sell the empty (no balance on them) cards

Simply sell (or give away) gift cards without a balance, and set out a top-up terminal that people can use to put a balance on the cards.

"Group Discounts" and other tricks

You cannot set a gift card to automatically give a group discount. What you can do, however, is one of the following:

Set a vendor discounted for the group, and tell group members with gift certificates to use that
Set a gift card to a product, then sell THAT gift card to group members through a vendor for the group discounted price.

Group Invites: Yes, gift card purchases will trigger a group invite, if you have them set up in your CasperVend.

Current Gift Card Limitations

These are the known limitations for gift cards as of card version 2.12.

No Combining Gift Cards

Gift cards do not stack - a customer cannot use multiple gift cards on the same purchase.

Gift Cards Are Merchant-Specific

This means that the gift cards will only work in the shop, for the products, of the merchant who made the gift card. And, only the top-up terminal owned by THAT merchant will be able to top up the gift card.

No Group Discounts

The gift card itself doesn't recognize group discounts, unless, and until money is paid over and above the amount on the card - and then the discount is calculated only on the money that is actually paid, not on the whole product price.

If you want to offer a group discount for group members using gift cards, set a vendor to that group, limit it to group members only, and then have your group members use their gift cards only on the group vendor.

No Partner Cards

Gift cards cannot be used on a partner's vendors - each merchant needs to set up their own set of gift cards for use on their vendors alone.

Not Shown On Website

Gift cards cannot be seen on the website - they do not regularly contact the website like vendors do - so they cannot be tracked.

Transaction tracking

For gift cards with a credit balance on them, you cannot limit what can be purchased with them, other than through vendor settings.

After the purchase is made, you will be able to see what was purchased with a gift card (the statistics will indicate "gift card"), who did the purchasing, and who received it - but you cannot track it to a specific gift card, and you cannot see who gave a gift card to who.

Additional Notes

Pick up the card when you're all done and it's ready to go - it does NOT matter what mode the card was last in when you hand it out; anyone who is not you does NOT see the merchant mode when they rezz or wear the card.

Do NOT copy/paste the card within your inventory, or the new copy in inventory will default to a balance of L$0!

Optionally, you can also rez the CasperVend Gift Card Topup Terminal to allow your customers to "refill" their gift card. Topups will appear on your CasperVend sales history like any other sale.

FAQ / Troubleshooting

Q. If a transaction fails, will the money be refunded back to the card?

A1. If the transaction fails due to a problem with the card, yes

A2. If the transaction starts processing, THEN fails, no it does not - The website cannot communicate with the gift card, the card only SENDS information. It is critical to make sure that you do your best to ensure there are no failed transactions - the customer will need to contact you, the merchant, for a fix / replacement if their card purchase fails during the transaction process.

Q1. My gift cards won't communicate with the vendors! Help!

Q2. I can't seem to set up the gift card, I keep getting "lost its configuration" messages.

A1. You have a gift card that is too old. Currently working versions are 2.09 and up.

A2. Check and make sure scripts are on in the parcel

A3. If you have a version more recent than 2.08 and still have an issue, get a redelivery to get the most up to date version.

Q. Will gift cards for my shop work on affiliate vendors, where the vendors are affiliate vendors for my shop?

A. Casper Warden writes: "Gift cards should work on affiliates, yes"

Q. Is it possible to configure gift cards to give a certain discount on a certain product?

A. Casper Warden writes: "No. But you can configure a gift card to give a product, then sell the gift card for the discounted price." See Group Discounts for info.

Q. Can you use the gift card to send a gift to another person?

A. No, gift cards cannot be used to send gifts. Gift cards are intended to BE the gift, so that the giftEE can use them.

Q. My business partner and I run a business, and we both use CasperVend. We want to offer giftcards as prizes to boost sales, exposure and such. Is there a way to have a giftcard work in both mine AND my partner's vendors?

A. Casper Warden writes: "No, sorry, that isn't supported for security reasons."

CasperVend 2/Gift Cards