Gift Cards, a better option for buying no-trans for others?

I was thinking about the number of sellers that make No-Transfer stuff, and all the "please send me an e-mail if you want to buy this for someone else" type messages I see on vendors....

and then I thought..... Gift Card !!!....

Concept:

vendor sells a single prim object, -mod, -copy, +trans, with a little coupon image, and a single script.

the buyer gives this to their target, the target goes to a store, wears the card(hand perhaps?), the script calls out for a verification on_rez, gets it, vendor/server gives the item the certificate is set for to the current owner of the gift card, and deletes the activation script, or possibly even the card itself

any thoughts on this being workable?

I thought perhaps a simplification of the same system that is used for update (remoteLoadScripPin and such).... just don't have time to put it together at the moment.... if anyone picks this idea up I'd love to hear about it.

PS on further reflection this could be taken to another level, and applied to "pre-paid cards" where the user is able to select items under the current limit, and have partial amounts applied for the remainder? dunno if anyone would go for it though, given that many of the (imo)better outlets carry multiple brands, but it's a thought. it would also be a great way to generate main store biz... sell cards everywhere, redeem them at home store X...

There are already a few gift / voucher systems out there now. Nothing wrong with writing another if you really want to, but if you are just looking for a product, look around a bit.

wasn't sure... seemes like a simple enough idea.... wonder why more sellers don't use it.... I know the whole IM to buy gifts for others must be a drag for the seller.... better things to do... prolly loses potential sales too :hrug::

Giftcards are a great way of giving other people no-trans items. However, many feel that giftcards can be exploited. This is why you don't see that many vending systems with giftcard functionality.

Coding a SAFE giftcarding system is HELL. Learn about serverside scripting and database manipulation. Have an external server to verify the certificate. Protect your sales data on that server. I wouldn't use giftcards with L$ values. (Personal paranoia) Tie all things to a sale with a reciept. Make it part of your service system (no proof of purchase? No service. ).

I have already coded a giftcard vending system that I plan to opensource. Feel free to contact me inworld sometime about it.

If it's no transfer and I'm looking for a gift, I just usually walk away and shop somewhere else. Too much hassle trying to organize giving someone a present otherwise, specially if the retailer's profile also says "don't IM me." I just figure that means they have enough business, so I'll help someone else out by making the purchase from them instead. I also figure, hmmm, if they don't want to hear from you when there's a potential sale, they sure in heck ain't gonna want to hear from you if there's a problem after the sale.

OMG, wow. Will it work with JEVN?

@Ilobmirt:
cool, will remember to =)

sales reciepts.... nows there's another idea I missed.... a simple solution to not having to worry about various "I didn't get my product" complaints... have the vendor drop the reciept, and the server still delivers the item...... of course I'd probably throw them away like in RL =X (bad habit)

yeah, kewl... now just try to make a receipt without the ability to create note-cards ... (which I first thought, kewl, make non-copy, non-mod and if it's a month in which SL allows peeps to open non-mod notecards, maybe it will work as a receipt...) But apparently SL infrastucture would crumble if that were allowed.

make it a script? name it for the object being sold? or an object(don't like this idea as much)

Void Singer -

Well, I was inspired to do this because...
1. RL business does this sort of thing with product service
2. I needed the server to have something to tie a giftcard to a sale.

Chaz Longstaff -

I guess the code could work with JEVN if you feel like modifying the scripts that specifically handle notecard redemption requests. However, I feel like the whole system is not "clean" enough for general use. If I sent the code in its current form, I bet my bottom linden I'd have questions up my tail before tomorrow. The day I clean the vendor code is the day I release it under GPL license. I'm however, still free to share my knowledge to the public. So catch me in-world sometime. ^_-

As for the receipts, My vendor doesn't give them out as a notecard. It IMs the purchaser the receipt data and tells them to keep the data in a safe place. If they ever have an issue with my product, they just need to refer to that receipt and I can verify their claim.