The Giphter Basics

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InstaGiphts

Giphter's original and most popular product. Unlike other gift certificates available online, customers who purchase InstaGiphts can instantly print them for immediate use. Your customers will love how quick and easy it is to use InstaGiphts. Customers may also choose to e-mail InstaGiphts as gifts to friends, family or co-workers, basically anyone with an e-mail address. InstaGiphts are redeemable at either a group of businesses or an individual business. InstaGiphts can be e-mailed an unlimited number of times, but only printed once. Customers are also able to manage their InstaGipht purchases and print them at any time by logging into their personal account at Giphter.com.

It's completely free for businesses to sell InstaGiphts on Giphter and we pay out 100% of the certificate value, minus credit card fees and postage (approximately 4%). See Redeeming InstaGiphts, How does my business make money? to learn more about the lifecycle of an InstaGipht.

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GiphtChecks

High-quality and visually-appealing, a GiphtCheck is a gift certificate mailed directly to the customer that doubles as a certified bank check. Businesses love the ease of use and many customers prefer to send and receive gift certificates through the mail. Because GiphtChecks are actually checks, they can be deposited directly in the bank. Business owners have no extra steps to learn.

It's free for businesses to sell GiphtChecks on Giphter. Businesses receive 100% of the certificate value by depositing the GiphtCheck. See Cashing GiphtChecks and How does my business make money? to learn more about the lifecyle of a GiphtCheck.

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Mini-Pages

Giphter can help to improve the web presence of any business. Every merchant who sells gift certificates with Giphter automatically gets a Mini-Page. A unique destination webpage where businesses can direct their customers to purchase gift certificates. Don’t be fooled by the name, Mini-Pages contain a wealth of information including logo, address, phone number, URL, description, photo gallery, event calendar, google map, restaurant menus and much more. Best of all, the content on Mini-Pages can be edited and updated by the businesses themselves.

Mini-Pages are accessible to customers through a variety of ways. First, via the current business’ website that customers know and trust. To create the link from your current site to the new Mini-Page on Giphter please see Linking to Giphter. Second, Giphter will categorize your business according to city and state under Giphter’s Find Certificates index. And third, your Mini-Page will be searchable by all popular search engines including Google and Yahoo.

Visit our Find Certificates index to view all the current businesses and groups selling gift certificate on Giphter.

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Giphter Platform

If a Mini-Page isn’t enough, or if you’re trying to upgrade your current website, then look no further. Giphter Platform is available to make customized, professionally designed, affordable websites that give businesses and groups unparalleled control over their content. By allowing Giphter to host your website, you’ll have unlimited access to the following, constantly growing, list of features:

• Upload and manage a photo gallery
• Manage an event calendar
• Upload and manage documents of any kind, most notably restaurant menus or special event fliers.
• Write a blog, and integrate it into your website. All of our blogs are powered by Wordpress, the best blogging engine on the web.
• Allow visitors to provide content through blog comments (moderated if desired).
• Collect e-mail addresses to use for a monthly newsletter, or special event notices.
• And most importantly, integrate gift certificate sales directly into your web site. No more links to somewhere else.

All Platform sites must sell gift certificates administered by Giphter (InstaGiphts and/or GiphtChecks) and a setup/design fee is required. Read more about Giphter Platform on the Giphter Blog.

Most of the content on your Platform site is accessible to edit through your Admin Control Panel, right alongside gift certificate redemptions.

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How to Register

Registering to sell gift certificates for your business couldn't be easier. The entire process can be done online. From registering to actually selling takes less than a day (10 minutes if you're motivated). If have any questions or don't have time to read over everything, please don't hesitate to contact us by e-mail or phone. We're more than happy to walk you through it, or even do it all for you.

To register your business online, take the following steps:

1. Create a user account with Giphter. Do so here: www.giphter.com/user/register. If you already have an account, you will need to login.
2. Visit www.gipther.com/business/register and fill out the form.
3. After a short review of your registration information by members of the Giphter staff, we will construct your mini-page and list you online.
4. Once your mini-page is listed, your business is active for gift certificate sales. We will contact you with a link to your mini-page that you'll need to post on your current website.
5. Sit back and watch Giphter drive new customers to your business!

Keep reading to learn what to do now that you're registered.

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Linking to Giphter from your Website

One requirement for selling gift certificates with Giphter is that you link your current website to your business' mini-page. We provide a collection of plug-and-play buttons that you can easily embed into your current website, however you're free to link to your mini-page any way you choose.

Here's one of our current pre-made buttons. More plug-and-play options are coming.

Here are some examples of businesses that have seamlessly added a "Gift Certificates" link to their current site, fitting in with their design and color scheme. We're happy to assist in facilitating any design requests.

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Accessing your Admin Control Panel

1. Login to Giphter. If you aren't logged in, a "Login" link can be found in upper right of every Giphter screen.
2. Visit your user account page by clicking My Account, also located in the upper right of your screen.

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Redeeming InstaGipht's

Once you've created an account and successfully claimed your business, redeeming InstaGiphts is easy.

1. The InstaGipht gift certificate should look similar to the one shown below. InstaGiphts are printed out directly by your customers, so they will appear like a computer printout. Make sure the gift certificate isn't labeled "GiphtCheck" (Instructions on cashing GiphtChecks).
2. Go to your Admin Control Panel, as described in Accessing your Admin Control Panel
3. In the left column of your admin screen, you'll notice a link titled Redeem a Certificate. This page is also accessible by clicking the Vendor Redeem link located on the bottom of every Giphter page or by visiting www.giphter.com/redeem.
4. Located on the bottom right of each InstaGipht gift certificate is a seven character long code. Input that code into the input field labeled "Certificate number" and press submit. It's that easy!

All redeemed certificates are logged in your Account Balance. You can redeem InstaGiphts at anytime after they come into your store. Nightly, weekly, monthly, whenever is convenient for you. We will pay you the same amount per certificate regardless of how long you wait.

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Checking your Account Balance

You can always get a financial snapshot of your account activity by checking your Account Balance screen. All the money owed and paid to you is logged forever. Follow the steps below to access this page:

1. Go to your Admin Control Panel.
2. In the left column, you'll see a link titled "Account Balance," click it.

At the top of your Account Balance screen is the total amount paid and owed to date. Below that, are several filters available for you to easily browse your payments. You can filter by paid/unpaid, redemptions/purchases, and month/year of payment. You can also view an easy to print list of payments by clicking the link at the bottom of the screen.

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Cashing GiphtChecks

As described above, GiphtChecks are gift certificates sent through the mail that double as actual checks. Different from to InstaGiphts that businesses have to redeem online, GiphtChecks allow you to simply deposit the gift certificate in your bank. There is no learning curve or extra steps to take. GiphtChecks contain the banking routing information on the bottom, so just cash it! Once cashed, you'll receive 100% of the certificate value.

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Managing Logo, Photos, Events, and More

Also available in your Admin Control Panel are the tools to manage most the content on your Mini-Page. It's all very self explanatory once you log-in and check it out. Below is a list of the content you're able to manage:

• Vital Information - address, URL and description
• Business or Group Logo (also displayed on InstaGiphts)
• Personal Photo Gallery and Event Calendar
• Newsletter sign-up

This list is always growing! A more detailed set of instructions for each feature are coming soon.

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I'm already on Giphter, how do I claim my business?

If your business is already on Giphter (most likely because you're part of a group that is selling gift certificates), you need to claim it. This will allow you to take control of your business' mini-page and gain the ability to redeem gift certificates. Claiming your business is quick and easy, following the steps below:

1. Create a user account with Giphter. Do so here: www.giphter.com/user/register. If you already have an account, you will need to login.
2. Find your business' current mini-page. If you're a member of a group, you'll need to find the group's mini-page and look along the right column at the list of group members. Click the name of your business.
3. Find the area on your current mini-page titled "Is This Your Business?," and click the link below it titled "Claim it to redeem certificates!"
4. Fill out the short "Claim a Business" form.
5. Once submitted, you will receive an e-mail within 1 to 2 business days confirming your claim request has been approved. If you selected to sell individual gift certificates for your business, gift certificate sales will be activated on your business' mini-page.

See the section titled I'm Registered, What's Next? to learn more.

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How does my business make money?

Both InstaGiphts and GiphtChecks pay out 100%, or very close to 100%. There are slight differences between the two, and also slight differences between certificates sold by a group and certificates sold by an individual business. All of these are detailed below. Keep in mind that when your group or business agrees to sell gift certificates with Giphter, exact numbers will be agreed upon prior to selling.

InstaGiphts sold by a Group, valid at participating businesses

An example of a group gift certificate is the Madison Originals.

1. At the time of a group gift certificate purchase, a small percentage is lost to credit card fees, and a small percentage generally goes to the group. The rest, typically around 90%-96% of the certificate value, is retained in Giphter's escrow account for redeemed gift certificates.
2. Once you've received the certificate in your store and redeemed it online, we pay out the remaining certificate value from our escrow account. This is typically 90%-96%, depending on how much the group has chosen to retain.

InstaGiphts sold by an Individual Business

1. At the time of purchase, a small percentage is lost to credit card fees. Next, depending on the agreed upon payment plan, anywhere from 0 to 46% of the certificate value goes immediately to the business. The remaining amount is retained in Giphter's escrow account waiting for redemption.
2. Once you receive the certificate in your business and redeem it online, we pay out the remaining certificate value. This is typically 50-96%, depending on the percentage paid out at time of purchase.

GiphtChecks

All GiphtChecks pay 100% of the certificate value to the redeeming business when deposited. Due to the nature of checks, we're unable to payout any upfront money at the time of purchase. Giphter charges a small upfront fee to cover the credit card fee and postage/handling fees.

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When do I get paid?

Giphter sends out checks the first day of every month through the mail. When registering, or claiming your business, you're asked to provide the mailing address where you would like these checks sent.

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What if a customer doesn't use the full amount?

If the entire balance of a gift certificate is not used, you can give cash back or issue in-house credit. Should you issue in-house credit, there is a chance that the customer won't redeem the certificate issued by your business. Even if a customer doesn't use the full amount, Giphter always pays you in full.

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How does Giphter deal with fraud?

We indemnify your restaurant for any fraudulent activity by the customer. If a customer tries to make multiple copies of a certificate, and brings it in to your business, we will deal with them directly (after all, we have their personal information). We will pay your business in full and go after the criminal without involving you. Accordingly, you never have to worry about fraud when using the Giphter program.