If you want to give someone the gift of an ebook but can't decide which book to give, you can always purchase a gift certificate. This is a discount code that the recipient of the gift certificate can enter at the checkout to discount their order by the amount of money left on the gift certificate.

Gift certificates do not expire, and if the recipient does not use the entire value of a gift certificate in one order the remaining amount is still available to use in a subsequent order.

You can also purchase gift certificates in bulk if you want to send gift certificates to multiple people.

Gift certificates can be purchased in values ranging from $10 up to $200. Please note that if the recipient lives in a different territory from you we will convert the value of the gift certificate to their local currency. For instance, if you are based in the US and purchase a $50 gift certificate to give to your relative in the United Kingdom, then when they apply the gift certificate it will be converted to the equivalent amount in pounds sterling (£).

How to purchase:

To make the purchase first click on the Gift Certificates link at the top of the eBooks.com homepage.

Then select the amount/value and click 'Buy Now' to add the gift certificate to your shopping cart. If you want to purchase multiple gift certificates you can alter Quantity in your cart, then after the purchase is complete you can download a list of the gift certificate codes. Once the gift certificate is in your shopping cart you can then continue shopping, or proceed to the checkout.

Once you have gone to the checkout and completed your purchase you will then be able to enter the recipient's name, email address, the date you wish the gift certificate to be emailed to them and your own personalised message to appear in the email. You must then press Submit to save this information and eBooks.com will send the email at the appropriate time.

If you wish to enter this information at a later date you can do so at any time by logging in to your account and clicking your My Account page, then the heading 'My Gift Certificates'. If you click the Send button you can then enter the recipient's name email, send date and personalised message. Just be sure to click the 'Submit' button to ensure the Gift Certificate is sent.

If you have purchased multiple gift certificates you can download them in a csv file (spreadsheet), which you can then use to send the gift certificates from your own email address using a mail merge. Or you can send them individually from the "My Gift Certificates" page.

If you want a physical gift certificate you can select "Printable PDF" which will download a PDF of a gift certificate design that you can then print and give to the recipient.

If the recipient of your gift certificate needs instructions on how to use their gift certificate please direct them to Using a gift certificate or coupon code.

Or if instead of a gift certificate you want to gift a specific ebook to a friend please see our article on Making a gift purchase.

Frequently Asked Questions

International use: Can users from any country redeem these certificates using accounts registered in their country of residence? Are there any country, currency, or catalogue restrictions?

Please note that if the recipient lives in a different territory from you we will convert the value of the gift certificate to their local currency. For instance, if you are based in the US and purchase a $50 gift certificate to give to your relative in the United Kingdom, then when they apply the gift certificate it will be converted to the equivalent amount in pounds sterling (£).

Ebooks you see as available in your country might not be available in the country of the gift certificate recipient as it is based on the sales rights of the publisher. If you want the recipient to be able to purchase a particular ebook, you may want to consider purchasing the ebook as a gift voucher instead.

Bulk purchases: Can I purchase multiple certificates in one order?

Yes, if you want to purchase multiple gift certificates, once you have added a gift certificate to your shopping cart, you can alter the Quantity in your cart to buy multiple copies. The maximum quantity in a single transaction is 300. If you wish to purchase more than 300 please split it in to multiple purchases, or contact our support team for assistance.

Taxes/fees: Do I just pay for the value of the gift certificates, or would any taxes, processing fees, or other charges apply?

Taxes only apply when the recipient makes an ebook purchase using the gift certificate, so no taxes should apply to the gift certificate purchase itself.

Timeliness: How soon after payment are they available?

As soon as the transaction has completed they will be available to you in the My Gift Certificates section of your account.

Delivery: Can I send each certificate to a different email address, add a personalised message, and schedule delivery? Alternatively, can I download individual codes or PDF certificates and send them myself? 

You have the option to do any use any of these delivery methods:

You can send each gift certificate individually, with a personalised message, and schedule the send date, via our website.
You can also send them yourself by downloading the codes in a spreadsheet file and using a mail merge (or any other method of your choosing)
You can download the certificates as PDFs that can then be printed and distributed physically (or attached in an email, etc.).

Redemption: Do recipients need an eBooks.com account or a bank card if the certificate fully covers their purchase? Can they use the balance across multiple purchases and pay any difference separately?

They do not need to create an eBooks.com account, they can choose to checkout as a Guest. But we would always advise users to create an account. They do not need to enter any payment details if the value of the gift certificate fully covers their purchase.

Yes, any leftover balance can be used in subsequent purchases. If the amount left on a gift certificate is not enough to cover the order then they can enter payment details to cover just the amount not covered by the gift certificate.

Expiry: How long are gift certificates valid for?

Gift certificates do not expire.

Reading options: Can recipients read their purchased books on a phone, tablet, or computer without a dedicated e-reader or paid subscription? Are there any important device restrictions, particularly for Kindle users?

All our ebooks can be read on any device with a web browser using our Online Reader.

For downloading, it depends on which ebooks the recipient purchases. DRM-free ebooks can be downloaded and read on any device.

But the majority of the ebooks we sell have DRM applied as required by the publisher. This means they will only work on devices (or in software) that support Readium LCP or Adobe DRM (the two DRM systems we offer).

On the download page we guide users to suggested free software they can use. We do not charge for any software and don't offer any kind of subscription service.

Regarding Kindle devices specifically, only our DRM-free ebooks will work on Kindle devices, as Kindle do not support either of the DRM systems we offer. For Kindle Fire, as it is Android based, users can read DRM-protected ebooks by installing our free eBooks.com app.

For more information please see this guide on Reading your ebook.

Refunds and support: If a certificate cannot be redeemed because of a technical issue, can it be replaced or refunded? Can an incorrect recipient email address be corrected after sending?

If a gift certificate cannot be redeemed for technical issues we will be able to resolve the issue if they contact support. If for some other reason a refund is required we would cancel the gift certificate and refund the purchaser of the gift certificate. The refund would not be paid to the recipient of the gift certificate.

Once you use our website to send a gift certificate, if the email was incorrect I'm afraid it is not possible to update it on our system and resend the email. But you can simply copy the Gift Certificate code (or download the PDF gift certificate) and send it manually.

Receipt/invoice: Could you also confirm whether a receipt or invoice can be issued for the order?

To obtain an invoice or receipt for any transaction at eBooks.com, log in to your account and go to the section of your account called Order History where you'll see a list of your orders. There's a column headed Details. Click the "View Invoice" button for the relevant invoice number. This will open a new window that displays the invoice / receipt for the transaction. Here you can click the "Print Invoice" button and it will bring up the print settings so you can print your invoice. If you need to send it by email you can select "Save as PDF" to create a PDF instead.
 
If you need to add a company name and/or tax number to the invoice, then as long as the purchase was made within the last 7 days you can go to the My Details section of your account and click on "Update Details" and you can add this information and click the "Update" button. Once you have done so, if you go back to the Order History page it will have added this information to your invoice.

Any other questions:

If you have any questions not covered here please contact our support team and they will be able to answer any queries.