"Everybody gets what they want."

That’s retail nirvana, and also the way Jenn Haines, owner of three The Dragon comic/game stores in Guelph, Ontario looks at gift cards.

"Let’s face it: You’ve got people putting things like ‘Batman stuff’ on Christmas lists, and the family doesn’t know what to do," Haines says.  "They’re not following Batman, and they probably don’t want to get into a long, drawn-out conversation about who wrote the best Batman.  But when they come into the store to get a gift card, it alleviates that stress around gift-buying for people.  Everybody gets what they want."

Patrick Brower, co-owner of Challengers Comics in Chicago, agrees.  He also takes gift certificates one level higher with both physical cards, and an electronic option purchased through their website.

"I can’t tell you how often the phone rings and someone says, ‘I don’t live in your state, but I want to get a gift certificate for a friend who does,’"  Brower says. “We’re able to easily say, ‘No problem.  Go to our website, you do it that way.’  There’s no problem with mailing, it’s electronic and instant, and everyone gets what they want."

There’s that phrase again.  Another thing Challengers gets is an unexpected bonus: Up to a 20% accidental increase in profit margin.

"We have found that the electronic rate of redemption is about 80%" he says.  "Whereas you don’t want to count on that money, it’s nice to have it.  It’s like an invisible cushion."

The "extra" money from cards and residuals that go un-redeemed is a nice bonus.  Among stores surveyed, the rate of unredeemed balances can run anywhere from 10-20%.  A certain amount of that is chewed up by costs, however.

Challengers uses custom, branded, reloadable stripe cards for in-store that cost about $1 per.  They use a service called Giftly for electronic cards that charges 9% for their service.  Brower thinks the costs are a bargain.

"It’s always worth it to have more ways for people to spend money in your shop," he says.

The Dragon uses custom stripe cards and boxes.  Total cost: About $1.50 per combo.

"They have to look good as a gift someone is giving to someone else.  It’s a reflection on the customer as well," Haines says.  "So we make it look like a gift.  If you’re giving away $1.50 to get that sale…  it’s what’s expected.  They have to look professional and be branded."

The whole notion of gift-giving is so central to The Dragon’s business that Haines refused to pull the trigger on a point-of-sale system until gift cards were part of the mix.

"When we decided to adopt ComicHub as our point-of-sale system, it was under the stipulation that they had to include gift card functionality," she says.  "They did not have that when they started the system, and it was only after they added gift card functionality that we added them."

Many stores have gone to stripe cards, but some keep it old-school, such as Jennifer King, owner of Space Cadets Collection in Oak Ridge North, Texas.

"I have stuck with card stock, individually-numbered gift certificates," she says.  "We like them because they are branded for the store, and they are low cost."

Low cost pays off in… low cost.

"Shoot, we have even made ‘joke’ gift certificates for people messing with friends for 25 cents," she says.

Brower does the same, but aims a little higher.

"We encourage people to make it a weird amount that’s significant to them, like $72.84, if that works for you," he says.  "It’s a little more fun for people to do it that way."

And pretty much everyone sees very little problem with what you might think would be a problem: Great cash flow in December as gift certificate money rolls in, but tough restock problems in January as the product rolls out.

"After Christmas, we’ve sold through many of the things people wanted to buy outright, so what we have left are some slower movers, slower sellers, and it’s fine to get rid of those things at that point," Haines says.  "It’s not a feeling that there’s a pinch point after Christmas where the product is leaving and you’re suffering from that.  You’re moving product that didn’t move at Christmas, and people almost always spend more money above and beyond their gift card."

Mike Wellman of The Comic Bug, a two-store Los Angeles chain, sees nothing but upside in gift cards, and inventory control.

"We try to maintain a pretty strong inventory year-’round,” he says.  "So if people receive a gift certificate, we most likely will have things that they'd like to spend it on.  I don't see getting cash up front for gift certificates as being an issue."

And bottom line, if you want to be professional, especially in the highly competitive November-December retail environment, you need to have gift cards.

"As a consumer, if I hear, ‘We don’t do gift cards here,’ my reaction is ‘What?  It’s 2019!  How do you not do it?  All you need is a piece of paper,’" Brower says.  "There’s a level of convenience you need to give your customers, and as a shop owner, part of your job is making the consumer’s job convenient.  If you don’t make it easy…they can get their comics anywhere.  It’s a basic level of customer service that has to be fulfilled."

And another upside?  No returns.

"Gift certificates are perfect gifts for geeks because oftentimes, friends and significant others have no idea what we want or don't want, or maybe already have," Wellman says.  "They truly are any size fits all."

Click Gallery below for retailers and their gifting techniques!