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Apple Store now selling iTunes Gift Certificates

Posted by pudge on from the that-is-a-whole-lotta-music dept.

indigo12 writes "Now you can send iTunes store gift certificates up to $200 from the Apple Store. Just in time for the holidays."

39 comments

  1. Can you send them to Oz ? by dregs · · Score: 1

    I cant use ITMS, (other than to browse) cause I'm not in the US and Apple is only licensed to sell music in the US. Damm

    So the question is, can you use gift certificates to get around this little licensing issue ?

    1. Re:Can you send them to Oz ? by Mad_Fred · · Score: 4, Informative

      I tried purchasing one, going as far in the process as I dare without actually buying anything. On the billing page a big green text pops up asking you to provide a US billing address. Still, no clues to what would happen if you send a certificate to someone outside the US. There is a clause in the small-print terms and conditions saying you need to use iTMS in the US to redeem the certificate though, so I guess we shouldn't be too hopeful ...

    2. Re:Can you send them to Oz ? by Kulic · · Score: 1

      I wonder what the reasoning is behind restricting sales to the US. There are a few reasons I can think of, but the most likely one is probably the ability to enforce the DMCA.

      However, given that Apple allows you to copy the tracks to portable devices and burn them to CD, I'm not so sure why you might need to restrict copying or some such.

      If anyone can come up with a probable theory, I for one would like to hear it.

    3. Re:Can you send them to Oz ? by Kulic · · Score: 1

      Whoops, didn't read the comment mentioning that Apple is only allowed to sell music in the US. Guess that explains why its US only. Any guess as to why they aren't expanding?

    4. Re:Can you send them to Oz ? by JonathanBoyd · · Score: 2, Informative

      They are in negotiations with other countries to get permission to sell music. Trouble is that there are a lot of other countries, each with their own music associations and laws. It takes a while to get it all sorted out.

  2. Be careful with these by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    You might think it's a useful incentive, but not only does a gift certificate of $200 not get you a full $200 of songs, but the remainder IS NOT REDEEMABLE FOR CASH. Dodgy marketing stunt on the part of Apple.

    1. Re:Be careful with these by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      How is this any different from any other gift certificate sold by any other company?

      I can't think of a single gift certificate I've ever bought or received that was redeemable for cash.

    2. Re:Be careful with these by Maresi · · Score: 1

      Excuse me, but I couldnt find the passage that sayes that you dontt get 200$ full of songs for 200$! Can you tell me where this passage is?

      --
      The checkbox said "Requires Windows 98, NT, or better. And so I installed Linux
    3. Re:Be careful with these by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Uhhh if you use your brain you'd see that buying many items that end in .99 will NOT go evenly into an exact $200 amount, therefore you will always have some left over. Normal businesses will refund the difference, but Apple WILL NOT HONOR THIS

    4. Re:Be careful with these by nrich123 · · Score: 1

      But if you use your brain, you'll see that 202 songs at 99c each cost $199.98 . Which leaves you out, oh, all of my $0.02... no big deal, surely?

    5. Re:Be careful with these by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Uhhh if you used your brain you'd see that these things will generally be given to people who already use iTMS, and any leftover gift certificate pennies will go to reduce the cost of the next song they buy.

    6. Re:Be careful with these by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thats just the presumption apple want you to make, but in reality it doesn't work that way. Once the gift certificate's worth of money is down far enough that it's BELOW the cost of one item on the store, the remaining cents are LOST.

      They are NOT added to some complete credit total, and that's what 's getting me worked up grrrr.

    7. Re:Be careful with these by Tombstone-f · · Score: 1

      I work at a United Artists Theatre. Our gift certificates are redeemable as cash.

    8. Re:Be careful with these by Qweezle · · Score: 1

      Well big deal. Whether you lose 30 cents on a parking spot or on the iTunes Music Store, does it really matter? It's just 30 cents.

    9. Re:Be careful with these by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What song is more than $0.99?

  3. Won't do me much good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    It won't do me much good to get one of those gift certificates. I don't like to listen to music at my computer, and iTunes can't burn songs to CD.

    Ok, theoretically iTunes could burn them to CD, in "Jaguar," but I made the mistake of upgrading to OS X 10.3 "Panther," and now my CD-R drive no longer works. And Apple is apparently preventing me from manually hacking in support (it's a fully supported drive, aside from the fact that it returns a vendor ID that hasn't been hardcoded by Apple in to the DiscRecording Framework). Fortunately I don't need high performance graphics for iTunes, since Panther also disabled my video card. I'm also pleased that iTunes doesn't waste too much screen real estate because my third party monitor has lost many of its resolutions.

    Oh well, at least I don't keep my music on external FireWire hard drive [sigh]...

    1. Re:Won't do me much good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

      It's not just you. Panther removed support for burning DRM enabled AAC files to CD as audio discs.

      Bait and switch. sound familiar?

    2. Re:Won't do me much good by Knobby · · Score: 1

      It's not just you. Panther removed support for burning DRM enabled AAC files to CD as audio discs.

      Do you have a link to this? I upgraded to Panther last week and had no problem burning files purchased on iTMS to disk using my superdrive. For that matter I haven't had any problems yet.

    3. Re:Won't do me much good by Graff · · Score: 3, Informative
      Panther removed support for burning DRM enabled AAC files to CD as audio discs.

      This is completely untrue. I just burned a full audio CD of AAC files purchased from the iTunes Music Store. No problems, no hangups, works exactly as it has always done.
      --
      Sapere aude!
  4. Secondary market for gift certificates: Ebay??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Is it true that Apple will only allow US residents to redeem the gift certificates? Then how does Apple check if the gift certificate holder is a US resident? Anyone can fake a US address and Apple expressly states you don't need a credit card for gift certificate redemption.

    So I'm thinking that there is the possibility for a secondary market in gift certificates, which Apple will ignore.

    The Gift Certificates will become the first possibility for non-US residents to buy songs from iTMS. I predict savy americans will purchase gift certificates and sell these to Europe based buyers at a premium on auction sites such as Ebay. I wonder how much the premium will be? An interesting question is whether Apple will tolerate or ignore this secodary Gift Certifcate market? I guess the secondary market will put additional pressure on the music labels to finally come to a european wide agreement.

    1. Re:Secondary market for gift certificates: Ebay??? by pauljlucas · · Score: 1
      Then how does Apple check if the gift certificate holder is a US resident?
      By your IP address. Although the company is pretty much defunct, Liquid Audio held patents on using your IP address to determine your country of origin.
      --
      If you reply, do so only to what I explicitly wrote. If I didn't write it, don't assume or infer it.
    2. Re:Secondary market for gift certificates: Ebay??? by indigo12 · · Score: 1

      Currently, Apple doesn't check your country of origin by your IP. So it's possible to buy music with these certificates overseas.

      --
      The squirrels will get you...
    3. Re:Secondary market for gift certificates: Ebay??? by pauljlucas · · Score: 1
      Currently, Apple doesn't check your country of origin by your IP.
      I stand corrected. Thanks for the info.
      --
      If you reply, do so only to what I explicitly wrote. If I didn't write it, don't assume or infer it.
  5. Re:You're a fake. by dregs · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    Actually, if you ever used the net in Oz, before 1990, you would know that the original australian domain was OZ i.e.

    my first email address was at cit5.cit.oz.au, o boy those where they days.....

    hence I live in oz

    >.oz.au
    >The .oz.au subdomain has been delegated to
    >Robert Elz (kre@munnari.oz.au).

    >The domain was Australia's first domain and
    >originally devised to register names of those
    >entities operating within the ACSnet network,
    >and continues to be used to register those
    >entities who are visible within the ACSnet
    >network domain. Registration of a name within
    >this domain is only undertaken once the name is
    >visible on the ACSnet network.

    >This domain is gradually shrinking as less
    >sites are connected to ACSnet.

  6. Just like cash... by Kris_J · · Score: 3, Informative

    ...only a lot less flexible. And look, there's a little expiry date.

    1. Re:Just like cash... by teridon · · Score: 1
      Do you buy Christmas gifts for people? Or do you just give them cash?

      Gift certificates at least show a little thought on your part. "Hey I heard you had an iPod, so now you can buy some tunes for it..."

      --
      I hold it, that a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing. -- Thomas Jefferson
    2. Re:Just like cash... by Gogo+Dodo · · Score: 1

      I don't see any expiry date. Where did you get that information?

  7. and in other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Slashdot sells out and pimps Apple products.

    I mean really, how in the hell are gift-certificates from ANY company "stuff that matters".

    Really, pudge. Don't make me filter-ban your news posts like I did to Jon Katz.

  8. Last Minute Shopping by Golias · · Score: 2, Interesting
    I had a friend (who owns an iPod) who's birthday was yesterday. She's been getting into the iTMS ever since the Windows version of iTunes came out a couple weeks ago.

    Right before going over to her house for a small party, I fired up iTunes on my iBook and bought a $20 certificate for her. When I got there, I just said "check your e-mail for your gift." She loved it. I'm sure I will use it again one of these days, as it saves shopping time while seeming less impersonal than cash.

    --

    Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

  9. didnt take long by thatnerdguy · · Score: 0, Informative

    Ebay
    didnt take long

    --
    I saw the Sign, and it opened up my eyes
  10. Is /. perhaps... by jotaeleemeese · · Score: 1

    ... a clearinghouse for press releases?

    Did Apple pay for the placement of this "article"?

    --
    IANAL but write like a drunk one.
  11. Trolling should sound more plausible by ianscot · · Score: 1
    Panther removed support for burning DRM enabled AAC files to CD as audio discs.

    Funny how clearly this is obvious B.S. Gee, let's see, if this was true how do you suppose /. would have reacted?

    Utterly, completely implausible, leaving alone that it's false. Anonymous coward indeed.

    --
    "Fundamentalism" isn't about divine morality. It's about human authority.
  12. Re:Is /. perhaps... by indigo12 · · Score: 1

    Nope. Apple didn't pay to place this article here.

    --
    The squirrels will get you...