frequently asked questions

General Information
Changing Your Order
Cancellations, Exchanges, and Returns
Customized Gift Card Troubleshooting

General Information

What are the different ways I can order Borders gift cards?
1. You can design your own gift card using your own photo and ship it with a personalized message in a greeting card. This option costs $4.95 plus the gift card value.

2. You can choose from our selection of pre-designed gift cards and ship it with a personalized message in Borders' signature greeting card. This option costs $1.95 plus the gift card value.

3. You can send our signature gift card design without a personalized message. This option has no additional cost above the gift card value.

Where can I redeem Borders gift cards?
Borders gift cards are redeemable for retail merchandise at any Borders, Borders Express, Waldenbooks, and Brentano's store in the United States and online at borders.com. Not valid for any used merchandise available online.

How should I proceed if the Borders gift card I purchase does not work when trying to redeem it?
Although this case is extremely rare, if a gift card is reported not to have any redeemable value at the store, please ask the bookseller to rerun the card number through the system. If the situation persists, please contact us. If a gift card will not redeem online, please contact us.

How can I check the balance on my Borders gift card?
At the checkout stage of placing an order the Borders gift card balance will be shown after you enter the 16-digit gift card number and before you submit the transaction for payment. The Borders gift card balance can also be checked through calling the balance inquiry phone number on the back of the gift card or in stores at the registers.

I am a business interested in buying large quantities of Borders gift cards. How should I proceed?
Ordering $1,000 or more in gift cards, please contact our corporate sales team at 877.254.9228 or email us at ecard@bordersgroupinc.com.

For all other Borders gift card questions, contact 888.81.BOOKS (888.812.6657) or email us at giftcards@bordersstores.com.

What happens if I lose the gift card or it's stolen?
Lost, stolen, or damaged gift cards may be canceled and replaced with a new gift card in the amount of the then-remaining balance upon proof as required by Borders, Waldenbooks, or Brentano's.

Will I receive an email confirming the order was placed?
Yes, you will receive an order confirmation message. Once your order is shipped you will also receive a message confirming your order has been shipped.

I placed my order 10 days ago, and I still have not received the card. How can I track delivery of my order?
If the card was sent out USPS, there are no tracking capabilities offered by the United States Postal Service. The USPS will declare mail lost 15 days after the day the order was sent from our vendor's warehouse. If you selected a form of expedited shipping, please contact us and we will be happy to help you.

Changing Your Order

I received an order confirmation via email and I noticed that I have the wrong shipping address. How can I correct the name and address?
Please contact us, preferably by phone, and we will be happy to help you.

Can I change the dollar amount on the gift card?
Once your transaction is complete, the amount is set and cannot be changed.

Can I cancel my gift card order?
Once your transaction is complete, your order cannot be cancelled.

Can I change the image on the gift card or greeting card?
Once your transaction is complete, the order cannot be changed.

I received the customized gift card, but the image and text does not match my original preview, and/or there are quality issues in general. How can I get a new, corrected customized gift card?
In the rare situation in which the overall quality does not match your expectations, we will review the images and text on the card and work with you to correct any anomalies you may have detected. If we can fix the card(s), we will promptly mail another set at no charge, and, depending on the original shipping choice and expected delivery date, we may expedite the delivery to meet your needs.

Cancellations, Exchanges, and Returns

Can I cancel my gift card order?
Once your transaction is complete, your order cannot be cancelled.

Can I exchange or return Borders gift cards?
No. Borders gift cards cannot be exchanged or returned.

What happens if I lose the gift card or it's stolen?
Lost, stolen, or damaged gift cards may be canceled and replaced with a new gift card in the amount of the then-remaining balance upon proof as required by Borders, Waldenbooks, or Brentano's.

Customized Gift Card Troubleshooting

While creating a card or proceeding through checkout, I received an "Oops" error page. What should I do?
In many cases this issue can arise due to unexpected network connectivity gaps. You can always try hitting the refresh button on your browser, but the safest approach will be to start a new order—this way, you will avoid potential errors in the order. Please contact us if you still experience problems after starting a new order.

How do I upload my photos?
Click on the "Browse" button on the customization page to locate your JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIF, or BMP image file. Then click "Upload Image" to add the selected file to your photos.

Image resolution is best understood as a rectangular grid of picture elements (pixels). Resolution is traditionally set in pixels per inch (ppi), also known as dots per inch (dpi). The resolution setting maps an image's pixel dimensions to its physical size. With a pixel dimension of 600 x 600 and a resolution of 300 ppi, the image has a physical size of 2" x 2".

The resolution setting is crucial when you want to print. A 1,600 pixel x 1,200 pixel image printed at 72 ppi, for example, would output at over 22" x 16". However, at 300 ppi, that same image would output at 5.33" x 4", or about the same size as a greeting card.

How can I upload an address list for multiple shipping addresses?
There are several ways you can upload multiple addresses.

To upload addresses from Outlook:
1. On the File menu, click on Import and Export.
2. In the Choose an action to perform box, select Export to file, and click Next.
3. In the Create a file of type box, select Comma Separated Values, and click Next.
4. In the Select folder to export from box, select Contacts, and click Next.
5. For Save exported file as: click Browse.
6. We recommend that you save this file to your desktop so that it is easy to find. In the Save in box, pull down to select Desktop. In the File name box, name your file and add .csv at the end (for example: addresslist.csv). In the Save as type box, pull down Comma Separated Values (DOS), and click OK.

Example:

7. Make sure the name of your file is in the white box, and click Next.
8. Click Finish. Your address list will be saved to a file called addresslist on the desktop of your computer.
9. Now, at Cardways.com, click on the "Browse..." button to locate your address list. Double-click on your csv file to open it.
10. To upload to Cardways.com, click the "Upload..." button.

To upload addresses from your Palm Desktop:
1. Open Palm Desktop.
2. Click on Address.
3. On the File menu, select Export.
4. In the Export to file box, select a folder to save your file in, type in a name for your file, and add .csv (for example: addresslist.csv). For Export as, select Comma Separated (*.csv), and click Export.
5. Click OK (you do not need to Specify Export Fields).
6. Now, at Cardways.com, click on the "Browse..." button to locate your address list. Double-click on your csv file to open it.
7. To upload your address list to Cardways.com, click the "Upload..." button.

To upload addresses from Excel:
1. Open your address file in Excel.
2. Click File, and select Save. In the File name box, type in a file name and add .csv at the end (for example: addresslist.csv). In the Save as type box, select CSV (Comma delimited). Click Save.

You may get the following message. Click OK.

You may get the following message. Click Yes.

3. Close the file.

You will see the following message. Click No.

4. Close Excel.
5. Now, at Cardways.com, click on the "Browse..." button to locate your address list. Double-click on your csv file (for example: addresslist.csv) to open it.
6. To upload to Cardways.com, click the "Upload..." button.

If you still have questions, please contact us.