Can You Use Visa Gift Cards On Etsy? (Yes, But Not Always…)

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My wife and I are terrible at keeping track of gift cards. For some reason, we always tick them “somewhere safe” and then forget about them. This is especially true for prepaid Visa cards. If I have an IHOP gift card I think of it when I see IHOP. Nothing jogs my memory about Visa.

The other day my wife and I were looking everywhere we could think of for our cat’s nail clippers. In a random drawer, I found a little treasure trove of gift cards. With several birthdays right around the corner, we decided that it would be the perfect time to use our gift cards.

We do the majority of our gift shopping on Etsy and hoped to use our gift cards to get some of that vintage handmade goodness. However, using gift cards on Etsy didn’t work quite how we expected.

Prepaid Visa gift cards can be used on Etsy during checkout the same way that any other card can. Etsy allows you to apply only one card to a transaction so, if the purchase price is more than the prepaid amount on the card, your transaction will be declined.

How To Use A Prepaid Visa Gift Card On Etsy

To use a prepaid gift card on Etsy you’ll need to first verify the card and connect it to your billing address. This allows you to use your card online as you would any other debit or credit card.

–> How To Verify Prepaid Visa Gift Cards

Once you have verified your card, simply input the information as you would any other card when you checkout.

However, that’s not to say that your card will work every time s there are a few problems that can cause it to be declined.

What If Your Prepaid Card Is Declined?

Having your card declined can be frustrating, particularly if it’s a prepaid card that you know the balance of and are struggling to use.

If your prepaid visa card is declined on Etsy it is typically for one of three reasons:

• Non-verified billing address
• Insufficient funds on the card

Solutions For A Declined Card

Unfortunately, Etsy does not allow payment with multiple cards on a single invoice. So if your total is more than the amount of the card the transaction will simply not go through.

If you absolutely have to use your gift card there is a solution but it relies on an amicable seller.

A seller can choose “other payment method” and then, when you buy it, send you invoices in whatever size chunks they wish.

Meaning that, if you have two $25 gift cards and your total is $53.77, they can send you three invoices: two for $25 to be paid with your gift cards and one for $3.77 to be paid with another method. As long as you don’t try to pay all three invoices at once they will remain separate and you can check out.

Once the seller receives payment they can mark the order as payment received and ship out your item.

Conclusion

Using gift cards on Etsy is pretty much the same as using it anywhere on the web. With the small exception of not being able to exceed the value of the card, just use it like normal and enjoy whatever it is that you’re shopping for!