See whether a gift card still pays after they redeem it.
Shopify gift cards look like free cash. Fees hit the card today.
Fulfillment hits later. If the face does not cover the ticket, they
swipe again — another fixed fee. The table keeps the same SKU, then
compares selling it now with selling a card they later spend on it.
Typical order and the card
Sell now vs gift card
$—
selling the SKU now keeps this much more
Sell-now leftover
Redeem-cycle leftover
Expected mix leftover
Cash after sale-day fees
Sale-day card fees
Second swipe on the leftover
Monthly gap vs selling now
Same SKU, three ways the cash lands
Path
Charged
Fees
Fulfillment
Leftover
vs sell now
Card fees sit on what they pay for the card today, then again on any leftover after the face. Unused face is still a liability. The expected mix includes unredeemed cards — that is breakage, not a plan. Transparent arithmetic from your inputs — not Shopify gift-card policy or a published breakage schedule.
What this checks
Merchants search “should I sell gift cards on Shopify” because a
$50 card looks like $50 in the bank. Sale-day fees on $50 are
$1.75. When they spend it on a $54 ticket they swipe $4 more —
another $0.30 plus 2.9%. You still ship the item.
On the defaults — $50 face they pay $50, $48 item, $6 shipping
charged, $5.00 label, Basic 2.9% + $0.30, $14 cost, $1 pack,
$39 / 100 plan, 80% redeem, 20 cards — selling the SKU now keeps
$31.74. A later redeem keeps $31.44 ($0.30 less, $6.00 / month).
Cash after sale-day fees is $47.86; that is still a $50 liability.
Cut the card to $45 and a later redeem keeps $26.59 ($5.16 less).
An 80% mix shows $34.73 only because 20% never come back.
A gift card is cash today and fulfillment later. Card fees hit what they pay for the card. When they redeem, leftover ticket after the face is a second card swipe — another fixed fee. On the calculator defaults ($50 face they pay $50, $48 item + $6 shipping, 2.9%+$0.30, $14 cost, $5 label, $1 pack) selling the SKU now keeps $31.74 and a later redeem keeps $31.44. The $0.30 gap is the second $0.30 swipe on the $4 leftover. That is arithmetic on your inputs, not advice to turn gift cards on or off.
Does discounting a Shopify gift card still pay?
Usually not on the same SKU. Selling a $50 card for $45 and redeeming it on the default $54 ticket keeps $26.59 — $5.16 less than selling the item now. The $5.00 discount plus the second swipe is the gap.
Do unredeemed Shopify gift cards count as profit?
Unredeemed cards leave cash after the sale-day fee, which is why an 80% redemption mix on the defaults shows $34.73. That extra is breakage — leftover liability that never shipped — not a forecast you should plan on. This page shows the mix so you can see the temptation; the winner is sell-now versus they-redeem.