Need two types of coupons - is it supported ?

I'm not a php expert (know perl well) and am familiar with MYSQL.

I see the database tables:
zen_coupons
zen_coupons_description
zen_coupon_email_track
zen_coupon_gv_customer
zen_coupon_gv_queue
zen_coupon_redeem_track
zen_coupon_restrict

I suspect there may be a way to do what I want but am not sure how (without having a code patch written).

I want two types of coupons (purchased and give aways).

I want them to behave differently.

Currently it allows me to redeem two give aways to the same user account.

Here is the way I want it to work ...
purchased gift certificates - any number can be redeemed to any account or the same account.
Give Away gift certificates - only one can be used per order (or in this case redeemed until it is applied to an order) at which point a second one can be redeemed for their next order.

My goal is to give away small gift certificates to generate new customers and basically give them a discount on their first order.

I don't want someone collecting many of these and getting their order for free.

I have already created a perl script which creates nice looking gift certificates (which can be printed) and can easily have it put information in the zen cart database (based on creating a free one that was sent by email from the zen cart admin area).

I see the various restrictions in some of the above tables but am not sure how they function in the zen cart code.

I would rather not have to have modifications to the php code which will made upgrading more difficult.

Is there a way of doing what I want without creating a modification of the zen cart code so that only one give-away coupon can be active in a single user account at a time ?

My goal is to give away small gift certificates to generate new customers and basically give them a discount on their first order.

Use the coupon functionality, not the Gift Certificate.

Thank you. I just tried that and I see that I can specify a minimum order amount and that it works.

I guess the only problem I have is that I want this to read as a Gift Certificate, not a discount coupon.

Both are essentially the same thing. The problem will be when they go to redeem it ... putting it in the correct window.

I'm not sure why there needs to be two different redemption code windows as how it needs to be applied can be tracked to the coupon number.

I would really like to have them use the code in the gift certificate window and function like a discount coupon.

Again, what I am referring to here is the number is the reference, and the database field parameters are how it can be applied.

Also, having two different boxes to apply a number to is not a good idea (in general). It should be clean and simple to use (from the customer's standpoint).

So one box for Discount Coupon / Gift Certificate number is a cleaner solution.

I suspect I could have someone rewrite the zen cart software related to this but that would be a problem with future updates.

so after testing this I see that table zen_coupons has a coupon type of F instead of G.

This makes it simple to have just a single box for redemption and then look up the type to know how it should be applied rather than a visitor having to figure that out.

It would be great if a change could be made to the software to support this.

I guess the only problem I have is that I want this to read as a Gift Certificate, not a discount coupon.

Both are essentially the same thing.

No, not really. In accounting and under the law (in many places) they are very different. A discount has no "cash value" and a Gift Certificate does and has to be handled as such.

That makes a lot of sense but still I think only one box is needed to handle the job.

That box could still explain both.

But thanks for pointing out the legal issues in some areas.

BTW ... I see people selling "Gift Certificates" on eBay for restaurants that are good for $10 on a $40 purchase for just $0.01 so I'm guessing there could be legal issues with that then.

I have one more question on this topic. I noticed that in the coupon code area there is a "Coupon Zone Restriction" and the only selectable value is Florida.

Are coupon codes not legal for Florida residents ?

Florida is just the example zone restriction, far as I know.