26. Buy a Gift Certificate for Someone Else  BEFORE YOU BEGIN 18 Sign Up for the iTunes Music Store
 SEE ALSO 27 Redeem a Gift Certificate 28 Create an iTunes Music Store Allowance
Once you've started buying music from the iTunes Music Store , it's hard to imagine a more welcome gift than $20 or $50 worth of free downloads. Gift certificates are a built-in part of the music store, and if you know anyone who enjoys iTunes as much as you do, there are many worse ideas for a birthday or the holiday season than to send one of these professionally printed, emailed , or home-printed certificates entitling the recipient to a musical shopping spree. 26. Buy a Gift Certificate for Someone Else 
 TIP You can also buy prepaid iTunes Music Store Gift Cards, available through the online Apple Store or at any Apple retail store, as well as in supermarket checkout lanes and other places where gift cards are sold. Redeem a prepaid gift card by clicking Prepaid Cards on the iTunes Music Store 's Home page.
| 1. | Sign In to the iTunes Music Store
Choose Music Store from the Source pane in the iTunes' window and connect to the store. If you are not already signed in, click the Sign In button in the upper-right corner and provide your Apple ID (or AOL screen name ) and password to sign yourself in.
| | 2. | Go to the Gift Certificates Section
Click the Gift Certificates link on the music store's Home page. You are given a choice to redeem a certificate that was sent to you or to buy a new one; click Buy Now .
| | 3. | Choose a Delivery Method
A gift certificate can be delivered to the recipient in one of three ways: It can be sent through Email , with a confirmation code included in the message; it can be sent as a professionally printed card mailed through the U.S. Mail ; or you can Print it yourself and hand it to the person in an envelope with a nice ribbon on it, or however you like to wrap your gifts. Choose the method that most appeals to you.
| | 4. | Fill In the Recipient's Delivery Information
Depending on the delivery method you chose, you now have to enter some basic information: For emailed certificates, enter your name, the recipient's name, and the recipient's email address (twice, to eliminate the possibility of typos), and select an amount from $10 to $200. Type a message to go with the giftmake sure that the recipient realizes that he must redeem this gift certificate by clicking the link in the message and that it's not just another piece of spam!
A printed gift certificate just requires you to fill in your name and the recipient's name, choose an amount, and fill in a brief personal message. When you buy the certificate, the certificate is sent to your printer, and the names and messages are printed as part of the certificate, which you can then fold and package however you like for gift giving.
If you chose the U.S. Mail option, your web browser launches and displays a page at the online Apple Store where you can purchase the card for delivery through the mail. The card printed in this way is on nice thick paper, with your name and personal message included on it. You'll have to use the online Apple Store's purchasing and billing system to complete the purchase. There is no extra charge, beyond the face value of the certificate, for a printed and delivered copy.
| | 5. | Purchase the Gift Certificate
Click Continue after filling in all the required information; after confirming your Apple ID and password, the next screen is a confirmation where you can preview your gift certificate and go back if you notice any errors. Click Buy when you're satisfied. Your credit card is billed, the same as if you had bought the music yourself in the specified amount. Depending on the selected delivery method, the certificate is emailed, prepared for physical delivery, or prepared for printing.
| NOTE If you chose to print the certificate yourself, you're given the opportunity to print it right now or to print it at any time in the future by going to your account information page (click your Apple ID in the Account box in the upper-right corner of the iTunes' window, enter your password when prompted, and click View Account ). Click Purchase History to view everything you've ever bought through the music store, including the gift certificate you just purchased. Click the gray arrow icon to see the certificate in more detail, and then click Print to print out a new copy. Because a gift certificate can only be redeemed once, you can print as many copies of it as necessary.
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