How Gifting Works

Here’s how it works:

  1. Click the “Give as a gift” link from any book page.
  2. Enter the name of your giftee and their e-mail address. Very important you enter the correct e-mail address otherwise they won’t receive it. Alternatively, if you would like the gift to be a surprise, enter your own e-mail address. If you're using this option and you want to give the same book to several different people, make sure that you click “Give as a gift” once for each giftee (don’t increase the quantity, because then you will be giving multiple copies to one person, which is probably not what you want).
  3. Once you complete the purchase of the gift, we’ll send an immediate e-mail to the recipient, providing them instructions on how to redeem the gift (you will get a copy of the e-mail too). If you entered your own e-mail address in step 2, you will get the e-mail and you will need to forward it or print it out and hand deliver it to your recipient. The gift code (contained in the hyperlink in the e-mail) will allow whoever uses it to pick up this gift, so keep it a secret (except from your giftee, of course). The gift e-mail will look like the sample below. Note that we will not share your e-mail address with the giftee, only your name as listed in your Smashwords profile.
  4. When your giftee gets the e-mail, your gift recipient will simply click the hyperlink in the message (which contains the gift code) and their book will become instantly available if they’re already registered for Smashwords. If they’re not yet a Smashwords member, or they’re not logged in to their account, we’ll prompt them to join (it’s free) or log in. After they register, the book is waiting for them in their Library.

Sample gift e-mail

Dear [Giftee’s name]:

[Your name, as listed in your Smashwords profile] has given you a gift of the ebook "Boob Tube" by Mark Coker on Smashwords! To pick up your gift, please click the following link, or copy it and paste it into your web browser:

https://www.smashwords.com/gift/pickup/alf0l3uavns48cgowc8w4sc04

If you already have an account on Smashwords.com (we'll prompt you to log in, if necessary) you'll have instant access to this book. If you don't have an account on Smashwords, you will be asked to create one — don't worry, it's easy and free!

We hope you enjoy your gift!
The Smashwords Team

Here's how to read Smashwords ebooks!

Step 1: Click to the book page by clicking on the book title above.

Step 2: You'll be prompted to log in to your Smashwords account. If you don't yet have an account, you'll be prompted to create one. It's quick and free to create an account. Sign up, we'll send you a confirmation e-mail, click the hyperlink in the e-mail and you're in. Come join hundreds of thousands of readers around the world who use Smashwords to discover, purchase and read over 350,000 ebooks!

Step 3: Once you're logged in, your gift will be saved for you and you will be able to click to get your book (or click to your Library to find your book) and click the download format you prefer.

Step 4: Read! Here's our FAQ on how to download Smashwords ebooks to any device: https://www.smashwords.com/about/supportfaq#Reading.

We send a copy of the gift e-mail to you as well, so that if for some reason your giftee doesn't get the e-mail, you can pass it along to them yourself.

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