It’s that time of year when gift giving can become a frenzy. Shoppers are needing gifts for Teachers, Mother’s Day, Graduation, Father’s Day and all those June Weddings. Often these become group gifting opportunities and that means someone needs to organize and keep tabs on who is in, the money that’s been collected and who still needs to be contacted. Just what super busy people need to add to their already packed schedules – NOT! GiftCrowd turns this daunting task into a piece of cake.
A friend who used GiftCrowd to arrange the team’s gift for her son’s soccer coach told me about GiftCrowd and when I had to arrange a gift for a friend’s housewarming I decided to give it a try. Creating a gift was easy and took no more than a couple of minutes, I was asked to provide few basic details such as who to send the gift to and when to send it, specified the amount I recommend others to contribute and used my credit card to contribute the same amount myself. I also added my personal greeting that no one other than the gift recipient can see. (Please note that name and email address in screen shots are fictional. A new gift was created, to show readers the process.)
I was then given the ability to invite my friends to join by entering their email address or by selecting them on Facebook or Whatsapp. There is even the option of pasting a unique gift link, into any online conversation or another program that the gift creator might wish to use.
What happens next?
The friends I invited to join received an email, clicked the gift link and added their contribution using credit/debit cards. As they did not even have to log in, it took them no more than a minute or two. Most of them also added a personal greeting.
Then Voilà…on the housewarming date, my happy friend was notified of her gift, the total amount that has been collected and was given the information on how to redeem it into one or more of over 50 types of gift cards including:
Amazon.com – for anyone and anything Barnes and Noble for the book lover Lowes – for the do it yourselfer Sephora – for the beauty queen JCPenney – for mom maybe Home Depot – for Father’s Day Game Stop – for the teenager in your life Khol’s – for the bride and groom Dick’s sporting goods – for the athlete GAP – for the grad Banana Republic – for the new professional Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us, to name just a few! My friend also read all the greetings and send her thank you notes in return.
I can see how users will use GiftCrowd for gifting Teachers, kid’s coaches, co-workers. Bridesmaids can send a group gift to the bride. Relatives and friends from across the country can purchase for a baby shower. How about all the kids and grand kids purchasing something special for mom/grandma for her Birthday or for both parents/grandparents on a special wedding anniversary! The possibilities are endless.
GiftCrowd does not charge any fees for the service, neither from gift buyers nor from gift recipients. The service is really built for parents who cannot afford wasting precious time on something that can be done so easily via GiftCrowd. As for me, I will surely use GiftCrowd again.
About Author Libby
Libby wears many hats. She is a Homemaker*Blogger*Crafter*Reader*Pinner*Teacher*Friend*Animal Lover* Former Early Pregnancy and Childbirth Educator and Substitute Teacher (preK - 12) *Medically Disabled...SURVIVOR! Libby is very happily married to the love of her life (for 41 yeas), the mother of 10 grown children and "Nonnie" to 23 growing grand children. She adores animals, and is "owned" by two furbabies: Gung Poe Wigglebutt ( a Black Pug, who's mission in life is to be her shadow) and Gabriel, SD, CGC, PAT, (her Service Dog, who is a Chocolate Lab/Weimaraner mix). Libby also has two Red Eared Aquatic Turtles, Tucker and Turner, who couldn't care less about her, other than at meal times!