Show HN: We got tired of getting gifts we don't like/need, so we made this | Hacker News Reader

Show HN: We got tired of getting gifts we don't like/need, so we made this

giftsocial.me

21 pointsgenystartup55 comments

Here's my problem with gifts and I don't think this site solves them.

I never know what I want to get as a gift. If there's something I need, I will buy it for myself. If there's something I want, it's usually expensive and I feel bad about asking people to get me it.

So the only gifts left are things I don't know I want or need.

Our approach is to also give you a livefeed of what people in your network are getting as gifts, when we built this feature we thought of people who could use a bit of a "suggestion" of what they may want. So hopefully by looking through your feed and "browsing" other people's gift ideas you'll find inspiration for what you want.

On our own gift ideas site, we were working on this problem. We started out with getting people to suggest gifts to each other, much like Stack Overflow handles Q&A. We got to a point where we were able to suggest things to people based on their shared interests, using an algorithm and all that accumulated human-based suggesting.

It turns out that when you get enough somewhat generalized interests in the mix, you create something of a profile that relates pretty directly to what you might like as gifts. If you and I both like movies, wine, cooking and travel, we probably will both like the same kinds of movies, books, or trinkety, Etsy-style gifts.

Our difference is that we directed ourselves at the frustrated masses who were trying to find gift ideas, and couldn't come up with any, which turned out to be very difficult to sell, in terms of the right marketing message. Still working on it!

This is exactly why a service like this needs to be crowdsourcing gifts. We don't need another wishlist - we need a way to turn the 7 giftcards and 6 sweaters you get for Christmas every year into one iPad or two plane tickets to Hawaii.

I agree that this doesn't really solve the gifting "problem". In addition, gifting is supposed to be a guilt free and a no pressure process stemming from what the gifter is capable of and comfortable with. It should come from the heart. A wish list really doesn't break down any new walls for me. Glad someone is at least thinking about new ways though.

The older I get, the more I turn into my father, who despises wishlists and won't tell people what gifts he'd like. Only receiving gifts that were on a list removes the mystery and wonder from the process.

I've begun telling people who ask that a good gift is anything interesting that I wouldn't buy for myself, and I've been pleased with the results.

(This isn't a commentary on GiftSocial as a product, but on wishlists as a social construct.)

I tell people not to buy me any gifts at all, frankly I always feel a little embarrassed when someone went out of his/her way to try to find something to buy me, especially if it's something I don't have a wish or need for.

Maybe it's just me who's a little weird, but I don't actually like getting gifts. I'd much rather go somewhere and have a good time instead of some stupid item I could have bought myself.

The GiftSocial site looks very well done, and it's a cool and probably useful idea for many people. But still something stings me about the idea of making wishlists of gifts you'd like to receive, just like you are saying. Something with gifted horses and their mouths ;-)

You are not alone, I also ask people to not get me gifts. I appreciate the thought but I almost always end up with duplicates, things that don't fit, things I don't need or want, and more clutter. I'd rather they just spend some time with me instead.

I agree, it removes surprise element as well as - people that know you would know what to buy you, people that don't know you shouldn't be buying you gift anyway.

Anyone wanting to give me a gift is pretty amazing. I don't know about anyone else, but just living a life where friends and family can give me gifts is awesome - i'm not about to go complaining about that.

The site itself is a good idea, I just don't like the title 'we got tired of getting gifts we don't like/need'.

What's the difference between this and an Amazon wishlist?

I haven't tried it out yet, but I'm guessing you can support companies other than Amazon.

Exactly. That's the idea. We are still building as you imagine. And one cool thing about this is that if you don't find what you are looking for with our search feature, you can copy and paste the link to the item you want to buy from absolutely any store online.

You can add any item from any store on the Amazon wishlist and people already know to check it if they want to - you don't need to tell them you have a wishlist somewhere else. One fewer awkward email.

While that holds true, we are also able to do a better job of distributing your wishlist to your social network, which is what makes a wishlist worthwhile anyway - the people who see it.

Amazon has the Universal Wishlist.

http://www.amazon.com/wishlist/universal

Some things I want aren't on Amazon and it would be nice to set a reminder where my friends see what events are coming up in my life i.e. birthday, wedding, bachelorette etc. The sharing and follow features make it well...readily available to those who care for it.

Actually, Amazon has an "Add to Wishlist" that supports products from any site. You can get it at http://www.amazon.com/wishlist/get-button

I checked your website is really useful, it is not easy to find the adequate gift. Have a question for you, if someone select an item in my wishlist, do you have a system that warm my friends ( in order to not by the same) ?

Yes, once the gift is bought, you get a message and that item is taken off your list.

It's much better-looking :)

I def love this design way better. you are def right!

Simple and easy to use. I am signed in :)

I really dislike registries like this. It removes a lot of what makes gifts special from a gift.

We don't want to make you feel like it's a registry that takes away from the experiece. I just have found that most people return or re-sell gifts they get not because they are in need of cash (only a small subset do), most do because they don't need or like what they got. So the point of giftsocial is to give the people around you an idea of what you want. There really aren't any restrictions to.

Give money or don't give then.

Agreed. Even the concept of a "bad gift" implies that maybe we are forcing the whole gift-giving thing a bit too much.

On the one hand I totally agree with you, on the other hand there are some people I know who I find it insanely hard to think of a gift for and often end up thinking I may not have made the right choice - there are also people who presumably think this about me, given how much they will nag ahead of birthday/Christmas about what I want to receive.

Overall I come down on your side, in thinking the downsides outweigh the benefits, but I can see how people would come to the opposite conclusion too.

I agree. There are at least two ways to look at this. Either you figure out a way to let people know what you want OR you provide a service that lets people exchange gifts after receiving them. I tend to favor the latter as it doesn't require signing grandma up on a website she'll never use. You also won't come off as an ungrateful brat that doesn't understand the point behind gifts.

Doesn't this take away the character building experience of putting on a happy face when given a truly terrible gift?

Ha! It would seem like it.

Great idea! Has great promise!

I've had a similar idea, but for my kids. Arranging xmas with the grandparents is an administrative burden. It would be great to say, "Go here." Some possible things to add to the site: clothing sizes, so getting a present can be a COMPLETE surprise and it'll fit.

Found typo on the Unlock More Wishlist Spots prompt. "Firend"

Looks like you can make money off the companies entering products, too.

EDIT: You should tell people you're going to post something to their Facebook wall, though. I didn't appreciate that.

Yes, and thanks for the feedback. The main reason we are on here is so people can tell us what we need to do better, what they'll like to see more of and less of. We are taking note. Thanks again!

The first thing you ask for from a user is their email address and/or Facebook account? Do that last. Get the user to create a wish list first.

Registration is a barrier to getting users. Save it for the end or as late as possible. Look to TripIt for inspiration on the registration process. You can create a travel plan without registering. Once it's created, then you have a reason to register, so you do.

Thanks, that's actually a very good point, one we've debated for a while. Will keep it in mind going forward.

Amazon does this at scale. By the title <and site name>, I thought you were going to enable a quick post, sell, or donate of unwanted gifts. That would be cool. I typically hold on to unwanted gifts for months and then simply donate or dispose. I bet there are $Bs of unwanted gifts sitting in houses in the US right now.

That's a feature we are looking to add soon. Please keep a close eye on this to be released in a few weeks.

Seems like the key to doing that well will be to remove all friction on capturing an image (or linking to a comprehensive product database) then making shipping a breeze. I have to say inertia is a bitch, and keeping these things on your shelf is an attractive alternative/competitor to getting rid of them.

Is this a real problem?

I would never use this. First, I don't expect people to get me gifts. Secondly, even if I don't need/will never use the gift I received, it truely is the thought that counts. It's a bit ungracious to tell someone what to get me, no?

It all feels very alien and weird to me to have this problem. Maybe I'm weird.

Generally we are just hoping to give people an idea of what you'll like and not limit them to anything really. We found from our initial market test that 72% of people would rather know what to buy for a friend than not know

Another take on it is this https://nobadgift.com/

I think someone, perhaps Gift Social, is going to do very well with this general concept!

Really not agreeing with the sentiment that would lead to a person using such a service. That type of person probably shouldn't be receiving a gift from anyone really.

https://nobadgift.com <- pretty much the exact thing. There are many, many players in this space.

How are you different?

nobadgift is completely different and they focus on group gifting. Not really a market we are exploring.

Well NoBadGift.com did pretty much this same thing. While NoBadGift.com allowed for group gifting a user could just buy a gift out right and have it shipped. Full disclosure I am the CEO of NoBadGift.com which will be shutting down sometime this month. Our new site is http://Given.to which will be launching very soon. We are taking the idea of social gifting/commerce to the next level.

I don't want gifts of stuff thanks. Time spent with people is great. Money is more efficient. Gifts of stuff are fail.

Now i can be sure that my family and friends will know what to get me and i will know what to get to my friends

And now my friends will finally find out my true desire to own a batman suit.

For someone who hates gift buying (me), this solves a major problem.

Awesome idea! I love the people's wishes thingie

The more I use it, the more I love it!!!

Hmm.. Great idea. I like this.

someone needs to show this to my girlfriend

yeah most definitively, They would love the design and the idea! I am sure we all got a bad gifts at least once!

this is a good idea

A lot of soccer fans on there. I wonder what kind of information you could get from scraping sites like this. Surely the knowledge that your product is wanted would be useful in conjunction with how much your product actually gets bought?

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