Crowdsource funding, like Kickstarter, has really started to infuse this idea that getting something no longer has to be done alone. It actually is a pretty genius idea when you think about, instead of having one person fork over $1000 to make a project happen, why not get 100 people to pay $10? The odds are better that the later will happen and you can actually get what you want accomplished.
Well, what has started to happen over the past year or so is a trend to now take this crowdsourcing concept and apply it to other areas, like gift giving. When I first started to see this concept, I thought it was a brilliant idea. Why get ten decent gifts, when you can get one amazing gift from those ten people? Not only that, but it brings a sense of community and meaning to the gift as well. So when I came across Givted, I thought I had to see what it was all about and how it takes the gift crowdsourcing platform and makes it their own.
Adding What You Want
There are two major aspects to Givted, and the first part is to add items that you would want others to buy for you. One of the ways that you can add items is through browsing the web on your own and then entering in the url of the site where you found something that you want. There is also a bookmarklet that you can add to your bookmark bar so that when you come across something you can just use that instead.
Options to add something to your Want List
Your other option is to also peruse the Givted catalog, which they have stockpiled with a wide arrange of ideas for you to choose from. The nice part about this catalog is what Givted does is that they take whatever people have added themselves to their list and have compiled a huge catalog of ideas. That is a great idea, in that they are not doing any of the heavy lifting, but letting their users basically create their catalog for them. The other nice thing about this is that you can get a wide variety of ideas to choose from being that this catalog is being curated by users and not just a group of people that work at Givted. As you are searching through items you can narrow down your search based on price, brands, and also categories. There is even a search function, if you want to find something specific.
Searching through Givted’s catalog for gifts
Buying A Gift For Someone
The other main aspect of Givted is purchasing a gift for someone and this is where the crowdsourcing comes into play. Once you add things that you want, you can then share it with your friends on Facebook and also invite them to join Givted as well. Let’s say you see a friend that is on Givted and their birthday is coming up and you want to see if you can get them their gift that they put on their Want List. But you find out that the gift cost $400 and there is no way that you are going to spend that kind of money. Well, with Givted, you can now pitch in an amount you feel comfortable with, and then you can invite others who may want to pitch in as well.
Finding an item to purchase
Givted makes this process very easy, where you pick the item you want to try and get and you are lead through a process. First, you want to select the occasion and then select a day and time that you want to give the gift to your friend. Now, an FYI here, your friend won’t receive the actual gift, but a gift card to make the purchase. From there you choose the people from your Facebook as well as any other people that your friend may know, and you type them a message along with a suggested donation amount.
Setting deadline for when gift should be given
Once you are done there, you can now begin the process to actually get your payment in for the gift. You are lead to put in your payment information along with the amount that you want to contribute. Be aware though that Givted charges a 2.9% fee plus $1 based upon the amount you contribute. So even though you may put down that you want to give $20, really you will be paying more like $22 or so.
Adding your contribution toward the gift
Then when this is done, your friends that you put in the list are now sent an email so that they can contribute. When the date and time comes that you put in for when the gift should be delivered, whatever amount is there gets put into a gift card and sent to the person you set this all up for.
Inviting people to contribute
Givted Has Got It Down
When you think about it, if there is a concept that is working and being successful, why not try to do something similar and put your own spin on it. That is what I feel like Givted has done here, where they have taken the concept of Kickstarter, and applied it to gift giving. I am not trying to say that they are copying Kickstarter, but they have done a great job of being able to take the concept and really make it their own. One of the main reasons why I like this site over some of the other ones that I have reviewed in the past, is that Givted gives you the option to add your own gift from anywhere on the web. With other sites that I have reviewed, they partner with retail stores and sites to offer specific items to people. While that is well and good, you are boxed in by your choices. With Givted, you can literally add whatever crazy gift idea you want.
The other big thing that I like about this site in comparison to others is that they don’t force you to use Facebook! That in and of itself is worth it. I have nothing against the social networking site and I use it all the time and I would use it here as well, but don’t make it the only option for customers. With Givted, you can choose to use Facebook, but you can also use just your email addresses too, which is a good option to have.
Final Thoughts
For a site that is just in beta, they really have done a lot of the heavy lifting to make it a quality place to go. It is very easy to start adding items for yourself and the experience of contributing to get something for someone else is really nice. I highly enjoyed using Givted and I really like the potential for crowdsourcing gifts for friends and family. I definitely plan to use this more and sharing it with friends. With my birthday coming up at the end of the month, this may be a good way to use Givted more.
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