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Top Questions
Here are answers to some common questions.
Giftie Giftie is:
- An online gift registry. Friends and family can reserve gifts from each other's wish lists, so nobody winds up getting the same thing.
- Private. You choose who can see your gift list, and we never share your information with anybody.
- Independent. Since we're not affiliated with any particular store or website, you can add gifts you find anywhere -- heck, they don't even have to be on the web.
- Fun. We aim to make the site a pleasure to use, leaving lots of room for your personality to shine through.
- Personal. The site is run by a husband-and-wife team (Jack and Maureen), just because they enjoy it. We hope you will too.
No -- we want gifts to be a surprise. When people on Giftie Giftie look at their own list, they just see what they entered. They can't see what's been reserved, or by whom.
Sometimes, though, people might see their list accidentally, when they're not signed in as themselves. (e.g., If my husband signs into Giftie Giftie on our home computer and then I use it to look at my list, I'll see the reservation info.) So we can't guarantee that people won't see what's been reserved on their own list, but we do our best to keep a secret.
Yes. If you make your list public, anyone with the URL can view it. To reserve gifts, they'll need to type in a name or email address, but they won't need to sign in.
But, if you make your list private, only people with your permission can see your list. To figure out if someone has your permission, we need to know who they are -- so they'll need to create an account and sign in.
When you see a gift on someone's list that you want to get them, click the "Reserve" button. The button will turn red so others can see that the gift is reserved. (But the person who creates the list doesn't see reservation info.)
When you browse someone's gift list, you'll see a "tag" icon next to each gift name. The tag is red for gifts that have been reserved.
To reserve, click the Actions button to the right of a gift.
Signing Up
Anyone who wants to create a list needs a unique account on the site, so we can keep track of which lists belong to which people.
There are a couple ways to create an account for someone who doesn't have an email address:
- Create a kid account. If you want to create an account for a child, you can create special a special kid account. (You'll need to have your own account first.)
- Get an email address from a free online service (e.g., Yahoo, Google).
Creating gift lists
Just go to the My Gift List tab, and enter items one at a time in the blue area. (Click on "Say more" to enter more detail, or add a link.) Then click the "Add this Gift" button.
To edit or delete an item, click the icons next to each item in the list.
With a public list, anyone with the URL can view the list. To reserve gifts, they'll need to type in a name or email address, but they won't need to sign in.
If you make your list private, only GiftieGiftie members with your permission can see your list. For more information about giving people permission, see the Sharing gift lists section.
Absolutely! Our Kid Accounts feature lets you create a separate wish list for each kid, all accessible from your "parent" account.
Kid Accounts have two big advantages:
- Your kids will automatically be members of any groups you belong to.
- It's easy to switch between "kid" mode (to add a gift to your kid's wish list) and "parent" mode (to reserve a gift from their list).
To get started, create your main "parent" account first (if you don't already have one), and then click "Create wish lists for kids" on the main tab. Once your kid accounts are set up, you can manage them in the account settings area. To get there, click "Account" in the upper right corner of the screen.
Of course, if your kid's old enough to manage their own list, they can create a regular account -- they'll just need an email address to sign up.
Sharing gift lists
Giftie Giftie is a great holiday stress-reducer for families. All you have to do is create a group and invite family members to join. Once they do, they'll be able to see each other's lists and create their own.
Once you've created your gift list, there are a few ways you can share it with people:
- Send an invitation
On the My Gift List tab, click the "Invite People" link in the upper right. This will help you create an email inviting people to join GiftieGiftie and share gift lists with you.
- Send a link
On the My Gift List tab, click the Sharing Options button in the upper right. The text under "Gift List Address" is the link to your list -- copy it into an email, website, Facebook page, etc. (Important: Make your list public if you want people to see it without signing in.)
- Create a gift group
This is the perfect option if you've got a family or a group of friends who exchange gifts. With a group, everyone can see everyone else's gift list -- not just yours. Go to the Browse tab, and click "Create a New Group."
If someone's showing up as a friend but you want to add him to a group, go to Groups and Friends (in the Account section), find his name, and click "Add to group." Put a checkmark next to any groups the person should belong to. You'll see him as a "pending" member of the group right away, while we check with him to make sure he wants to join.
You can create as many gift group as you need: One for our family, one for your in-laws, one for your friends, one for your friendly in-laws(!). Lot's of GiftieGiftie users have two groups -- one for his family and one for hers -- but there's no limit to the number of groups that you create or that you belong to. Remember:
- Your kid accounts are automatically linked to each group that you create
- Other users will need to be invited to join each group you want them to participate in
You only need to enter a gift on your list once; all your groups see your gift list. Also, all your groups see which of your gifts are reserved -- even with multiple groups, you won't get duplicate gifts.
You can manage invitations by clicking on the Invitations like on your account page. You can re-send, edit or delete any of your invites. Or, contact us at support@giftiegiftie.com, and we'll take care of it for you.
About the Site
 Ha! Giftie Giftie is run by Jack and Maureen, a husband-and-wife team who live in Redwood City, California. We have a nine-year-old daughter and two full-time jobs, and work on Giftie Giftie for fun in what little time we can scrape together.
As of November 2011, Giftie Giftie has 7,500 registered users, who have created nearly 30,000 gift ideas. During the holidays, we have a hundred or so users sign in each day.
Sorry! Our QA department is... well, we don't have one. Giftie Giftie is run by a husband-and-wife team as a hobby. Much as we'd like to catch problems before you see them, it doesn't always work out that way.
If you see anything awry on the site, please let us know. It's quite possible that we haven't heard about it yet.
The site makes a tiny bit of money when users click on the Amazon suggestions and buy things from Amazon. But it's not much. Bottom line: We're not here for the money. We have fun building the site and get a kick out of seeing people use it. We hope you enjoy it too.
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Have another question? Ask us or send an email to support@giftiegiftie.com |
