GoGivit Blog

Buying clothing for a picky dresser can be a bit of a risk. As a notoriously picky dresser, I should know. The difference between items that I like and don’t like is often very subtle, and rarely makes sense to any one but myself. Most of the time when people buy me clothes they get stuck in the back of the closet or taken back. If I’m not there with you when you buy it, chances are I won’t like it. That said, some of my favorite clothing items were those that I received as gifts, most of which I never would have considered buying on my own.

For many, shopping is a very social event.  Having someone with you, other than a salesperson, can make it tremendously easier to find clothing that will flatter you.  As is often in my case, friends will push me to try something on that I otherwise would have ignored and sometimes those end up being my favorite items.

Using Gogivit.com, the free online gift idea collaboration tool, finding clothes online for a picky dresser can become a social event.

Since Gogivit is linked to each individual’s facebook account, Gogivit uses their self declared interests to make gift suggestions. After looking through the many suggestions that Gogivit provided for me, my friends and family can give me suggestions of what they think I would look good wearing.

Next time I log in to facebook I get a notification alerting me that items have been added to my idea pool and links me to my gogivit page. I can then rate and review their various suggestions or use what they have picked to provide suggestions of my own. If an item comes in more than one color and/or pattern, I can leave a comment letting them know that while I would never be caught dead wearing the bright purple one, I absolutely love the pink version.

My friends and family can also comment on the clothing in my gift pool telling me what they think of the item. A common comment for me is something along the lines of “Your clothes are all the same, you should get something fun like this. You’d look great in this shirt.”

Since all of this interaction is anonymous, when it comes time to open gifts I am still able to be surprised. And, because I am able to provide feedback to the various potential ideas in advance, all of my surprises are pleasant ones.

With Gogivit, not only do I like the clothes that people get for me, but it is now something that they can feel confident in doing whereas before it was an option for only the bravest of birthday shoppers.

Take the frustration out of shopping for picky dressers. Use Gogivit and enjoy finding a new shirt for that picky dresser in your life.

Choosing a thoughtful birthday gift can be a difficult task that many people no longer have the luxury to spend time doing. Finding and buying good gifts takes time and effort. To complicate things further, discovering what someone really wants while avoiding that awkward “what do you want me to buy you for your birthday?” conversation can be very difficult. Together, this is perhaps one of the main reasons that gift cards have become so popular recently. Though convenient for the giver, gift cards are not always convenient for the receiver. More importantly, they lack a personal touch that should central to every gift we give.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting that gift cards are always a bad idea. That couldn’t be farther from the truth.

When I bought my first house a few years ago several friends, knowing that I would be doing a lot of work on the house, got me gift cards to Lowe’s, which is right down the street.  The next year for my birthday my parents got me a new bedding set with a gift card to Bed Bath and Beyond to pick out a new pillow.

Gift card done right

My dad often uses gift cards in thank you notes. Being a managing partner of Adidas Team Dynasty Volleyball, a Kansas City volleyball club, he is often dependent upon volunteer and community assistance to help make club events function properly and at prices the club can afford to pay. His favorite thank you is one he sends to coffee drinkers that says “Thanks a latte” into which he places a $5, $10, or $15 Starbucks card, depending on the motivation for the card.

All of these examples have a common thread, they are all gifts that the recipient can easily use. When I was in college my mom would send me motivational notes every once in a while with Chipotle gift cards. This was great as not only did I love eating there but it was right next to campus and perfect for when I needed to stay late to study. My brother, on the other hand, was about an hour away from the nearest Chipotle and would end up selling his cards.

While a gift card might work perfectly for some people, for others they can end up feeling more like a nuisance than a gift.

TowerGroup, who does marketing research on such topics as gift cards, reports that for 2010, approximately $91 billion was spent on gift cards just for the holiday season. They expect that number to rise to $100 billion by 2012. Though due to recent changes in regulation to the gift card market breakage (the value left unused on gift cards) is down significantly from previous years, it is important to note that many gift card recipients end up selling their cards at a loss due to inability or lack of desire to visit the stores where the cards can be used as was the case with my younger brother and Chipotle.

Gift cards, though the retailers might try to convince you otherwise, are not a one size fits all gift. If your gift or thank you concept would benefit from a gift card, and you know that the recipient will be able to utilize the card, then by all means, use it. If, however, your motivation for giving a gift card is that you can’t think of anything better to give, then perhaps you might benefit from one of the various gift suggestion services available. As a historically bad gift giver, I have recently started using Gogivit.com to help me find gifts. Not only does it remove much of the frustration that I had previously experienced while attempting to buy gifts but it also ensures that the recipient will enjoy receiving what I get for them.

While gift cards can be a very convenient gift for the giver, they typically lack the personal touch that most want in the gifts they give.  So, you might ask, how can you find a great gift if you don’t have a lot of time?  Use www.GoGivit.com.  We designed our service to simplify the process of finding great gifts to celebrate the important events of the wonderful people in our life.  If you give it a try you will find that gift giving is no longer the chore you once put off.  With GoGivit.com you can become the excellent gift giver you’ve always wanted to be.

Finding occasion appropriate gifts that are both wanted and needed is a challenge for many people. I, for one, am horrible about guessing what people want and even when I am able to figure out what someone would like to receive as a gift I almost always get the wrong version. Or at least not the one they were hoping for. For some reason this gets me all stressed out and causes me to make horrible gift choices. Not only am I bad at guessing what people want to receive but I am equally unable to tell others what I want them to get me. This makes for some very awkward conversations for what should really be times of celebration and joy.

Gogivit was designed to remove all stress from this process by providing a way in which I am able to anonymously suggest potential gifts to my otherwise hapless victims and receive feedback, both from them and from mutual friends who are also suggesting potential gifts. Essentially, we’ve taken the “what do you want for your birthday/anniversary/graduation/etc?” conversation and removed from it the awkwardness and discomfort.

The gift receiver is also spared discomfort by not being put on the spot by the “what do you want?” question and instead is asked “what do you think about this?” which, for most people, is a much easier question to answer.

Gogivit.com is very easy to use and takes about a minute to activate and set up your account. This is a quick video that demonstrates the process http://vimeo.com/39910800 . Currently, the app is limited to birthdays but will soon be expanded to allow users to create their own events such as anniversaries, graduations, baby showers, or any other of lives many joys that should be celebrated with friends.