Plastic pre-loaded gift cards are big business these days and it seems almost everyone has given or at least received one for a birthday gift!
Have you ever bought a gift card? If you haven’t, what would you spend? Where do you expect to see them in a store? And if you’re a retailer, are you stocking them?
Fill out our fun, quick, anonymous gift card survey and let us know!
Ever felt a bit down and went straight for foods and other items that are old favourites? And on holidays when you were raring to go you were in the mood to try something something new?
US psychologists have confirmed that people prefer items which are tried-and-true that they’re already familiar with (this is not the same thing as items that are regifted, though!) when they’re feeling depressed and that they seek novelty and excitement when they’re happy. In fact, familiar experiences and products are boring when people are in a fantastic mood…
University of California, San Diego psychology professor Piotr Winkielman found that the value of familiarity depends on the context. Familiarity infers safety which is ideal when people feel upset (”comfort” foods like chocolate for break-ups, anyone?) but the same-old, same-old becomes borning when all is going well.
In terms of gifts, this means you need to pay careful attention to the mood and the circumstances of the person receiving the gift.
Anniversary gifts - generally a wedding anniversary is a happy time - give them something unusual to spark some excitement!
Bereavement gifts - this is when you turn up with soup, food, a favourite CD or book - no surprises are appreciated.
Birthday gifts - ooooh…. This depends if it’s a birthday they’re looking forward to (which is generally every birthday for people aged under 21) in which case give ‘em some novelty, but if it’s a “milestone”, they might be a bit upset about the perceived passing of time - give them something familiar…
Christmas gifts - even if it never turns out the way you expect, nearly everyone looks forward to Christmas. Novelty works when people are happy which is why Kris Kringles can be a hit (finding all those weird things under $20).
Engagement gifts - again, give them something fun and new to look forward to.
New baby gifts - this depends… Is it a long-awaited first child? Baby gifts that are really unique are ideal. But what about a couple who’ve just discovered they’re about to have twins (and they already have a child or two)? If they’re feeling stressed about the expense and extra responsibility, perhaps you should choose something they already know and like. Like money.
Valentine’s Day gifts - get fresh by keeping it fresh. Nothing makes a romance get boring faster than the same-old flower and chocolate routine.
Wedding gifts - this is traditionally a very happy time so gifts that are out of the ordinary would be great. Then again if you’re Liz Taylor and you’re marrying yet again, you can add to your place settings.
If you spend more than a few hours a week online, your time could earn you free gift cards that could cover someone’s anniversary, baby, birthday, Christmas, Mother’s Day or housewarming gift.
If you live in Canada, the UK or US (sadly it’s restricted to those three countries so far or I would sign up in a flash), you can sign up for free with Swagbucks.
You earn gift cards - and plenty of other merchandise which could be good to cross off certain gift-giving obligations (such as those endless children’s birthday parties for example!) - simply for surfing the net.
After registering, you install a Swagbucks toolbar at the top of your screen. It will give you results from Google and Ask.com which will periodically allocate you a certain digital dollar value per search. You can also earn SwagBucks by referring friends to join, filling out polls, shopping in the Swagbucks mall and recycling mobile phones.
Facebook, Twitter and other social media websites have made it possible for everyone to know about an amazing deal in your neck of the woods or your area of interest.
A number of US social media merchants have sprung up where merchants can entice new customers to try a new product, get an amazing deal on a close-out item or to be one of the first to trial a brand-new service.
The biggest and best-known are Groupon (which pays you $10 if you refer friends), LivingSocial, BuyWithMe and NimbleBuy.
You simply sign up with one or more of them to get daily emailed deals for your city (or for national and/or online-only deals).
Is there a catch? Natch. To make it worth the merchants’ while, they require a minimum number of customers to ”buy in” to the deal. So if you’re keen say to pick up a luxurious massage in Miami or a baby hamper in Baltimore for a ridiculously reduced price, you’ll need a number of others in your area wanting that same thing.
Which is where social media comes in. You Twitter it and/or facebook it like crazy to your mates and get them to pass the word on so you can all benefit from the low, low prices.
This could be great if you’re seeking some bargains on upcoming gifts for an anniversary, birthday, christening, engagement, Mothers’s Day, new baby or wedding gift.
If you can add a little magic to their birthday, you make your favourite Pisces so much happier.
Pisces are the agony aunts of the zodiac who people come to with their problems, wanting a sympathetic ear, a hug and a little wallow of self-pity. Unlike say, Capricorns or Scorpios who’ll gruffly tell you to snap out of it, Pisces really want to help.
When they’re at their best, they’re selfless, kind, compassionate, sensitive and supportive. To BE at their best, they need support in return, which means remembering their birthday.
You can make their birthday a wonderful one by making an effort. Since Pisces rules the feet, they are especially fond of shoes. Teenage and twenty-something Pisces boys will always appreciate another pair of cool runners. Pisces women usually have an enormous shoe collection so a shoe bag would make a thoughtful modest gift. Splashing out? Give them a gift certificate for beautiful shoes - and you get extra brownie points if they’re for handmade and/or customised shoes.
You can also give them magic! They love tinkly windchimes, terrariums, crystal ornaments that refract the light into a thousand little rainbows and velvet throws which are vaguely Steve-Nicks. Most New Age shops have a “Oh, wow!” item that’s sure to intrigue them.
If they’ve got the right lifestyle, you could melt a Pisces heart by giving them a little puppy or kitten - bonus points if you go out to the local animal shelter to go and save one. If they live in an apartment, you could give them a pair of goldfish and decorate the bowl with a castle, treasure chest, diver and plants. Very calming (that’s why dentists have aquariums in their waiting rooms).
Neptune, which rules Pisces, rules glamour and they can’t have enough of it. Take them away from their ordinary humdrum existence with items which suggest an otherworldly, special glittering place. It could be as fun as a silk palm tree for them to pretend they’re in the tropics or a beautiful artwork which takes their breath away. If they were in a movie, what character would they play? Ask them. If they haven’t had it done yet, treat to them to a feng shui consultation.
Music simply transports them. A guitar could thrill a male Pisces while the girls might be happy to spend hours browsing through CDs thanks to a gift card. Again, you can’t go wrong with an iTunes card.
Most of them just lurrrve getting their fortunes done, too. You could delight them no end by paying for them to enjoy a reading with a clairvoyant, psychic, numerologist, astrologer or tarot card reader. Many Pisces might like a gift voucher to their favourite esoteric bookshop.
Some of them have weak constitutions and like their polar opposites, Virgo, can be inclined to get a little too ill a little too often. Give them a boost with a consultation with a homeopath. If you don’t want to go that far, a massage will do. Flush with cash? Treat them to a swanky health retreat for their birthday.
Those Pisces who are not of a materialistic bent will appreciate you giving money to their favourite charity on their behalf. Make sure you include the receipt in their card.
What do you give your wife for Christmas and her 30th birthday who you’ve scorned publicly and worldwide?
If you’re Tiger Woods, you give your deeply unimpressed wife Elin Nordegren a cool $300 million in cash so she can buy hereself a little something. Hell - you could buy an entire department store chain with that.
By Valentine’s Day he would have been emptying his bank account faster than his little Capricorn Sun could have handled thanks to his dwindling sponsorships, so he “economised” with a $3 million customised sport boat for Elin, called um, Solitude so she could go diving, which is her favourite sport.
Mother’s Day is just around the corner. I’d love to see what he comes up with then. I honestly don’t think he can buy his way (or his wife back) out of this one…
It’s In The Stars is seeking a new couple to Be the Face of LoveStars for 2010: could it be you and your partner?
You could win a $AUD500 gift card to spend at your favourite retailer, or one of 5 x BabyStars boxed gift certificates worth $109 each to redeem for your own BabyStars report or to give your favourite new parent for their new baby or as a unique christening gift.
LoveStars reports make ideal personalised gifts for an anniversary, birthday, engagement, Valentine’s Day or wedding and yes, you will need to have one of your own (or borrow a friend’s LoveStars report) to take part.
Set up your camera timer so you can take a great shot of you and your partner enjoying reading your LoveStars report - maybe you’re wearing your wedding outfit, curled up on the sofa, or in a hammock!
For your chance to win, you’ll need to email at least one shot in low resolution (72dpi) and high resolution (300dpi).
Click here for more details. Competition closes 31 March 2010.
A Canadian domain name company has created a gift card that lets anyone buy their own .tel domain name when they buy a coffee at their favourite Canadian Blenz Coffee franchise.
.Tel names are like “live” digital business cards which direct customers to a person’s or a business’s contact details - such as their phone, mobile, website, email addresses, social media profiles and so on. Optimised for mobile phone content, you can try out mobile campaigns, for example.
An original birthday gift (card) for your favourite business-owner, it’s also a fantastic housewarming gift idea for twentysomethings who are always moving too, as it lets them provide one ongoing point of contact at SamSmith.tel, for example.
As you can probably guess, gift-giving is a pretty big hobby of mine but for some people, it’s not so easy let alone enjoyable!
LeverageCard is a very handy website which combines a few time- and money-saving features to do with gifts.
If you’re likely to forget it’s Aunt Martha’s birthday again, or you’ll be in the doghouse if you overlook your anniversary once more, enter all the key dates in the Calendar section and they’ll remind you when it’s coming up. I estimated a lazy 23 gifts that I have to budget for and remember - you could have many more!
Got a gift card or three lying around in your desk drawer? And lemme guess, you’re one of those people who forget (arghhh! how can anyone forget!?) to use it…Don’t be an ungrateful gift card recipient: Enter the store, value and expiry date in Gift Cards. You can buy, swap or check its balance and in some cases, earn interest!
Belong to a couple of airline and hotel programs? (I have a rapidly dwindling account with United Airlines (mainly because they don’t have a gift program that I can cash them in for) and now concentrate on Velocity which is tied to Virgin Blue, Atlantic and Emirates which offers flights, accommodation AND gifts.
Get all your updates in one place, see how many points you’ve earned (which could pay for an upcoming birthday gift or maybe you could put something away for Christmas?) in Points & Miles.
And finally, based on the gift cards and loyalty programs you belong to, you’ll receive targeted offers in the Offers & Savings section.
Sorted!
Too many people complain that manners have gone out the window but one crafty (and seemingly thoughtful) way to get them to send you (and others) a thank you card for their anniversary, birthday, christening, Christmas, engagement, housewarming, new baby or wedding gift is creating personalised stamps with their faces on them!
Get a sweet shot of their littlest member to join the family, of the couple looking super glamorous or maybe it’s your favourite one of yourself that was taken years ago when you weighed less and had more hair. Who cares!
You can order them from Royal Mail in the UK from just GBP7.58 for 10 stamps, from Australia Post for $AUD24.00 for 20 stamps and from Zazzle for the United States Postal Services from $US18.95 for 20 stamps.
You can now even put your logo in there so a sheet of these could be a great gift idea for a friend or family member who’s just begun their own company!