Gyft Lets Users “Re-Gyft” This Holiday Season

November 13, 2012

From: Mobile Gift Card App Gyft Starts Holiday Push With New Re-gifting Option, Weekly Giveaways | TechCrunch.

I’ve never been totally convinced that re-gifting is an inherently terrible thing.  All gifts are re-gifts – cash included. So, while I’d never wrap up a tired trinket or an unused lip gloss for a frugal holiday gift, I might re purpose a gift card to I store I barely enter if it’s the recipient’s favorite place on earth. This whole re-gifting process can be a little bit tedious when you’re dealing with plastic gift cards. Sometimes plastic gift cards will have your name written on them in sharpie. Sometimes, you’ll have forgotten how much is on them. And always, always when you re-gift a plastic gift card, you’ll wonder if it looks a little, well, old.

When Gyft rolled out this past September, I was thrilled, because not only does mobile gifting mean I can purchase and deliver gift cards instantaneously; I can also convert all of my existing plastic gift cards to mobile cards I’ll never lose and whose balances I’ll always be able to access.

What’s new with the Gyft app for this holiday season? Re-Gyft. Gyft now gives users a new “Gyft-it” option on existing mobile gift cards. The process is swift, sleek and discreet.

It’s a great gift-giving option if you’re hurting for cash, or if you’re under peer pressure to give presents to people you normally wouldn’t. And, the re-Gyft feature is expected to get even bigger and better after the holidays, when users should be able to trade Gyft cards amongst themselves or even sell them for cash.

Since its release, Gyft has added another 100 retailers like Nike, Gap, Toys R Us, Sears and Gamestop; about two-third of them fully support Gyft, which means you can purchase more Gyft cards and instantly update your balances. Expect much more in the future too. Since retailers can’t count gift cards as sales revenue until they’re redeemed, retailers should all be jumping in the Gyft bandwagon soon.

Want to win a great re-Gyfting opportunity? “Like” Gyft on Facebook and enter the current Social Sweepstakes – Right now, you could win a $50 Amazon Gyft card for yourself (or someone else).

 

Posted by Christiana

Just Because Makes Social Gift Giving an Everyday Thing

September 17, 2012

From: Give The Gift Of Startups: Just Because Lets You Give Freebies To Friends From The Startups You Love | TechCrunch.

Social gift giving apps are huge, so it makes sense we’re seeing so many of them. And I love that each one has its niche. There’s Wrapp, which lets users celebrate Facebook friends with smaller free or larger paid gift cards to select popular stores like Sephora. There’s Gyft, which mobilizes the plastic gift card giving business for hundreds of restaurants and retailers and lets users store all their gift cards in their smart phones. And then there’s Giftly, which skirts retailers all together and lets users give custom, personalized gift cards that can been redeemed for absolutely anything, anywhere.

Enter Just Because, a new IOS app that’s designed to let users give the gift of their favorite startups – no special occasions necessary. How does it work? Just Because lets users give their Facebook friends gift cards as exciting introductions to select startups searching to spread the word. Even though most of the gift cards are valued at $15-$20, they only cost $1 to send! In the world of social gift giving apps, Just Because is most akin to Wrapp, in that it lets users give gift cards to their Facebook friends for (next to) nothing. But, with Just Because, the focus is less on celebrating birthdays or anniversaries and more on celebrating some of the most amazing start-ups out there now.

”We’re trying to change the economics of what it means to send somebody a gift,” says [co-founder Matt] Hartman. “The use cases [for the app] are not just attached to special events, they’re more about the people and the brands: ‘this made me think of you – this brand – just because.’”

Just Because creates a huge opportunity for startups establishing themselves with new customers. And the appeal shows in the list of those companies offering gift cards through Just Because: Uber, BirchBox, TaskRabbit, Warby Parker, Trunk Club, Jack Threads, BetaBrand, MoxieJean, Bespoke Post, and Cheeky Chicago.

Just Because requires a Facebook login, and gift cards are delivered exclusively via Facebook wall posts. Each gift card can only be received once per person, and gift card codes can only be redeemed by first-time customers (to any given startup).

Just Because isn’t as snazzy as some other gift giving apps, but I’m in love with its concept and its offers are pretty first-rate. What’s up for grab in the Just Because store now? Oh, just $20 to Warby Parker, $15 to BucketFeet, and $20 to Uber, among other great $1 gift cards.

I definitely dig sharing startups you love with friends you love. Remember that kid who told you about TOMS? That word of mouth was the best present ever, and it didn’t even come with a gift card attached. So imagined what Just Because can do for you.