Givers Guide to Gifting Online Services
When it comes to giving gifts it can be very difficult to pick the right gift and there seems to be no end to what can be chosen. In the modern, technological era gifts can be purchased online, and some gifts may even be for online, but there are so many options that purchasing a gift online, especially if the gift is a subscription to a website, may be more than a little intimidating. So, when it comes to picking the right subscription or membership online how can you be sure to have picked the right one?
Gift certificates are a very popular option; it gives the recipient the freedom to make a purchase of their choosing from the web or, where available, in-store with the only limitation being that the certificate must be used at the specific website or store. While some people may balk at such a gift, some may rejoice—they may find that in making a purchase that they have found somewhere that they love—but how do you choose where to get your gift certificate?
If you’re not sure what kind of service you should buy for someone, signing them up for a service that offers convenience for their everyday life may be a nice thought. Canadians can give the gift of cleaning with gift certificates to maid services withMolly Maid, and both Canadians and Americans can giftMerry Maidto friends and family. You can also give the gift of local, organic groceries withSpud.ca/Spud.com, with six locations in both Canada and the US (Calgary, Vancouver, and Victoria; Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle). Not only will your friends and family eat healthier, but because orders are placed from the convenience of your computer there is no over-spending or impulse buying, and the orders you place online are then delivered right to your door! Not only will this eliminate the dreaded chore of doing the weekly grocery shop, but it will also free up time that can be spent with friends and family.
Another great option for online gift giving is to purchase service subscriptions as gifts, and the number of different services available can be astounding. There are food service subscriptions where you pay a monthly service fee and receive a random assortment of goodies; there are subscriptions for health and beauty, as well as fashion; and most popular are the online entertainment subscriptions.
Netflixoffers instant access over your internet connection to hundreds of movies and TV shows, and is available for download on consoles (PS3, Wii, and Xbox) and as well on your computer, mobile phone, or tablet. The great thing about Netflix is its affordability; less than $8.00/month! No cable service provider can offer such a low rate, and because of this some people are turning away from the traditional cable and satellite companies for their entertainment needs to Netflix or similar services. One downfall to these services, likeHulu Plus(currently only available in the United States), is that the contents may not always be current, and if you live outside the United States there may be less movies and TV shows available to you.
For those coffee or tea connoisseurs in your life, a subscription toSteepster Selectmay be a great gift idea. With the purchase of a monthly subscription ($20/month for Craft Coffee, $17/month for Steepster Select) they will receive, at their door, samples of teas or coffees. No, these are not your Tetley and Maxwell House teas and coffees that will be delivered; these are artisan.
Of course coffee and tea may not be for everyone, and if your gift recipient is not a practicing vegetarian or vegan, theBacon of the Month Clubmay be a great fix. The price of the subscription, $185 for a six-month service, may seem a bit pricy at check-out, but works out to be in the end roughly $30/month. Bacon of the Month offers just that; you have the choice to receive either one or two packages of bacon per month for six or twelve months, and each package comes with a whopping 12-16oz of bacon; premium bacon!
Buying for a teenage girl? The internet has help for you there, too. Going the route of gift certificates, or gift purchases,Sephora.comhas you covered with a wide variety of products that any girl (or woman) can appreciate from skin and hair care to makeup from top of the line manufacturers.
Similar to the food subscription services there are also some beauty services, such asBirchbox($10/month) andBeauty Fix($50 every 3 months) that offer beauty products delivered to your house. Birchbox offers a collection of sample-sized products with the option to purchase full-sized products from the site; Beauty Fix sends you full sized beauty products that are customized to you every three months.
Unfortunately there are not as many subscription sites that cater to teenage boys as there are for girls, or the ones that may be attractive to these young boys are inappropriate for their age.
If you are purchasing a gift for someone, online is starting to be a popular place to turn, and there are numerous different sites that offer unique services, either as a pay-per-use or as a subscription. Gift certificates are a great way to introduce friends and family to new shops, or treat them to their favorite online or in-store shops, and in the digital era finding the right site for subscription or gift certificate is no more than a simple search away.
