"Of course, the recipient can always opt not to actually use the gifted money..." That's some A+ writing there, Lou.
I think the idea of NOT letting the recipient opt out of the gifted money is much better. GiftRocket, get on that!
GiftRocket (YC W11) Lets You Send Gifts That Can Be Redeemed At Any Location
11–20 of 45 posts
Re: GiftRocket (YC W11) Lets You Send Gifts That Can Be Redeemed At Any Location
#12So I pay a company 5% for the privilege of sending my friend blocks away so I can put money in his paypal account?
You always have to pay to send someone money. And a giftcard for a store or restaurant also requires your friend to go there.
I had only heard of Treatful in this space. They said a common use case they didn't expect was buying a gift card for someone on the other side of the country. A lot of times people wanted to get a friend a gift for a local joint in NYC but obviously couldn't pick it up. Makes sense.
Re: GiftRocket (YC W11) Lets You Send Gifts That Can Be Redeemed At Any Location
#13So I pay a company 5% for the privilege of sending my friend blocks away so I can put money in his paypal account?
Gift cards have lots of costs...some hidden (expired cards, lost cards), some more explicit (shipping costs, service fees) These dont expire. I think it's pretty cool.
At that point, why not just transfer the money yourself? I get that gift cards > cash for gifts, but if you're worried about the issues you mentioned, you might as well give the person the cash and tell them you know this great new restaurant you think they'd love. It's like you're saying, "Hey, wouldn't it be cool if there were gift cards that didn't have these drawbacks?" It exists. It's money.
Re: GiftRocket (YC W11) Lets You Send Gifts That Can Be Redeemed At Any Location
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
You always have to pay to send someone money. And a giftcard for a store or restaurant also requires your friend to go there.
I believe paypal doesn't charge you anything when you send your money to your friend on a non-business issue.
That's only true if you pay them out of your Paypal account or linked bank account. If you want to pay with a credit card, you have to pay a fee.
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_display-receiving...
Re: GiftRocket (YC W11) Lets You Send Gifts That Can Be Redeemed At Any Location
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
You always have to pay to send someone money. And a giftcard for a store or restaurant also requires your friend to go there.
I believe paypal doesn't charge you anything when you send your money to your friend on a non-business issue.
Not any more. "Our fees are now the same for all accounts - Personal, Premier, and Business."
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_display-fees-outs...
Re: GiftRocket (YC W11) Lets You Send Gifts That Can Be Redeemed At Any Location
#16How many billions do people spend on gift cards each year? Must be a multi-billion market...and that's constrained by the fact that with normal gift cards merchants must actually opt-in to start offering gift cards. With this it seems like they're able to expand the market by offering "gift cards" to places that haven't opted in or signed up. That's brilliant.
Re: GiftRocket (YC W11) Lets You Send Gifts That Can Be Redeemed At Any Location
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not any more ridiculous than facebook virtual gifts that cost money: "So I can pay facebook $1 to send my friend a virtual beer that he can't drink?" Both are arguably ridiculous to any (hyper)rational person, but people are not rational.
It's no more ridiculous than a normal gift card: "Wait, you paid $25 so I can have $25 that can only be spent in one location?" That's a cost right there...if flexibility had a price I'd bet it'd be >5%.
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Re: GiftRocket (YC W11) Lets You Send Gifts That Can Be Redeemed At Any Location
#18So I pay a company 5% for the privilege of sending my friend blocks away so I can put money in his paypal account?
You always have to pay to send someone money. And a giftcard for a store or restaurant also requires your friend to go there.
Me: "Hey dude, there's this great new Mexican place on your block. Here's $30. Enjoy." = free
Me: "Hey dude, check out this website that's going to tell you about this great new Mexican place on your block. Here's $30. Enjoy." = not free
Re: GiftRocket (YC W11) Lets You Send Gifts That Can Be Redeemed At Any Location
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
Gift cards have lots of costs...some hidden (expired cards, lost cards), some more explicit (shipping costs, service fees) These dont expire. I think it's pretty cool.
At that point, why not just transfer the money yourself? I get that gift cards > cash for gifts, but if you're worried about the issues you mentioned, you might as well give the person the cash and tell them you know this great new restaurant you think they'd love. It's like you're saying, "Hey, wouldn't it be cool if there were gift cards that didn't have these drawbacks?" It exists. It's money.
True. But my point is that tons of people already use gift cards even though you and I can agree it may not be a rational choice. There's something about the psychology of giving/receiving cash that our culture has not really accepted. It's not thoughtful enough even if you suggest where the recipient spends the money. If they can make Gift Rocket socially acceptable (by playing on the inherent problems with gift cards today) then I think it could be big.
Re: GiftRocket (YC W11) Lets You Send Gifts That Can Be Redeemed At Any Location
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
I believe paypal doesn't charge you anything when you send your money to your friend on a non-business issue.
Not any more. "Our fees are now the same for all accounts - Personal, Premier, and Business." https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_display-fees-outs...
From your own link:
Free when the money comes from PayPal balance or bank account. 2.9% + $0.30 USD when the money comes from a debit or credit card or PayPal Credit (the sender decides who pays this fee).