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July 17, 2010

Giiv – Digital Messages, Real Gifts

Giiv is an application that offers a new way to deliver gifts to friends. Rather than giving the gift in person or mailing it through the postal service, Giiv delivers gifts via text message. Users can find a gift online that they want to send, enter their friend’s cell phone number along with a short note, and then sit back as a special code is delivered to the recipient via text message. That code can then be taken to a preselected local retailer to be used in redeeming the gift right away.

You’ll need to add funds to your Giiv account before you can begin sending small gifts to your colleagues and friends. Include credit card information for as many cards as you wish, and select one to be used as your primary funding source. After that, you’re ready to start picking out gifts. Shop by category, view the most popular gifts, or search for a specific keyword to see if the item you’ve got in mind is available through the site. Once you’ve chosen an item, such as a dozen doughnuts from Krispy Kreme, enter the phone number of the person you’re sending it to and a choose from a list of preselected messages like “Happy Birthday!” and “Thinking of you!” Giiv will charge your credit card for the purchase without any other work on your part.

Within an instant of sending the gift, your friend will receive a text message with your name, your note, and a special Giiv code that can be used to pick the present up from their nearest participating retailer. If your recipient is someone who has never received a gift from Giiv before, the application offers an extensive guide to picking up gifts on its website that clearly explains where to go and how to redeem the special code for the actual present. For people who enjoy giving gifts but don’t always have time to hand deliver presents in person, Giiv offers a super quick way to distribute gift cards to friends.

Practical Uses:

  • Send a graduation gift to your niece who lives across the country
  • Say thank you to your colleagues at work by buying everyone Amazon gift cards
  • Surprise your girlfriend with a gift card for a massage
  • Buy holiday presents at the last minute without worrying they won’t arrive on time

Insider Tips:

  • Browse gifts by most popular, recently viewed, or featured
  • Add as many credit cards for funding your purchases as you wish
  • Create a profile of yourself for the site
  • Save your friends’ contact information for future use

What we liked:

  • Facebook app makes it even easier to send presents to your online friends
  • Users can chose a pre-written message to go along with their gift
  • Saves environmental resources by sending gift codes digitally rather than printing the gift card on paper or plastic
  • Gift recipients can get more information about their present by typing their mobile phone number into the site

What we didn’t like:

  • Giiv charges a small fee for each gift send through the service
  • Some less tech-savvy recipients might not be sure what to do with a gift received through text message

Alternatives:

Company Info:

  • Launched: 2009
  • Privately Held
  • Headquarters: Los Angeles, California
  • Founded by: Michelle Crames
  • Web site: http://www.giiv.com

Costs:

  • $0.99 convenience fee on all gifts sent

Comments

  1. Thanks Stephanie for the great review! We’d love to send you a thank you gift 🙂 Email me your cell. Thanks again!
    Alexis
    Giiv.com

  2. Include credit card information for as many cards as you wish

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  3. Shop by category, view the most popular gift

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