NOT RE-GIFTING

I do not believe in giving someone a gift for their birthday or a holiday (even though I do it and have a fully stocked walk-in gift closet) because it is expected and very rarely meets the expectations of the recipient. I like to give a gift just for no reason at all when I find something I know the receiver will enjoy. But the “ high expectation" theory problem is going to be solved by a patent that Amazon.com has applied for. Their system will allow the intended recipient to REFUSE the gift before it arrives thus releasing them from the headache of sending it back to the warehouse for a credit.



The Washington Post wrote, ”These gifts sent via some warehouse many miles away are not only unwanted, but also a multimillion-dollar headache: They have to be repacked, labeled, dropped off and shipped back to Amazon's Island of Misfit Toys. Then a new present has to be packed, labeled and shipped again. Efficient, the process is not.


Amazon is working on a solution that could revolutionize digital gift buying. The online retailer has quietly patented a way for people to return gifts before they receive them and the patent documents even mention poor Aunt Mildred. Amazon's innovation, not ready for this Christmas season, includes an option to "Convert all gifts from Aunt Mildred," the patent says. "For example, the user may specify such a rule because the user believes that this potential sender has different tastes than the user." In other words, the consumer could keep an online list of lousy gift-givers whose choices would be vetted before anything ships. “

The complicated explanation of the 12-page patent is summarized by Amazon as:


System and method of offering media content


A system and method of offering media content is disclosed. In one embodiment, the method includes receiving a selection of a disaggregated media content item from a user computer at a server via an online site that offers a catalog of items. The method also includes identifying a catalog item related to the selected disaggregated media content item. Further, the method includes displaying a detail interface via the online site, the detail interface including details related to the disaggregated media content item and a recommendation of the identified catalog item. A graphical user interface (GUI) is disclosed that includes a song-level detail page including a plurality of details related to an individual song available for download via an online site. The GUI includes at least one recommendation of at least one other item associated with a performer of the individual song, where the other item(s) are offered via the online site.


While still difficult to understand, here is Amazon’s simpler version: "It sometimes occurs that gifts purchased on-line do not meet the needs or tastes of the gift recipient. In some cases, concern that the gift recipient may not like a particular gift may cause the person sending the gift to be more cautious in gift selection. The person sending the gift may be less likely to take a chance on a gift that is unexpected but that the recipient might truly enjoy, opting instead for a gift that is somewhat more predictable but less likely to be converted to something else."

So while in the past, when someone received a crummy gift, they would either return it or re-gift it to another unlucky soul, a new phrase will come into play, “NO GIFTING.”


The conversation would occur like this: ”What did you get for Christmas?” The reply could be, "I no-gifted a present from my Aunt and got the sweater I wanted instead.” I get the credit when it becomes the phrase of the year in 2011!