Finding gifts online this season

Friday, December 8, 2006

First, welcome to my new readers. I noticed a substantial spike in my traffic yesterday when the latest 9rules members were announced. Thanks to everyone who emailed, messaged, and left their congratulations- I do appreciate it.

On to business: you basically have two weeks left to get your holiday shopping done. If you’re like me you’re probably one of many things: a) lazy b) scared of large crowds of determined women or c) uncreative. Luckily the internet is here to remedy each of my shortcomings. Since I shop for nearly everything online these days: clothes, toys and yes, even food why not others’ gifts? I searched for some simple gift finding tools online and here is what I’ve found.

Best Buy WOW Factor Finder

A lot of people in my life enjoy gadgets and toys nearly as much as I do. Best Buy has built a decent site that helps provide gift ideas for those who need something electronic this season. I didn’t find this site as useful as I was originally led to believe. There are a ton of questions which lead to pretty self-evident gifts (Does this person have a desktop computer?). But, if you’re looking to shop for a nerd and have no idea where to start, this is certainly your place.

Target Gift Finder

I can’t think of anything I can’t buy at Target (or Wal-Mart) and that’s why I’ve found this tool to be the most useful. You don’t have to enter a lot of information and answer a lot of questions to get a big list of neat ideas. Personally, the time I spent browsing sparked some ideas of my own.

Overstock.com Gift Finder

Here’s a site that’ll provide you with an eclectic mixture of gift ideas. If you need something unique that most people wouldn’t think about getting then Overstock is a great choice. Like Target, a few categories and the tool with provide you with a well-categorized list of gifts for just about everyone you can think of. Not to mention, you’ll probably end up saving a lot of money buying it here rather than anywhere else.

Gift Finder

Here’s a site that provides maybe the largest compilation of gifts and lists. You fill out a simple questionnaire and are presented with a plethora of gifts from a ton of online stores. The gifts are diverse and I’ve found gifts for girlfriends that ranged from something fun ($5.00) to a dozen gold roses ($499.99). If you’re really in the dark about where to even begin I’d suggest spending some time here.

Hopefully those of us that always struggle will have a little more success this season thanks to these sites. If you have any others you’ve found useful be sure to share them in the comments.