Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is a summary of a current article from the Retail TouchPoints website.
During the holiday season or for large occasions such as weddings, consumers often frantically scramble to find and purchase appropriate gifts for friends and family members. Gift purchasing can be expensive for individual consumers, especially during these occasions.
GiftStarter, a Seattle startup, has launched a crowdfunded gifting platform designed to enable buyers to combine individual budgets to give better gifts to their loved ones. Users can launch a gift campaign on GiftStarter, search from more than four million products on the site, then invite family and friends to pitch in through the platform.
GiftStarter also offers a Gift Concierge service that works like a personal shopping assistant to carefully help curate a list of gift ideas.
The payment parsing platform breaks the gift up into pieces in a visual mosaic illustrating how much each contributor will pay. Each person can pitch in as little or as much money as they wish, and GiftStarter eliminates the need to collect money or chase people down for cash.
![[Image: GiftStarter]](/public/images/discussions/18652/giftstarter-still.jpg)
The average amount spent on a GiftStarter gift is $381. The site charges an eight percent service fee split, among the contributors to any GiftStarter campaign.
In a joint interview with Investorideas.com, co-founding mom entrepreneurs, Arry Yu and Christie Gettler, said every participant in the gift gets to include a personal photo and a personal message with their contribution.
"GiftStarter helps those who want to participate participate in a way that is appropriate for their personal situation," the founders said. "At the end of the day, it's about the community coming together to give an amazing gift."
GiftStarter primarily offers major and minor brands, although $250 gift cards from several retailers are available. Nordstrom is one of the few retailers selling its private label Nordstrom Collection on the site.
GiftStarter's competitors include Shareagift and eBay's Group Gifts, although some similar crowdfunded gift giving sites, including Givted, Gift Gather and Aggregift, are no longer operating.