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You know how sometimes the gift you really want is cash or a gift card, but people often prefer to give you physical gifts that you can open and admire? Imagin
by jawns 3y ago
You know how sometimes the gift you really want is cash or a gift card, but people often prefer to give you physical gifts that you can open and admire?
Imagine a line of faux jewelry that is marked up to real-jewelry prices and that, unbeknownst to the gift giver, comes with a hidden gift card code. So somebody asks you what you'd like for your birthday and you say, "Oh, I'd really like some Lagniappe brand jewelry," and they go out and buy you a $50 necklace that's actually worth only a buck or two, but has a gift card code worth $45 on the underside of the box.
You thank them profusely for the lovely necklace, they feel good for having bought you something besides a gift card, and you feel good that you can put $45 toward a new washing machine.
- lesostep 3y agoWouldn't it be simpler to sell $20-30 dollar jewelry for 50$ with explicit promise that this jewelry is very easy to return in exchange for the 50$ gift card? You could add RFC chips to them so people couldn't return counterfeits. Epoxy resin is good at covering chips. It would solve the problem of littering your house with cheap products, save the buyer the embarrassment of gifting something that looks like 2$ jewelry (it is noticeable when it is that cheap), and it makes easier for people to pretend that they actually want that necklace for the necklace and not for the gift card.
- westcort 3y agoThis is brilliant
- stoniejohnson 3y agoIsn't it super likely the gift buyer will realize what's up when making the purchase? There would have to be two websites or something.
- tasuki 3y ago> There would have to be two websites Yes. That... doesn't sound like a very hard technical challenge?
- digging 3y agoIt sounds like a very difficult social challenge though.
- stoniejohnson 3y agoding ding ding
- smallmancontrov 3y agoPlausible deniability can often short-circuit bullshit rituals. White lies are social lubricant. Come on, this isn't very advanced grass-touching here. I don't know if it will work, but I like the idea and admire the attempt.
- stoniejohnson 3y ago'advanced grass-touching' never change hn lol
- koolba 3y agoIs it? It just seems wasteful and unnecessery. Even gifts cards are pretty stupid for anyone that has access to a credit card. It’s strictly worse than having the actual cash for all but the unbanked (including kids).
- fish_pdtmgr 3y agoAgreed... my first thought was "wow, this would create a lot of unnecessary waste going into a landfill."
- j2bax 3y agoAwesome! Makes me think of this song: https://youtu.be/4s0KidJf5FQ?si=H56SCAivnsU6jy6W https://youtu.be/4s0KidJf5FQ?si=H56SCAivnsU6jy6W
- curtisblaine 3y agoThis sounds very useful, but isn't this service going to automatically fail as soon as it starts to be known because you can't market it to the intended audience (the gift-receivers) without marketing at the same time to the adversarial audience (the gift-givers)?
- pkoird 3y agoThis is such a first world problem. It's normalized in many 3rd world countries to give and receive cash (red envelopes). Directly not giving money and resorting to gift cards (and roundabout methods like these) just, doesn't make sense to my third world brain is all I'm saying.
- alex_lav 3y agoOkay, and what is your hope by making this comment?
- nitwit005 3y agoMany, meaning, not all. It's obviously a cultural thing. That red envelope idea is ancient. China and Vietnam that do the red envelope bit would be "second world" countries, incidentally, as they were part of the communist block under that old "three worlds" labeling.
- pkoird 3y agoMany countries in the Southeast Asia do it at least.
- rKarpinski 3y ago> China and Vietnam that do the red envelope bit would be "second world" countries, incidentally, as they were part of the communist block under that old "three worlds" labeling. Although China played both sides & its support is one of the larger factors for why the US won the cold war.
- corimaith 3y agoRed Envelopes are more of a formality where you more or less receive as much as you give out. People in Asia still do "first world" presents in Christmas or Birthdays or etc.
- mbs159 3y ago>This is such a first world problem. Indeed it seems that way. It's kind of funny and sad at the same time when people get frustrated over such things.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- reaperman 3y agoI love the thought! Just a friendly warning - gift cards attract the fraud industry. This could result in a wide array of undesirable effects. Make sure you or someone on your team or someone you can call up and consult with knows the industry of gift card fraud really well. This will be very helpful in early planning and feasibility studies.
- unsupp0rted 3y agoWe have taken control of your computer. Now go buy 6 necklaces and call us back.
- bbor 3y agoI mean... this is kinda... fraud... I guess not in the legal sense. Gift fraud. Christmas fraud!
- carlosjobim 3y agoThis is so incredibly narcissistic and mercantile. Being a grown up means you understand that you're not owed any gifts and that when somebody makes you a gift it is mainly for their pleasure and something to be grateful for, that they thought of you. These kind of people who think receiving gifts is some kind of entitlement are the same kind of people who start bringing up their diets when you invite them for dinner. Cold, calculating, reptilian. No human emotion or joy of life.
- fragmede 3y agoWait, hang on, not wanting to be served poison for dinner is a cold calculating reptilian thing to do? What else do these reptilians do? Run the government?
- carlosjobim 3y agoWhat these reptilians do is only think about themselves. If you're invited for dinner it doesn't mean that somebody owes you a meal. It means somebody wanted to make a nice gesture towards you and get to know you more intimately, perhaps to discuss important things. You eat something before you go, because it's not about the food. You can ask about the ingredients when you are at the table.
- matteason 3y agoSo people with allergies shouldn't tell the people who will be preparing food for them about their allergies before the food is served?
- carlosjobim 3y agoExactly. Because being invited for dinner is not about stuffing your belly for free, it is a social meeting with more important matters. So if you have an allergy or a diet, you can mention that when you're seated. The host can make something that suits you, and if they aren't able, you can just have the drinks. That's why you eat before going out to dinner, so you don't have to worry about your belly. And it is also very convenient in case if the cooking is just bad. I've noticed that these kind of social rules and politeness has been increasingly lost in people, and it is because of widespread narcissism. It's "me, me, me". The result is that people don't invite each other to dinners or other social gatherings, and everybody is worse off because of that.
- EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK 3y agowell, the secret will come out at the moment they google up that lagniappe jewelry.