The Gift That's Always in Fashion

How digital cards have upped the 'gift certificate' game

I can recall a Christmas about 21 years ago when I received a Crate & Barrel gift certificate (yes, a gift certificate) as a Christmas gift. At the time, my husband and I were newlyweds and excited to have (another) excuse to shop at the addictive kitchen and gadget store. I can still picture in my head the perfect penmanship on the paper certificate, the shiny embossed Crate & Barrel logo on the top providing an extra element of specialness to what essentially was a piece of paper.

Back in those days, gift certificates were an exciting gift to receive.

Eventually those paper certs evolved to plastic gift cards and the rest is history. Gift cards became available for pretty much every store around. At first there was a novelty to them, but there came a period of time where many considered giving a gift card to be a bit lazy, as in 1) "You didn't bother to give any thought into what to get me so you settled for a gift card" or 2) "You forgot to get an actual gift and picked a gift card instead."

Luckily, those days are behind us.

Today, gift cards are exciting—and preferred—gifts to receive. In survey after survey, gift cards rank as a favorite gift to receive. For students, teachers, family members, friends, work colleagues and more, gift cards are a perfect gift. They take the guesswork out of gifting for the giver and deliver a gift that provides freedom to the recipient. Freedom to purchase what they want, whenever they want, in a size that always fits.

Personalize Your Digital Gifting With an e-Gift Card

The latest iteration of what began as paper certificates are all digital and simpler, yet more thoughtful, than ever. Our ThriftBooks e-Gift Cards have some very easy-to-use features which can provide a more personalized experience to your gift card gift.

1. Video Message. Add a video message to your e-gift card with a simple click of the "Add Video" button while checking out. Your personalized video message will play when the recipient opens the e-gift card. It's a great way to both send a gift and send a message at the same time. My personal favorite use of this is having my kids gather in front of the camera and record their sweet faces and voices sending a video message to their grandmother. It takes perhaps one minute to record and delivers a gift experience you cannot buy in a store.
2. Photo Message. Add a photo to your e-gift card for another personalized gift card experience. You can upload a favorite photo or take one with your computer or phone's camera. Like the video message, it takes mere minutes to do but provides a memorable gifting experience.
3. Personalized delivery ThriftBooks e-gift cards provide three ways to gift: email, text, or print out and hand deliver. Choose the delivery method that works best for your recipient.
4. Scheduled delivery time. Control when your recipient receives the e-gift card by simply scheduling when you want the email or text message sent. Choose immediate delivery or pick a date and time for future delivery. This is a great feature if you want to time the delivery to a certain event happening during the holiday but more than that, it is a helpful way to get ahead of the hustle and bustle of the days leading up to Christmas. Purchase today and schedule for delivery later and check one more thing off your list.

A ThriftBooks e-Gift card doesn't come as a paper gift certificate with an embossed logo and perfect penmanship writing out the value of the gift card. But it does come with a free book credit! For a limited time, purchase a gift card of $25 or more and receive a free book credit for yourself to use in January.

Happy e-gift card gifting! If you need ideas of what all someone can get with a ThriftBooks e-Gift Card, we added some products to this blog that we love!

Read more by Barbara Hagen