Not sure what to get them this holiday season? Did you check their wish list?

Wish Lists are becoming a common sight on some of our favourite online stores and people are using them in increasing numbers.

Think no one you know has one? You might be surprised. We randomly typed in the names of our friends and family as a test. The result? More people than we thought were using wish lists at sites like amazon.com and chapters.indigo.ca (great guys, but next time maybe you could tell us – it would take some of the guesswork out of shopping).

Most sites with wish lists allow you to search by name or email address. If you’re searching by an email address, there’s a good chance that any result that comes back will be the right one. If, however, you’re searching by name (especially a common name like John Smith), check the items on the list and ask yourself if they match up with what you’d expect that person to like – if they don’t, you may have the wrong list.

Happy shopping and don’t forget to use KinekPoint – it’ll help you keep whatever gift you find a surprise.

Dropping hints on social networks

Not sure what to get them this Christmas? Have you checked their blog?
Think I’m joking? Not quite. Though it may sound brazen, more and more people are becoming comfortable with openly talking about their wish lists online. At first, I thought it was a bit obnoxious when I saw friends blogging about what they wanted under the tree or including their “must haves” in their Facebook status updates. The more I think about it, though, the more it makes sense.
People are increasingly spread out from friends and family and have less time to sit down and have real conversations – that’s the reason sites like Facebook, FriendFeed, and Twitter are so popular; they provide easy ways for you to stay in touch.

Application developers are even getting into the act. A quick search of “wish list” on Facebook brings up pages of applications. Our advice? Check the profile pages of your friends and keep an eye on their tweets and status updates – just make sure you have a pen handy.

Keeping the Surprise in Christmas

I wish KinekPoint had been around last Christmas. Okay, I work here – saying that probably isn’t too surprising – but it’s true. Last year, I practically jumped through hoops to keep my roommate’s Christmas gift (an Alfred Hitchcock Film Festival Poster) a surprise.

“I ordered a Marilyn Monroe poster for my sister,” I lied, one afternoon. “So if a poster tube arrives, it’s for me.”

I thought that would be the end of it: one small lie that would keep the present a surprise.

Then it got complicated. A few days later, my roommate ordered a poster for his brother. Every time a delivery slip landed on our door, I raced to be the one first to the postal outlet. Half the time, the deliveries turned out not to be for me and, because the packages weren’t sent in my name, my roommate would have to make a separate trip to the depot.

By the time the poster finally arrived, I was sick of the whole thing.

This year, no matter what I order, I’m covered. There are two KinekPoint Depots within a couple of blocks of where I work. If I ship to one, I won’t have to worry about someone opening their gift by mistake.

What about you? Have you ever found the perfect gift only to have the surprise ruined before the big day?

The importance of availability

You’ve checked the holiday shipping deadlines and found the perfect gift. Think you’ve got everything covered? Think again! If you didn’t check the item’s availability before you ordered, you might be in for a surprise.

Just because an item is listed on an online store, doesn’t mean it’s ready to ship out when your order it. Many online retailers ship items based on availability. If it’s in stock, the item will usually ship the same or the next day; if it’s not, you could be waiting weeks – or even months – for the item to ship.

Just look at this example from Chapters.Indigo.ca (it’s pretty typical):







This DVD set came up in search results and I can purchase it immediately, but it won’t ship for 1 – 2 weeks. It’s still early, so that leaves me plenty of time but, if I had waited until early December to order, there’s little chance I’d have it before Christmas.

Take a minute, the next time you’re shopping, to see how long it will take for the item you want to ship. If that extra time pushes you past the cut off deadline for holiday shipping, you may want to reconsider your order or look elsewhere for the item.