Stanford Professor Francis Flynn on Gift Giving

“Give them what they are expecting” is the conclusion my business school professor Francis Flynn came to after 5 experiments on gift giving.  

“In the first study, survey participants reported on their actual experiences receiving and giving wedding gifts from a registry versus gifts that the wedding guests had identified on their own. 

Findings revealed that recipients appreciated receiving items from their wish list more than unsolicited items, and perceived the requested items to be more thoughtful and considerate. But in direct contrast, the givers thought that recipients would be more impressed with unsolicited items.”

This is why ListCharming works so well: couples can ask for what they actually want, whatever it may be. Those gifts tend to be very personal to them, which is delightful for wedding guests. Everyone is happy.



ListCharming on Slate

ListCharming was mentioned in a Slate article, claiming that innovative and flexible registries “provide a cover” for cash or space strapped couples. Quite the contrary, every ListCharming registry has been so authentic, with couples spending 20+ hours on registries that have what they actually want and say so much about who they are. The overwhelming response from wedding guests is that they love it. The gifts are much more personal than in traditional registries. And as far as we know, couples actually buy whatever they list, and why wouldn’t they when they could list whatever they wanted in the first place?

This is my comment to the article:

“I’m co-founder of ListCharming. We built it for ourselves so that we could take a long honeymoon and buy all the gifts when we got back. We took the time to put exactly what we wanted on the list, including “priceless” presents like a homecooked meal (clearly you did not need to spend to give us a gift). Now we are buying all the items from our list. It’s great that we had the flexibility to get big ticket items, buy from lots of different stores to get best price, and we didn’t have to store everything while we were away. 

This quote from a wedding guest expresses a different point of view: “why would you ever want to use a different list once you have seen listcharming. it’s so personal and lovely and fun and beautiful and charming. it just says so much about the couple, what they love, what they’re into, what their dreams are - and i love participating in all of that.”

ListCharming lets couples be authentic and themselves, which wedding guests love. I encourage Ms Lowrey and Ms Yoffe to consider this point on future wedding articles.”



ListCharming: Founded to liberate your wedding registry

ListCharming is on Founded Project, a fantastic blog where Rupa recounts the tales of entrepreneurs. If you were wondering what the story behind ListCharming is, go check it out!

http://www.foundedproject.com/2011/03/listcharming/



"why would you ever want to use a different list once you have seen this one. it’s so personal and lovely and fun and beautiful and charming. it just says so much about the couple, what they love, what they’re into, what their dreams are - and i love participating in all of that."
—

Lela Djakovic, wedding guest



ListCharming showcased on Shecky’s

We are happy to be featured in the Shecky’s showcase. Terra Khachooni writes:

What my guy and I could really use is scuba diving certification for our honeymoon, plants for the backyard and that Tempur-Pedic mattress we’ve been dreaming of. Well, ListCharming can make that happen. In fact, they’ve made gift giving even more personal and special. Yes, you’re basically sending money, but the brilliance in ListCharming is the way you do it.

ListCharming actually brings you closer to the couple. You learn more about them, what they want, why they want it, and you’re engaged in communication since you’re a part of giving the actual gift. You can fulfill (there’s that word again!) their dreams of owning a labradoodle (real example!) or fly them to Singapore. Maybe you didn’t realize that they share the same fantasy of earning a black belt and the first movie they ever watched together was Karate Kid. But a sweet description can inspire you to gift karate classes for the couple and be a part of their special bond!

Thanks for the post, Terra. You said it better than us.

Update: Listcharming also mentioned in Maiden Voyage Travel . It’s a good week for us.

Categories: Press,


Wedding Gift Inspiration: Leah Dent’s Boards on Pinterest

 

Not sure where to start on your wedding registry? Checkout Leah Dent’s inspiration boards on Pinterest. Beautifully curated images of things for the home and for life.

Categories: inspiration,


niceroom: emmas designblogg - design and style from a scandinavian perspective Love the blanket! I would have loved a red or pink version for my own wedding registry.

niceroom:

emmas designblogg - design and style from a scandinavian perspective

Love the blanket! I would have loved a red or pink version for my own wedding registry.

Categories: Inspiration,


A cozy teapot for your wedding registry

Just added to the Coffee and Tea registry gift guide: Spout Tpot by Paige Russell, $140. It wears an orange sweater cozy to keep your tea warm. So cute!

via swissmiss

Categories: gift ideas,


Gift Ideas: Organic Dreams

Re-Nest just published their list of 10 sources for organic bedding, and last week they offered their tips for buying an organic mattress.

An organic mattress is a great gift. I’m betting that most of you don’t have one already, and given the cost ($500+) it’s a great gift to split into affordable chunks.

Conventional mattresses emit VOCs and are doused in flame retardants, and according to this post in the National Geographic Green Buying Guide, may cause cancer, reproductive and development problems, or respiratory issues. The research is far from final, but who wants to chance it for 10 years until they know for sure?

Although sheets don’t give us nearly as much to worry about, the ones listed in the guide are really cute.

Photo: Coyuchi Organic Bedding   

Categories: gift ideas,


How to Overcome Thank You Note Writers Block

One day, we’ll be able send our warm fuzzy feelings of gratitude via telepathy to thank people for their generous gifts. Till then, we’re stuck with the monumental task of writing analog thank you notes. Why not make it easier by writing out some common phrases to use on each card?

This is a nifty suggestion from Jenny Lynne at Offbeat Bride. Her stock phrases include:

For gifts from your registry or useful household stuff:

  • “I really love this XXXX. It will look great in our living room/kitchen/bedroom.”
  • “How did you know this was the thing that I wanted most from the registry?”
  • “Thanks for the towels — now I can throw away FH’s old falling apart ones!”

For gift cards or cash:

  • “This will really help us out with some things we need for our new home.”
  • “We used this/plan to use this to buy XXXXXXX/pay for honeymoon/etc.”
  • “You are way too generous!”

General banter: (For if you just said thanks for the whatever and need to fill up more space to make it worth the stamp.)

  • “It was great to see you again!” (If you saw them.) 
  • “Hope to see you again soon!” (If you didn’t.) 
  • “Sorry we missed you at shower/recent family event/etc.” 
  • “Hope your baby/dog/cat/hamster is doing well; we’d love to see pictures!” 
  • “I can’t believe (insert child’s name) is getting so big! She/he looks just like (insert appropriate relative’s name.” 
  • “I hope you and (significant other) can get together with FH and I sometime soon!”

See all her other phrases and suggestions at Offbeat Bride.

Letterpress Thank you Notes Set of 10 for $24 at Barnes and Noble.

Categories: etiquette,


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