Amazon is an amazingly convenient way to shop for things. But it's not perfect. A California software developer came up with great idea to improve the site: add a crowdsourced funding option.
The developer, Jay M., describes his idea as: "Amazon Wish List meets Gift Registry meets Kickstarter."
Jay M. asked us not to share his full name. But he sent us this open letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos that explains the idea really well.
Mr. Bezos,
I have an idea that I believe would be a great addition to the Amazon shopping and gifting experience.
Imagine Katie, an active girl who loves gadgets. Her job as a freelance writer doesn’t quite allow her to splurge on the new tech toys she’s had her eyes on. She really would like to have a Kindle Fire HDX. No, not the smaller 7” one. She wants the 8.9” one. She tried saving $50 to $75 a month when she could. Funny thing about having cash saved, she would dip into her Kindle Fund when things got tight.
Perhaps, on her birthday next month, someone could gift her the Fire. But no, as generous as her friends and family are, Katie would likely get several fun toys, but not the single one thing she would really like. She certainly didn’t expect any one person to be able to afford to surprise her with a Fire.
I would like to see Amazon implement a Wish List where anyone could make a partial contribution towards making purchases in your store. Think of it as:
Wish List meets Gift Registry meets Kickstarter
Amazon users will be able to select items and for each item, they can provide a “gifting link” which they can share with whomever they choose. On the flip side, anyone with the link can chip in. As soon as total contributions equal the current price of the item, Amazon ships the item...and Happy Birthday, Katie!
Regards,
Jay M. Bakersfield, CA.
PS: I created a mockup.
We agree. This would be an awesome service for Amazon to offer.
Amazon is already dabbling with crowdsourced gift giving. A service called Amazon Birthday Gift lets multiple people contribute to a gift card. It will then will post the gift card to the friend's Facebook page on the person's birthday.
There are also several startups that offer crowdfunding gift services. Aggregift lets people choose a gift and get multiple people to pay for it. GivTed lets people crowdfund gift cards, too.