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Essentials Lists

There's a time for things you want…but also for things you need.

Are you, or someone you know, facing uncertainty and in dire need of essential items? Would it be helpful to be able to share a list of these needs?

The Giftster service you already know and use could be a great way make a needs list for yourself, a family member or friend, or for a charity or medical facility.

When you share a public link to this list, others can view it and indicate which items and quantities they are committing to, and they do not need to be a Giftster member to do so.

The result is 1) the correct things are purchased in the needed quantities, and 2) store links you put on your list help the giver know where to find things.

In addition, you can optionally

  • Include a shipping address with your public list
  • Control who can discover or view your list link
  • View the name of who marked things purchased to follow up

How to make and share a public essentials list

If you’re new to Giftster, create a free account. If you’re already a Giftster member, log in to your account.

  • First decide if you want your list to hide which items are being marked purchased so you stay surprised (like for your own birthday or holiday list), or if you want to see which items and quantities are being marked purchased, and the names of the people doing so (like for gathering supplies for a charity or medical facility).
  • For hidden status, start your list on the My List page. For viewable status, on the My List page, first create a Child Account, and then create your list(s) there.
  • Name your list to convey its purpose (i.e. “Critical items we need in next 14 days”).
  • Set the privacy level for your list to Public.
  • The default public setting is Yes, on Giftster and Google. If you prefer to restrict access to only those you send the link to select No.
Wish list privacy options
Public list privacy options
  • Press Save List when you’re finished.
  • Start making your list. If you’re adding items that can be ordered online, copy the web link (URL) for the item, paste it into Giftster, and use Fetch to auto-fill the item details. If the items are not online, simply type in the details about the items you need. These can be food items, gift cards or gift certificates, household items, medical supplies, toiletries, school supplies, virtual subscriptions or needs (think entertainment like Netflix, Hulu, etc.), anything you may need.
  • Select from 1 to 5 red stars on each item to prioritize the, 5-star items sort to the top. Within star rankings, you can sub-sort alphabetically by gift name, for further grouping or ordering.

    To preview how your essentials list looks to others when they shop it, on your my list page select Share and copy the share link to your clipboard, then log out of Giftster, than paste that URL and visit your list link. You'll see the reserve and purchase icons next to each of your items, and the availability of each item's quantities. Note This is the same link you will use to share your list with others via email, Twitter, Facebook, text or announcement or news release.
  • Share your list On your my list page select Share to see the link to share your list with others via email, Twitter, Facebook, text or announcement or news release.
make an essentials list

Expert Tips

On Quantities  If you need more than quantity 1 of an item, consider this approach. Say you need 10,000 paper cups, don’t put in a quantity of 10,000 but for example put in a quantity of 20 500-packs from Costco, so each time a giver marks this purchased they are committing to one 500-pack.
 

For a list description  You could use the top item on a list for an explanation of how to use the list or what it is for in more detail, or include a photo of the person or organization this list is for.

To display a shipping address to those shopping your list  Go to My Lists, select Gift Preferences, and towards the bottom fill out the name and address fields. Then, set the privacy to public. Now your address will display to those shopping your public list.

To view purchase progress on your public list  If you chose the child account type of list, you view the status of items on your list by visiting your shop for page.

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Giftster®
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