When Gifts Travel And Touch Down

You may be far away from home this Diwali but people you love are just a click away. Shirley Singh takes you through the basics of online gifting

When a delivery boy came to Sudhakar’s house with a gift-wrapped wallet for him, he was first happy, then curious. He’d just lost his wallet and some money last week and nothing could be better than being gifted a new one. Reading the note enclosed, he beamed to find that his daughter, who was working in another city, had sent it for him as a Diwali gift. He thought of her and smiled.

Luckily for us, today it’s not difficult to make someone so happy. The Internet first allowed us to email our loved ones, then talk, even watch them on webcams, and now, send them that thoughtful gift on a festive occasions. With increasing Internet access across the country, sitting right at one’s desk, one can browse unlimited merchandise, choose the perfect gift item, and merely click to send the gift.

How it works

Gifting online is like shopping online, only the goods are delivered to a different postal address. Most Internet sites that offer shopping will offer gifting and vice-versa. Shopping online, in turn, is like shopping in a physical store - you select the items you wish to buy, put them in your shopping cart, pay and leave with the goods. A shopping/gifting Internet site is akin to a whole, vast store online, where you can check out goods - and their prices - arranged under different categories like:

• Item (clothes, jewellery, electronics, accessories, branded goods, books, music, sweets, flowers, cards etc)
• Occasion (birthday, marriage anniversary, Diwali, etc)
• Relation (mother, brother, husband, girlfriend etc)
• Age/ Gender (children, man, woman etc)
• Price (Rs 500 and below, Rs 1000 and below, etc.)
• Gift certificates/ vouchers

Most sites are easy to use and guide the buyer step-by-step. Once you’ve chosen your gift item (and specified when, where and to whom it is to be sent, alongwith an accompanying message), you will reach a payment window. Pay and sit back. Your gift will not only be parceled, couriered and delivered as instructed, but any good site will send you email updates at every step - to confirm your order, the expected date of shipment, delivery confirmation and any message the recipient has sent in response to it.

How do you pay?

The universal payment option on the Internet is credit. Credit cards are accepted on all Internet sites and they’re the simplest way to pay online. Yet, simplest might not be best for you and the better gifting/shopping sites offer a whole range of payment options. For shopping, you can pay (COD) cash-on-delivery, though this option is obviously inapplicable for gifting. You can also pay via check, demand draft, netbanking account (that most banks offer today on your regular savings account), debit to your bank account (offered in tie-up with only some banks) and so on. New offline payment concepts are emerging - Rediff.com, for instance, accepts a ‘Green account number’. This number can be got by scratching a ‘Green card’ (pretty much like scratching a phone card) that can be bought by paying at authorised retail outlets. Similarly, Fabmart.com accepts FabMoney that can be purchased at designated offline outlets in the metros.

More than gifts

Several features are adding value to e-gifting. Says Hareesh Tibrewala, co-founder and president of Homeindia.com, “We find personalisation of gifts a very big draw when it comes to gifting. Some examples of personalised gifts we offer are: a pen or chocolate bar inscribed with the name of the recipient, a key chain with alphabets spelling the recipient’s name, a wall clock with a personal message from the recipient on it and so on.” Email reminders for important occasions are even more valuable. The site will send you a reminder of the occasion a specified number of days in advance by email. This way, even if you’re busy, you won’t forget!

While individual executives may find that one useful, corporates are considering e-gifting too. Internet sites offer comprehensive end-to-end services right from customisation of, say, mugs and t-shirts with company logos to packing, couriering and delivery in bulk. The convenience is great. Greater still, is the joy of a gift.

Using your credit card online: Is it safe?

Using your credit card online is not dangerous per se. You need to be careful, though: 1. Transact only at a Secure Socket Layer (SSL)-encrypted site. This means that the data you enter at the site is coded and transmitted via encrypted SSL lines, making it difficult to hack. 2. Use a site authenticated by Verisign. A Verisign logo on the site affirms that the Internet page you are using belongs to the registered owner of that site name, and is not a mirror/ duplicate. 3. Choose a known, trusted site. This is simply because a bigger name has its reputation at stake and will try its best to prevent or cover card misuse. 4. If you’re still unsure about using your present card online, maybe you can get another credit card with a lower credit limit, and thus, lower risk. 5. Examine your card statement carefully to make sure you’re charged only for what you’ve bought. Some sites, like Fabmart.com go one step further and ask for the user’s CVV (Credit Verification Value) number. This is a three-digit number, which follows your credit card number at the back of the card (not on the front).