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RedditGifts
OwnerReddit
URLwww.redditgifts.com (now links to reddit.com)
RegistrationRequired to sign up for gift exchanges
Launched2009; 15 years ago (2009)
Current statusDiscontinued

RedditGifts, stylized as redditgifts, was an online user-to-user gift exchange service for Reddit users. Free to participate in, RedditGifts was first created by Reddit user "kickme444" (the alias of Dan McComas), while working on freelance projects. The service had involved signing up, filling out a profile based on the user's preferences, and agreeing to send a gift to a randomly assigned user.[1]

Overview

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The service matched a Reddit user with another Reddit user, and each user had to then send a gift to the other user according to that user's tastes and preferences listed on their profile.[2] Participation was free, although extra perks could be purchased with the optional "RedditGifts Elves" membership,[3] and goods were usually priced between $10 and $25 USD.[4] The service also requested that users leave "thank-you notes" for their gift-giver on the website.[5] The company took a 15 to 20 percent cut of every purchase.[4]

After startup, it added a variety of different themed exchanges that ran throughout the year, such as a Halloween theme and a Nintendo theme.[3] The service also runs the so-called "Arbitrary Day", which is "a celebration of nothing in particular". Before 2011, approximately $1.5 million had been spent on gifts.[6]

Microsoft chairman and philanthropist Bill Gates participated in the service for five years under the username "thisisbillgates".[7] This was confirmed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.[8][9]

History

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RedditGifts was originally created by Reddit user Dan McComas[10] and an anonymous user known as "5days". McComas first conceived the idea in 2009.[10]

The site was launched in 2009 with 4,500 participants.[2] RedditGifts reports that 212,894 people worldwide participated in the event during 2014.[8]

The site was a three-time Guinness World Record holder for the World's Largest Gift Exchange.[11][12]

2021 Secret Santa exchange was the last one to take place before the RedditGifts site was shut down in January of 2022.

Reddit acquisition

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In August 2011, Reddit bought the RedditGifts site. The two site-runners reportedly could not afford to continue maintaining the site while simultaneously working their day jobs. Both site-runners continued to run the website.[2] Reddit operated the website as part of its ongoing plans to monetise their website. As of December 2013, approximately 14 percent of Reddit's revenue came from running the service, although McComas said that those sales alone could "put Reddit firmly in the black", and that the company may choose to reinvest funds in e-commerce customer service and infrastructure.[4]

In December 2013, while expressing his desire for the Reddit business to become self-sustaining, then-Chief Executive Yishan Wong stated that the RedditGifts service "provides real value", and called it "promising" for the business. Wong increased the staff count dedicated to the project to eight after realising the service's potential.[4]

On 9 June 2021, Reddit announced the shutdown of RedditGifts, effective at the conclusion of the 2021 Secret Santa exchange. New account registration was disabled when the announcement was issued.[13]

References

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  1. ^ Boran, Marie (September 15, 2016). "Give and receive gifts online with Redditgifts". The Irish Times. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c Kumparak, Greg (August 24, 2011). "Reddit Acquires Fan-Made Secret Santa Site, RedditGifts". TechCrunch. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "What is this all about?". RedditGifts. Reddit. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d Shih, Gerry (December 29, 2013). "Reddit aims for profitability with geek-culture bazaar". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  5. ^ Fisher, Jessica (September 13, 2015). "Redditgifts: Why I Send Presents to Strangers". Nerdist. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  6. ^ "Reddit Acquires Fan-Made Secret Santa Site, RedditGifts". TechCrunch. 23 August 2011. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
  7. ^ Clifford, Catherine (December 22, 2017). "Billionaire Bill Gates was this cat lover's Secret Santa — here's the epic haul of gifts he gave her". CNBC. NBCUniversal. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  8. ^ a b D'Onfro, Jillian (December 22, 2014). "Bill Gates Got One Lucky Reddit User An Incredibly Thoughtful Secret Santa Gift". Business Insider. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  9. ^ Prakash, Neha (December 20, 2013). "Bill Gates gives secret Santa present on Reddit". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  10. ^ a b Ries, Brian (December 19, 2010). "Secret Santa: The Creator of Reddit's Gift Exchange, the World's Biggest". The Daily Beast. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  11. ^ "redditgifts Secret Santa Guinness World Record". RedditGifts. Reddit. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  12. ^ "Largest online Secret Santa game". Guinness World Records. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  13. ^ "Sunsetting Secret Santa and Reddit Gifts". 9 June 2021.
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