Why duplicates happen
You ask the person what they would like, and they give everyone the same answer. Everyone shops on their own, and the coordination, when there is any, happens in a group chat where messages get lost.
The more people give, the worse it gets: beyond five or six givers, nobody can keep track in their head.
The method: a list where you reserve
- The person writes their wishes on a shared list, with a link, a price and details (size, colour, model).
- They send the list link to friends and family, by message or email.
- Everyone picks an idea and reserves it: it shows as taken for all the other guests.
- The person being celebrated doesn't see what's reserved: the surprise stays intact.
The duplicates you don’t see coming
Exact duplicates are easy to avoid. The tricky ones are “same type” duplicates: someone reserves the PS5, someone else buys “a console”. On je l'offre, each idea can have a gift type; when a gift of the same type is already taken, a discreet alert warns the others.
Surprise ideas that friends add without the person knowing can be reserved like any other, and stay invisible to the person they're for.
What about a big present?
When a gift is too expensive for one person, buy it together rather than everyone giving a small substitute. Each person states their share up to the price and the contributors discuss it among themselves. A gift bought together can no longer be reserved by anyone else.
Our tips
- Add ideas at different prices so everyone finds something in their budget.
- Be precise: size, colour, exact model. A product link beats a long description.
- Keep your list up to date: remove what you bought yourself.
- After the celebration, say what you received: anything you didn't get stays in your wishes for next time.