Make Money Online

Work From Home Job Reviews

  • Home
  • Now Hiring
  • Surveys
  • Free Stuff
  • Extra Cash
    • Creative
    • Recycling
    • Misc
    • Mystery Shopping
    • Smart Phone Apps
    • Selling
    • Tasks
    • Revenue Share
    • Usability Testing
  • Non Phone
    • Writing
      • Revenue Share
      • Upfront Pay
      • Blogging
        • Blogging 101 Series
        • Blogging Tips
        • Making Money
    • Education Based
    • Misc
    • Moderator
    • Question and Answer
    • Search Engine Evaluating
    • Typing
    • Virtual Assisting
      • General
      • Leisa Good’s VA Info Series
  • Phone Jobs
    • Benefits Included
    • Employee Based
    • Independent Contractor Based
You are here: Home / Lifestyle / Advice and Tips / Random Talk / Gift Giving Etiquette for Online Workers

Gift Giving Etiquette for Online Workers

Updated on: December 17, 2012 By Leisa Good 3 Comments

Tweet
Pin
Share
WhatsApp
0 Shares

Gift Giving Online Etiquette

Need Easy Extra $350+/Month For Free?
  • Toluna Opinions: Earn $1-$5 each time you qualify and take surveys. Test products for free and share your opinions! Join Toluna Opinions Now
  • SwagBucks: Watch videos, take surveys, shop and more to earn real money. Earn up to $35 per survey! No hidden fees and completely free. Join Swagbucks Now to Get $5 Free
  • Opinion Outpost: One of the few faithful and honest survey panels pays cash and gift cards for your opinion. No hidden fees and completely free! Join Opinion Outpost Now
  • YouGov: A leading name in online panels: Join now and earn $50 cash or vouchers for completing surveys! No hidden fees and completely free! Join YouGov Now
  • InboxDollars: Has so far paid its members over $40 Million. Watch videos, take surveys, shop and more. Join InboxDollars Now and Get Free $5
  • Lifepoints: Famed MySurvey just rebranded to LifePoints. Take paid surveys anytime and anywhere via PC or Mobile App. Paid its members over $32 Million so far! Join LifePoints Now
  • Ipsos iSay: Every time you complete a survey, you'll earn points that you can redeem for cash and other great prizes. Join Ipsos iSay Now
  • SurveyJunkie: Make $5-$25 in your spare time from home to take online surveys, participating in a Focus Groups and trying new products. Join SurveyJunkie Now

With the holidays, comes the age-old tradition of gift giving.

For many of us former office workers, fond childhood memories of unwrapping presents on Christmas morning were soon replaced by memories of the holiday office fiasco. If you shudder when you recall former office parties, where co-workers became unraveled faster than the big red bows, then this blog post will help put some of those gift-giving fears to rest.

Now that most of us are working at home, we can avoid giving a gift to the boss—because we are the boss! However, we do have online co-workers, agents, freelancers, and clients to whom we’d like to show our appreciation.

So, what do we do?

Generally, many of the same rules of offline business-related gift giving still apply to online gift giving. Unless you are personal friends with your online colleagues or clients, try to avoid gifts of alcohol, socks, undergarments, and cologne. Many of these gifts are too personal to offer, and you would not give them in an offline setting.

E-Gifting

In general, online gift giving (e-cards, e-gift certificates, e-gift cards) should be practical and thoughtful but not expensive or cash. A $25 gift is considered a good gift—not too expensive but not too cheap. This is also the maximum amount that the IRS will allow for a business gift deduction that is presented directly or mailed directly to a business associate.

Food gifts such as meals at restaurants, designer coffee or fruit baskets are still good choices. Scented or unscented candles can also be a good neutral fit for anyone to enjoy.

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays?

Should the e-card say “Christmas” or just “Holiday”? While most of us have been told to use the phrase “Happy Holidays” in today’s diverse work force, this is still true online as well.

Now, the exception is if you have worked closely enough with the person and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he/she celebrates a certain holiday and is comfortable speaking about his/her faith, then use “Christmas”. The same applies to the use of the holidays: Chanukah, Kwanza, and Ramadan.

Because we do work online, there is sometimes that “faceless element” that dictates that what we do really doesn’t get picked up in the real world. The truth is that it does get picked up and it does matter. Even though we won’t be able to see how many shades of red our online co-workers’ faces have turned, we still want to keep our gift giving appropriate.

Gift of Online Shopping

There are many web sites offering great ideas for sending online gifts. One of my personal favorites is Amazon Gift Cards which are redeemable storewide and they never expire.

You may send these gift cards by email, Facebook or postal mail free with one-day shipping. Almost everyone is familiar with Amazon and can select their choice of book, music, e-reader download, and a variety of other gifts as well.

However, if you know the person’s physical address, feel free to send flowers or a plant from 1-800 Flowers. Flowers tend to be an appropriate gift to give for special occasions, but plants can have more of an enduring effect because they last longer and are not as fragrant, color-specific or sentimental.

Three other great web sites for online holiday gift giving are GiftRocket.com, GiftCertificates.com, and SendOutCards.com. Each one offers a different “spin” on online gift giving. However, when using these web sites keep in mind the gift giving guidelines already mentioned in this blog post. Again, think: food, restaurants, designer coffee or tea, fruit baskets, candles, and plants. Avoid: alcohol, undergarments, and colognes.

Gift Rocket.com

GiftRocket.com is a web site where you will go to select and send an e-card with a gift card inside. The e-card and e-gift card are then sent via email or Facebook wall. There is also a printout version for you to stick in a regular snail mail card and send. The recipient will have a gift card from a local business, which you have suggested.

However once the recipient redeems the e-gift card by clicking on it, the money is then sent to the recipient via a bank transfer, PayPal or placed on a credit card. The money will be used for the suggested local business or another place which the recipient chooses.

Need Easy Extra Cash?

Pinecone Research, a leading name in online survey panel honesty, absolutely guarantees $3 cash for every survey you complete!
Take advantage of their time limited New Membership drive and register NOW. Join today: 100% free!

Join Pinecone Research Now

With GiftRocket, the recipient will not forget to use the gift card or be forced to use it at an establishment that they don’t like. There is no money left over on the e-gift card and no hardcopy of a gift card to carry around.

Gift Certificates.com

GiftCertificates.com will also send out e-cards with e-gift certificates in them as well as the printed version. The gift certificates themselves are redeemable for any number of gift cards that can be used in all the popular retail chains. Gift cards range from $5 to $500 and are used for that brand or business—the same way offline, “credit card looking” gift cards are used.

Send Out Cards.com

SendOutCards.com offers actual postage stamped cards to be delivered from you to the recipient. What makes this web site special is that the letter is handwritten by a sales rep to look like it came from you. Brownies, books, and gift cards are also available to accompany the beautifully handwritten letter. I remember once receiving a card along with a box of chocolate cookies from a client!

SendOutCards can also become another way for you to make extra money once you sign up for an account.

 

So with the holidays among us, don’t become a Scrooge! And don’t tremble in your tinsel for fear of not knowing the etiquette of online gift giving! Become an online gift-giving aficionado!

Happy Holidays!

Related Posts:

  • Best Way to Sell Gift Cards for Cash Instantly at a Gift Card Kiosk!
  • 43 Legit Ways to Earn Free Amazon Gift Cards Online
  • 14 Ways to Sell or Trade Your Amazon Gift Cards for Cash (Plus Ways to Trade for Other Stuff!)
  • Christmas Gift Ideas for People Who Work From Home
  • 15 Ways to Get Free Gift Cards Without Surveys & Offers

Earn Everything… nearly!

Join Ipsos iSay, one of the few Faithful and Honest survey panels and earn prizes, gift cards and donations. Stack your points and redeem them: Simple! No hidden fees and completely free!

Join Ipsos Now

Leisa Good

About Leisa Good

Leisa Good is the owner of GBS Virtual Office Solutions and a PFYP certified career coach at Powerfully Purposed For Success. Her coaching specialties include entrepreneurs, small businesses, and work-at-homers who have become "stuck" and really need to find their true calling. She just loves it when folks contact her to pick her brain or join in the lively conversations.

Comments

  1. Mandy Allen @ Learn To Blog says

    December 24, 2012 at 4:35 am

    Hi Leisa,

    An online gift voucher that can be used offline is a great idea and can cover a variety of goods or services the receiver may wish to use. I love this idea and would choose the food type vouchers as eating out is a pleasure I believe we can all enjoy.

    Enjoy the journey.

    Mandy

    Reply
  2. Pat @ Kitchen Blogging says

    December 24, 2012 at 4:24 pm

    Amazon gift cards are really good to buy as there are very few people who don’t purchase items from Amazon. The gift cards can be exchanged for anything they have to offer.

    Pat

    Reply
  3. Leisa GoodLeisa Good says

    December 27, 2012 at 10:12 pm

    Well, thank you very much Pat and Mandy for your comments. True on both accounts. 😉

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Featured Posts

30 Simple Ways You Can Make A $1000 Fast (In A Week Or Less)
Google Play credits let you try the hottest apps and download the best stuff for free! Here’s how you can earn FREE Google Play credits (they’re scam-free!)
Top 26 Legitimate Ways to Earn Free Google Play Money
Your mobile device can make you money, so it's time to start using it that way! These 38 apps are free to download and will easily earn you gift cards.
29 Best Apps That Give You Free Gift Cards
The list of survey companies that pay cash for surveys in the form of either PayPal, check, direct deposit, or a prepaid debit card.
39 Legitimate Online Survey Sites That Actually Pay Cash
31 Sites That Will Pay You to Play Games for Free
Everyone loves PayPal! It’s an easy, quick, and secure way to get paid online. Learn how you can earn some free PayPal cash from online tasks and gigs!
11 Easy Ways to Earn Free PayPal Money Online (Without Surveys!)
60 Legitimate Online Jobs That Pay You Every Day or Week!
Huge List of 93 Android and iPhone Apps That Really Pay You Money!
30 Top Online Jobs for Pregnant Women
30 Top Online Jobs for Pregnant Stay at Home Moms
100 Best Legitimate Companies Offering Online Jobs for College Students
Teenagers can make money working from home too! Check out this list of 111 best online jobs for teens under 18. Legit and Free.
76 Best Online Jobs for Teens Under 18. Legit & Free.

Copyright © 2021 · Work at Home Adventures · Disclosure | About | Contact | Privacy | Sitemap · Log in