Gifts that don’t require shipping: e-gift cards and digital content

If you buy an item via this post, we may get a small affiliate fee. Details.

E-gift cards, digital content, and digital subscriptions are not only the perfect last-minute gift ideas

The status of the gift is evolving over time. A few years ago it was hard to imagine giving a gift that was not a beautiful object.

Currently, millions of people own smartphones, tablets, and e-readers. What they would love to get is the content for their favorite devices: apps, games, ebooks, or digital subscriptions.

Below, you’ll find the ideas of gifts that don’t require shipping.

How does gifting digital content work? You buy the gift in an online store and give the details of the giftee (it’s usually the email address), and set the date and time of the delivery of the gift.

They major challenge is how to inform the giftee about the gift. Many online retailers offer several designs of digital content gifts. You can print your favorite artwork and put inside an occasional envelope or gift box.

On top of that, you can use your imagination in how to inform about the arrival of the gift.

The beauty of digital gifts is that you can buy them shortly before the event (hours or even minutes). That’s not all. Even more important is the fact these gifts could be enjoyed right after being received – just like all physical gifts.

Did you give the digital gift to your beloved one or a family member? Share your impressions in the comments below. Thanks!

Gifts that don’t require shipping

One way to offer the gift card is to buy the physical card in the size of a credit card. You can have it in a gift envelope or a beautifully designed gift box.

What we are interested, though, is the way where gift buying and handling happens online and doesn’t require sending a physical object.

E-gift cards are offered by all the main online stores:

• Amazon
• Apple iTunes
• Barnes & Noble
• Kobo

As e-gift cards become more and more popular, they also become better and better. There is a growing number of designs and formats. You can find artwork for almost every possible occasion.

Amazon’s store with gift cards is a great example of how advanced gifting can be.

First of all, you can choose how you want your gift to be delivered. Two of them don’t require shipping:

• send by email or Facebook – you can send a personalized email with dozens designs to choose from. Additionally, there is also a very nice option to upload your photo,
• print yourself – if you have a printer at home, you can print out the purchased gift. You can pick up an option to fold, cut, or as coloring books.

You can select from many predefined values of cards, or type your own amount. When you choose to send a card digitally, you can select the date and time of delivery. Thanks to that, you can set up the gift delivery right at the time of the birthday dinner.

Kindle Unlimited is an example of the digital gift / Image: Amazon.com

E-gift cards are perfect when you are not sure what ebook or music album the giftee would like to receive.

If you, however, very well know the preferences and expectations of the person you are going to gift, you can decide to buy the specific item.

We can divide digital content into two major groups:

• specific publications,
• digital subscriptions.

Specific publications

It can the the newly released music album of the giftee’s favorite singer, or a new part of the book series.

All major stores, from Amazon, to Barnes & Noble, to Kobo, to Apple, offer the option to buy a specific item as a gift.

In most cases, all what you have to do is to check the “This is a gift” box on a page with item details (usually under the “Buy” button), and follow the instructions.

A single ebook, music album, or movie, might be not enough in worth. Usually the price of a single item is not higher than $10.

If you are ready to gift more than that, you can consider gifting special kind of digital content, for instance:

• enhanced editions – enhanced ebooks can contain audio, video, or interactive elements,
• ebook bundles – collections of all books in a series that can be bought as one title.

Ebook bundles are a great way to re-read in digital format the favorite books from the past. For instance, you can get ebook collections of the most famous book series:

• A Game of Thrones 5-Book Collection
• Harry Potter: The Complete Collection (1-7)
• The Hunger Games Trilogy

Digital subscriptions

Digital subscriptions become more and more popular. They give unlimited access to certain digital content, for instance, ebooks, music, movies, or magazines.

Apple Music, Kindle Unlimited, or Prime Video, are examples of digital subscriptions.

The most important question when it comes to gifting digital subscriptions is what should be the value of the subscription.

Kindle Unlimited ebook subscription is a great example. This digital content subscription gives unlimited access to ebooks, audiobooks and magazines.

The subscription is being renewed every month, but if you want to gift it, you can choose from longer-time plans.

The best option is to gift the 6-month Kindle Unlimited membership. The regular price is $59.94, but a few times a year you can grab it as a deal, at a price usually reduced by 25%.

• • •

To get more posts like this, please subscribe by RSS or email. Let’s also connect on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

More posts to explore:

9 recommended Kindle books for World Book Day 2023
– April 23, 2023

Jane Austen books – free ebook and audiobook downloads
– January 30, 2023

10 most interesting books that enter the public domain in 2023
– December 20, 2022

These 20 most gifted books will make perfect gifts in 2023
– December 9, 2022

16 best Kindle Scribe covers for work and pleasure (2023 roundup)
– November 28, 2022