Price limits on gifts

[Backroads]

So, in a gift exchange where the price is capped, does one look at the general value of the gift or how much one actually spent on it? As in, you got something on a deal.

[Quin]

IMHO

Both.

Meaning... Just because I can get a free Rolex, or plane tickets... Doesn't mean that it qualifies for the SPIRIT of under $20.

But if the Asian silk purses I got for $2 each in Hong Kong retail for $50 here, I can squeak them in because most people won't know.

Which is my personal line: If its clearly over the limit value-wise, I save that item for something else. If I can get away with it, or if I can adjust the expected value (I don't care of truffle stuffed figs retail for $4 each, they cost me 25 cents to make!... I don't give away 2. I'll give away 10.), Ill do that, instead.

Along the same lines

A good friend of mine is a masseur.

He charges $120 per hour off the stree & $60 friends & family.

For $10 or $20 gift exchanges, instead of giving away an hour, he gives away 15 or 30 minutes.

Another friend is a pilot.

Instead of free rides, he'll give away free "escort through security".

Q

[Dravin]

I consider the idea behind price limits to be to keep people from feeling bad that they can't keep up with the Joneses on gift values. Both them feeling bad they can't afford iPads to give out, and feeling bad that their name didn't get drawn by the person who can afford to give out iPads. If it is just a case of waiting until JC Penny has a holiday sale or going down to the local outlet, I'd feel fine going by the sticker price. If we're talking about something that requires special connections, or you managed to get one of the three TVs some electronics store was using as a door buster on Black Friday then I'm inclined to consider the actual worth of the item. If it's homemade, you'll have to figure out just how much the labor is worth and if you need to consider it in addition to raw materials. If we're talking services, you'll probably want to go by what they could have purchased it from you normally (including discounts the entire group would be eligible for).

Edited December 8, 2013 by Dravin

[beefche]

I typically have price limits with my GNO friends. I don't count anything that I have in the house (I buy inexpensive gifts throughout the year to keep in case of emergencies). And I look at the total amount. For example, I have a $10 limit. I have lotions/soap on hand that only cost me around $3 but are worth $10 (I wait for them to go on clearance). I do not count those towards my gift. If I buy a scarf for $5, then I have an additional $5 to spend. So, the gift may end up being a scarf, pair of earrings, lotion and lip gloss, but I only spent the $10 on the scarf and earrings--the others I have plenty of in my house for such an occasion.

[Roseslipper]

if you get it on sale or clarence so be it your a good shopper. thats how i see it.

[Bini]

In the past we capped exchange gifts at $30 but now that the family has expanded and there's more of us, we have voted to do cheaper gifts, and now cap it at $15 per person. Since gifts are randomly received (we do a Christmas story and pass it left or right X amount of times before it's in the hands of its final recipient) they should be unisex. If someone gets a Rolex on massive sale for $15 (LOL yeh wouldn't that be something) it's still a valid gift. The general rule of thumb is don't buy a $5 gift when everyone else is getting a $15 gift. So we give the allowance of no less than $10 and no more than $15.

[Vort]