Registry and Gift Forum

SoKind -- Thoughts?

FW and I have been living together for more than a year, and I've been on my own since I was 22 (I'm 40), so we don't need "stuff." I found SoKind and like the idea of guests volunteering, giving carbon offsets, and giving handmade items or gifts of time. 

Is anyone familiar with SoKind, and what do you think of it?

Re: SoKind -- Thoughts?

  • Never heard if it, but if someone I knew did that for a registry I'd definitely side-eye it. 

    If you don't want "stuff", just don't register. People will get the hint and send you checks. A handful of people might still give you some sort of boxed gift, but there's nothing you can do about that except graciously accept it. 
    --

  • Never heard if it, but if someone I knew did that for a registry I'd definitely side-eye it. 

    If you don't want "stuff", just don't register. People will get the hint and send you checks. A handful of people might still give you some sort of boxed gift, but there's nothing you can do about that except graciously accept it. 
    Point taken. It seems to be more of a "know your crowd" thing. While some of our friends might go for it, our families are more traditional. 
  • Feel free to donate any $$'s that your guests or well wishers gift to you. I have my own charities that I like to donate to and I volunteer at the homeless shelter of my choosing. As a guest I'd side eye being asked to support causes on behalf of someone else, something I might not even feel strongly about (or may even downright oppose). Don't register at all - people will get the hint, then you can do whatever you wish with anything you are gifted.
                 
  • Not a fan.  Any registry that includes a fee already sets red flags for me.  Any registry that includes a section that directs guests on how to gift cash is inappropriate....

    How do I ask for monetary contributions (for a honeymoon fund, mortgage fund,
    college savings fund, etc.)?

    With a basic SoKind registry, you may either ask gift givers to give/mail you a check directly, or you can create a personal fundraising campaign on a separate website and include a link to it on your SoKind registry. Either way, we recommend that you include instructions in your gift description so that your guests know how to get the money to you. No monetary transactions are conducted directly through SoKind.


    I know how to gift cash to someone.  I don't need to be told how, nor do I need a service to do so.  If I know you well enough to be invited to your wedding, then I will know you well enough to know that you enjoy personal/homemade gifts, or prefer cash for something which you are saving. 



  • edited February 2016
    MobKaz said:
    Not a fan.  Any registry that includes a fee already sets red flags for me.  Any registry that includes a section that directs guests on how to gift cash is inappropriate....

    How do I ask for monetary contributions (for a honeymoon fund, mortgage fund,
    college savings fund, etc.)?

    With a basic SoKind registry, you may either ask gift givers to give/mail you a check directly, or you can create a personal fundraising campaign on a separate website and include a link to it on your SoKind registry. Either way, we recommend that you include instructions in your gift description so that your guests know how to get the money to you. No monetary transactions are conducted directly through SoKind.


    I know how to gift cash to someone.  I don't need to be told how, nor do I need a service to do so.  If I know you well enough to be invited to your wedding, then I will know you well enough to know that you enjoy personal/homemade gifts, or prefer cash for something which you are saving. 



    Whoops! I missed that part. Thank you for pointing it out.
  • I'm very passionate about how I spend my charitable donations and dislike the thought of being told to support a specific charity as my gift. I would rather give money to the happy couple as a gift or give a 'date night' present instead. If you don't need stuff, do not create a registry and people will get the hint.
  • I will say that I started a SoKind registry.  But it's still totally secret and super hidden (like, you need a password to access it.)  I don't have charity contributions on it or ways to give me cash, but I decided to use it to encourage people to give me used items.  I'm a thrift store fiend and like the idea of getting someone else's hand-me-downs.  So I put items like "Wine Glasses" and "Gardening Containers" on the registry.  The intro encourages visitors to give me gifts from their own basements or attics, garage sales, and thrift stores.  I don't know if I'll ever make the registry public, but it was actually encouraged on TK that I use that site rather than some of these others.  So, I guess I'm saying, that it depends on why you're using it.
  • adk19 said:
    I will say that I started a SoKind registry.  But it's still totally secret and super hidden (like, you need a password to access it.)  I don't have charity contributions on it or ways to give me cash, but I decided to use it to encourage people to give me used items.  I'm a thrift store fiend and like the idea of getting someone else's hand-me-downs.  So I put items like "Wine Glasses" and "Gardening Containers" on the registry.  The intro encourages visitors to give me gifts from their own basements or attics, garage sales, and thrift stores.  I don't know if I'll ever make the registry public, but it was actually encouraged on TK that I use that site rather than some of these others.  So, I guess I'm saying, that it depends on why you're using it.

    That's actually how I was leaning towards using it, for secondhand or handmade stuff rather than donations or gifts of cash. Also for volunteer time, services (like dog sitting, because we have a rescue pit bull mix), and maybe donations to their choice of charity rather than ours.
  • adk19 said:
    I will say that I started a SoKind registry.  But it's still totally secret and super hidden (like, you need a password to access it.)  I don't have charity contributions on it or ways to give me cash, but I decided to use it to encourage people to give me used items.  I'm a thrift store fiend and like the idea of getting someone else's hand-me-downs.  So I put items like "Wine Glasses" and "Gardening Containers" on the registry.  The intro encourages visitors to give me gifts from their own basements or attics, garage sales, and thrift stores.  I don't know if I'll ever make the registry public, but it was actually encouraged on TK that I use that site rather than some of these others.  So, I guess I'm saying, that it depends on why you're using it.

    That's actually how I was leaning towards using it, for secondhand or handmade stuff rather than donations or gifts of cash. Also for volunteer time, services (like dog sitting, because we have a rescue pit bull mix), and maybe donations to their choice of charity rather than ours.
    I'm okay with the secondhand or handmade stuff, and I'm mostly okay with the gifts of service.  I'm even okay with a gift of experience, like a membership to the local Art Museum or tickets to a Sporting Event.  I'm not okay with asking people to make charitable donations though.  If I make a charitable donation, it has nothing to do with you or your wedding; it's between me and my charity.
  • I also have a SoKind registry. I liked that I could put anything from any store onto it, as well as "generic" items like "aprons," "cookbooks," etc. As a guest I would also appreciate being able to purchase an item anywhere I wanted vs. going into the store and printing out the registry.
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  • I also have a SoKind registry. I liked that I could put anything from any store onto it, as well as "generic" items like "aprons," "cookbooks," etc. As a guest I would also appreciate being able to purchase an item anywhere I wanted vs. going into the store and printing out the registry.
    But if this is the *only* reason you're using SoKind, there are other universal registries you could use.  Like Amazon.  I do things like that on my Christmas Wishlist; things from other websites, general "wine glasses" requests.  In fact, this option is probably why I never made my SoKind public.
  • adk19 said:
    I also have a SoKind registry. I liked that I could put anything from any store onto it, as well as "generic" items like "aprons," "cookbooks," etc. As a guest I would also appreciate being able to purchase an item anywhere I wanted vs. going into the store and printing out the registry.
    But if this is the *only* reason you're using SoKind, there are other universal registries you could use.  Like Amazon.  I do things like that on my Christmas Wishlist; things from other websites, general "wine glasses" requests.  In fact, this option is probably why I never made my SoKind public.
    I thought the website was cute and customizable and also appreciated the secondhand option - I asked for secondhand cookbooks, for example. Overall it was my favorite of the universal registries available.
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