Another book question

Nebb

So my dad is a pain to buy for - he will give you a list 2 weeks before christmas, but it is always very obscure things (books you cant find in local stores) or things that you cant possibly find in 2 weeks.

When he was here for thanksgiving, he commented on how much he liked my bamboo spoons (small, large, different shapes) and I found a GREAT price for the same set online. There is still 75$ left over.

Last year, of his obscure books he asked for, 3 of them I could only find online, and 2 of them had FAR better prices on amazon.ca than in the local book chain.

Would it be rude to just skip asking for christmas ideas this year and get him a gift card for amazon. He doesnt have credit cards so normally he cant order online, but I have looked into it and it doesnt appear he will need a credit card unless he goes OVER the 75$.

Good idea?

cupcakesfrosting

That sounds like a good idea. That way he can get exactly what he wants..

K&J64

I don't think it's rude to give a gift card, especially if he likes books. And the beauty with Amazon is you can buy almost anything on there so if he spend almost all of it on books and has a little left he could buy pretty much anything he could imagine.

I don't know how the amazon GC works though, can you use if you find something being sold by another seller other than Amazon? I would just double check that you could do that first b/c there's a lot on the site that isn't actually sold by amazon.

Nebb

My dad is pretty good with the internet, the only thing holding him back is the credit card thing.

Nebb

Hmmm the reloadable visa could work, though I would have to look into how they work. I dont want it to scream, "you suck dad and need a credit card" though. He filed for bankruptsy MANY years ago and just never got a credit card again after because he learned to live without them, but he does find it difficult when he has needed to book a hotel or something like that (and has asked me to book it with my card and pay cash, hes never abused this). I just dont want him to see it as a judgement. I want to include a card explaining the reasoning behind it too.

I got him 3 of the 5 obscure books last year, but with the timing he was still getting books up till february because he left it so late with his list. He cant be trusted with christmas lists and hes so difficult to buy for.

Ive run this past my brother (not the other book question brother) and hes a bit ticked I was able to figure something out because he has NO idea what to do haha

pirategal03

lol I like "he can't be trusted with Christmas lists"

No one in my family or in H's family "does" lists.  We just have to wing it, so I feel your pain. 

amber2123

No one here does lists, or even talk about things they want.  You have to find the tiniest little hint from 4 months ago and hope that they havn't changed their minds...or get something generic

leah2b

I think its a great idea.  It will allow him to browse around and pick whatever he likes and order it. The only thing I see is the problem mentioned above about trying to make the balance be at or near $75 even.  I just checked amazon and it looks like they won't refund any balance left over (say if he spends $70.20) unless required by state law, but it will stay in your amazon account and won't expire.  Hey, nothings always perfect.  Great gift idea and gives your dad some flexibility to pick and choose what books he wants.

leah2b

I might add that it is VERY impressive how ahead of the game you are on the Christmas gift'giving season!  It is nice how thoughtful you are in your gifts to your family.

Nebb

Thanks leah

missy68

My dad gets one every year. Now he can use them to stock up his kindle. He's impssible to shop for unless I handmake something.