Facebook Gifts swaps virtual trinkets for real life goods

Remember the Facebook Gift Shop, that place where you could pick up virtual Troll dolls and send them to your friends? Well, it died. But, a phoenix has arisen from its ashes -- Facebook Gifts -- which will allow you to send real Troll dolls to your friends. You'll be able to order gifts for people directly through the social network and suggestions to pick up a little something will be tied into birthday reminders and life events like weddings. The new initiative is the result of its decision to purchase Karma, a social "gifting" app, in May. Over a 100 retailers have signed up for the launch, including Starbucks, and Facebook obviously will be taking a small cut of each sale, which could be a huge source of monetization for the company, especially on the mobile front. Interestingly, friends can be notified before a gift is delivered and will be given a chance to tweak orders -- just in case you don't know your mom as well as you think you do. Gifts is rolling out slowly in select cities now and will expand in the coming weeks. Though, it also has a viral element since once you've been sent a gift you are also blessed with the ability to send gifts yourself. Check out the source links for more details.

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Facebook Gifts swaps virtual trinkets for real life goods originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 16:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.