Amazon Wish Lists make gift giving easy! Read our tips how Amazon wish lists work, how to find an Amazon wish list and more FAQ!
Over the past few years I have become an expert on using Amazon Wish Lists for gifting. Whether its for Christmas, birthdays or just because, using these wish lists helps so much in sending gifts to the people you love!
How does Amazon Wish List work? I want to break down how Ive used it and gotten my family on board too, making all of our lives easier especially when it comes to Christmas shopping and gift exchanges. If youre a Prime member you might also want to check out our list of the best FREE TV shows & movies on Amazon Prime. You can also browse our gift ideas page to see gift ideas for everyone on your list!
How does Amazon Wish List work?
Wish Lists are a gift registry, just like a wedding or baby registry but for any occasion.
To explain how it works, Ill give you an example.
- Annie makes a wish list before the winter holidays and sends her list to friends and family who have asked for gift ideas.
- Annies family can view the list, select gifts from the list and purchase them.
- Amazon then ships the gifts straight to Annies door.
Will this spoil a surprise gift?
The default setting for Amazon Wish Lists is Dont Spoil My Surprise. Users can turn that setting off, but I assume most people leave it so that they can be surprised.
Annie is not notified that gifts have been purchased, or by whom until she opens the gifts and reads the note that comes along with the package.
Will multiple people buy the same gift from the list?
No. Once a gift has been purchased, it is removed from view so that the next person to look at it will not see it as an option.
HOW TO SET UP AN AMAZON WISH LIST
If you already are familiar or have a wish list, go ahead and skip over this part, but scroll down to read the rest!
Before you can use an Amazon Wish Lists for your gift exchange, you need to set one up!
- Log into Amazon.com account.
- From the Amazon home page, click the button that says Account and Lists then hover over Your Lists. You will see some variation of this:
Choose Create a List and then select Wish List follow the rest of the prompts.
Giving it a descriptive name is good because down the line you may want to have multiple lists. My sister in law has a regular wish list, and a book wish list. I have a gift wish list, a home goods wish list [that I keep private] and so on.
How to Add Items from Other Websites to Your Amazon Wish List
How to Find Amazon Wish Lists
Update September 2020:
You can no longer search for a wish list on Amazon.com. In the past, you could search for a wish list using a persons name or email address. Now, in order to see a wish list, your friend has to share it with you. Heres how to go about getting the link!
- In the dropdown menu, select Find a Wish List or Registry.
- Lists you have saved in Your Friends will appear on the left side.
- A message page should come up, allowing you to send an email or copy and paste the message. You can edit the message to make it more personal if you want to. Send the request to anyone whose list youd like to see!
- Once someone shares their list with you, you can add them to Your Friends and as long as their list is marked public, you can check back on their wish lists over and over for future gifting.
HOW TO USE AMAZON WISH LISTS TO ORGANIZE YOUR FAMILY GIFT EXCHANGE
When I first discovered the ease and convenience of using the wish listfor Christmas gifting, I started singing its praises to all of my family. It was pretty common for them to request a list from me each year right around Thanksgiving, so I started just sending them the link to my Amazon list. They loved it. Then they started to follow suit!
Now, each year we send out a reminder via text or email make sure youve updated your wish list! Then, everyone does, and we can happily shop for each other, ship things straight to their door. [Amazon Prime for the WIN when you live far away from each other!!!]
How to Get This Started with Your Family & Friends
- Explain what Amazon wish lists are, and how to use them. Feel free to send the link to this post for them to read!
- Everyone set up their list.
- Make gift assignments, if you do it that way. In our family, we have a rotation. Some people draw names.
- You can either send out your link to anyone who asks, or one person can gather up each persons link and send them out in one big email.
- Easy gifting!
I also will add that not every person has to be on board, but even if just a few are this will help streamline your holiday gifting!
I know this is not the solution for every family or group of friends. Thats fine. But I think that it will work for a lot of people, because it definitely works for our family!
WHY THIS IS SO GREAT
The obvious reason this is so awesome, is that you can get your family the gifts they actually want, and not worry about duplicate gifts. Can I sing the praises for this enough? I hope youll try it out!
xo,