I already believed this, but I’m glad that this concept is now written up so I can point to it in the future!
Another frame: A lot of people seem to think “oh, Billy likes cookbooks, I’ll buy him a cookbook since he’ll probably like that”. But that’s exactly backwards! Billy has spent a lot of time figuring out which cookbooks are the best, which ones suit his tastes; it’s very unlikely that your money spent on a cookbook you picked more-or-less at random would be spent nearly as efficiently as if you just gave the money to Billy straight up. Conversely, you would have to spend a lot more effort to research the space of cookbooks to give even a passingly good gift.
Instead, just give him something where you have comparative advantage; something from a hobby you enjoy that is a bit foreign to the recipient. The best gift I ever got was a sketchbook and set of drawing pencils; I know nothing about art, but appreciated the gentle nudge from an experienced artist.
It’s very unlikely that your money spent on a cookbook you picked more-or-less at random would be spent nearly as efficiently as if you just gave the money to Billy straight up.
I think this is a big part of why gift cards are popular gifts: you’re admitting this fact, while also knowing what they like and what they enjoy shopping for. I also agree your “Instead” option is even better, if harder to do well.
I already believed this, but I’m glad that this concept is now written up so I can point to it in the future!
Another frame: A lot of people seem to think “oh, Billy likes cookbooks, I’ll buy him a cookbook since he’ll probably like that”. But that’s exactly backwards! Billy has spent a lot of time figuring out which cookbooks are the best, which ones suit his tastes; it’s very unlikely that your money spent on a cookbook you picked more-or-less at random would be spent nearly as efficiently as if you just gave the money to Billy straight up. Conversely, you would have to spend a lot more effort to research the space of cookbooks to give even a passingly good gift.
Instead, just give him something where you have comparative advantage; something from a hobby you enjoy that is a bit foreign to the recipient. The best gift I ever got was a sketchbook and set of drawing pencils; I know nothing about art, but appreciated the gentle nudge from an experienced artist.
Expanded into a shortform blog post! https://austinsibly.substack.com/p/the-best-gift-i-ever-got
I think this is a big part of why gift cards are popular gifts: you’re admitting this fact, while also knowing what they like and what they enjoy shopping for. I also agree your “Instead” option is even better, if harder to do well.