Amazon Patent Lets You Exchange Bad Gifts Before They Arrive

There may be no need to return an unwanted Christmas present from Amazon in the future, thanks to their new Bad Gift Exchange patent.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on December 29 2010

Your mother is notorious for buying teddy bears for your kids—even when they’re 12. Your sister gives you a new Jackie Collins novel each year, though you much prefer Jane Austen.

We’ve all got bad gift-givers in our lives who leave us with piles of clutter that we can’t be bothered to return. But according to a new patent, hope may be in store for us—as long as our relatives do their shopping on Amazon, that is.

The mega-online shopping company has just filed a new patent that will allow you to return gifts ordered online before they’ve even gotten to your door. According to the patent, an Amazon user could create a profile and choose to “convert all gifts from Aunt Mildred” into a gift certificate, which will allow you to purchase something you actually want. The item she’d originally intended to send you will never even leave the warehouse, but no worries—Amazon’s service will even send a thank-you note for her original gift.

The service can also be used to ensure that all clothing ordered is the giftee’s correct size, or to set number limits on particular items: “no more than 10 pairs of socks,” for instance.

This new system could save on shipping costs, and prevent that look of glum disappointment on Christmas morning for thousands of people. There’s no word yet on when the Bad Gift Exchange system will be available, but until then, you might just need to hold onto your reindeer sweaters.

Filed under: Weird,

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