Startup spotlight: Un-useless gifts from it3c
Published: 13 Aug 2000 07:00 BST
It3c.co.uk is the new gift giving site that intends to offer "Goodwill. Globally," by promising to never deliver an unwanted present. The catch is that you don't even get a present in the first place, as it's all virtual!
Customers choose from a vast online catalogue of bizarre gifts, ranging from "two stealth bombers" to "a poor boy from a poor family" (not exactly slick consumer items here). The virtual items are then virtually wrapped in the virtual packaging of your choice, and a personal message can be attached.
Over the next four days, the recipient of the gift is informed on the progress of their package's delivery. Strange things happen in the it3c postal system -- parcels can go down with tummy bugs, or be kidnapped in Greenland. Your inbox will quickly become harassed with it3c emails, with little indication of whether or not you will ever receive your gift.
Bizarre? Well, that's the point -- the site is actually an elaborate spoof of all the real e-commerce sites out there. With it3c there are no real items to ship, so it's definitely the thought that counts.
The site: It3c.co.uk
What it does: Erm, hard to say really
How it works: You pretend to send gifts to people who then pretend to receive them
Who it's for: The virtually lazy
Why the Web? It's a virtual world, after all
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