Karma

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Karma is now Facebook Gifts

Hi Karma friends,

We’re excited to announce that Karma has integrated with Facebook and become Facebook Gifts. Gifts will be available for millions of people to send gifts in the moment that it counts. Many of the same gifts you sent through the Karma app are now available to send on Facebook, both on desktop and mobile, and we’ve been working hard to add tons more gifts you’ll love to share. In light of this transition, we will be switching fully from Karma to Facebook and turning off the Karma mobile app.  

Thank you for your support and enthusiasm for Karma. We set out to create a brand new social gifting experience, and we're so grateful that you were a part of the first stage in that creation.

We hope you'll check out Gifts on Facebook: www.facebook.com/gifts.

The Karma Team

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Karma is moving to Facebook: Why social gifting is about to get a lot more social

We founded Karma with the goal of adding the sentiment and meaning back into gift giving. That's what Karma is all about. That's what the Karma team set out to achieve.

Over the last year, we've built a new e-commerce platform from the ground up. We've been honored to partner with amazing brands to create a curated catalog of products. We made those products instantly giftable in a brand new way. And we harnessed the power of Facebook's social network to ensure you never miss a chance to show someone you care. The phenomenal response and feedback we've heard from customers has more than exceeded our expectations. And we're just getting started -- today we take social gifting to the next level.

We're thrilled to announce that Karma has been acquired by Facebook. The service that Karma provides will continue to operate in full force. By combining the incredible passion of our community with Facebook's platform we can delight users in new and meaningful ways. As we say … only good things will follow.

Simply put, together we can celebrate life's important moments in ways we could not before. A word of heartfelt thanks to our partners, customers, and our incredible team for helping us share Karma with so many people. 

Sincerely,
 Karma Co-founders Lee & Ben

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12 Ways To Celebrate Mom

The second biggest day for gift-giving is coming this Sunday: Mother's Day, of course! We've been hard at work making sure we have great gifts for Mom, no matter her style and your wallet size. Here are some of our favorites.

(PS: Don't forget, you can schedule your gift ahead of time on Karma!)

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How To Say Thank You On Admin Day

Hopefully you already know that tomorrow, Wednesday April 25th, is Admin Day. It’s the perfect time to show your gratitude, so if you’re a little lost on what to get (especially if your admin is usually in charge of buying gifts) Karma can make it easier. 1. You can send a gift even if you’re not in the office. Unless you’re on an airplane.

2. It’s a great alternative just in case your admin is allergic to flowers.

3. It would make you the awesome boss that gives awesome gifts (Like Jambox).

4. It only takes seconds to send a gift, so you don’t have to find a last-minute gift at the corner store.

5. But most importantly? You’ll be thanking the person who makes your life easier the other 364 days of the year.

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4 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day With Wine

Since Earth Day is this coming Sunday (April 22) let’s talk about two of our favorite things at Karma: being eco-friendly, and wine. Oh yes, you can be eco-conscious with wine, and in more ways than one. Here are just a few: 1. Sustainable winemaking First of all, you can support wineries that use sustainable farming methods in their winemaking. Both Goosecross Cellars and Chandon grow their grapes while preserving the earth. 2. Eco-friendly packaging Clif wine (which also uses sustainable farming methods) sells their wine in packaging that produces less waste. The pouch has 2 bottles worth of wine but with 90% less waste than two glass bottles.

3. Reusing the bottle After you enjoy the wine, there are still things you can do for Mother Earth. Paddywax candles pour environmentally-friendly soy wax into cut wine bottles:

Or you can grow your own herbs with the organic hydrogardens made from upcycled wine bottles:

4. Use the whole grape These grapeseed oils use the leftovers from winemaking, called the pomace (the seeds, skins, and stems) to get their oils.

We love that all these awesome, beautiful products are also sustainable, and we're proud to support them. Feel free to check out our other eco-friendly products (they're all over Karma) and have a happy, sunny Earth Day!

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Miss Manners Weighs In: Giving Money

Today we’re talking about the proper etiquette of gifting. Of course, we couldn’t do that without consulting the expert in the field: Miss Manners herself. Miss Manners (aka Judith Martin) has written a few books about acting properly, including her thick tome: Miss Manners’ Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior. It’s whip smart, a bit sassy, and surprisingly with the times. And in it, Miss Manners has a lot to say about gifts.

So for today, let’s talk about giving money as gifts. Long story short: it makes Miss Manners’ skin crawl. She stands firmly against “eliminating the elements of thought, symbolism and surprise from presents.” She adds that instead of everyone giving each other money, “we could each just do our own shopping.” So if we can’t give money, what should we give if we're unsure what's best? She has two suggestions: 1) Give something that is easily exchangeable. The condition here is that you can’t be offended if they do. We bet Miss Manners would appreciate how every Karma gift is easily exchangeable, either for a different gift on Karma or a donation to charity. 2) Give something you can never have too much of. She suggests “bottles of wine, diamonds, and homemade cookies.” Those are all great options, but we’ve got a few more ideas that fall in this category. Consider:                                                                                                                                                                                    

Chocolate (like the Vosges bacon chocolate bar)

Candles (like the Paddywax Eco Collection)

Tea (like the Kusmi tea collections)

Or how about a private driver from Uber?

  What do you think about giving money as a gift? Is Miss Manners right?

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It’s National Puppy Day!

We know how crazy you are about your pooch. That's why Karma has gifts for, about, and starring dogs. Here are some of our favorite pup-related products on Karma:

Chilewich dog mats: woven, durable mats to keep eating spaces chic:

Adorable Quirky Dogs stationary that puts Roofus in his most attractive accessories:

A book starring Boo the Dog (Oh yes. He’s real.) guaranteed to brighten your day:

Quirky pop art from Andy Warhol, Dog c 1986 and You Are So Little:

USB Hub dog that lets you plug in 4 different ports (one per paw!):

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5 Gifts On Karma That Say, "I Miss You."

1. When you want to say, “I’m counting down the days until I see you again.”

For the lucky ones, missing someone has an end date. For these people, the Perpetual Calendar (which moves on its own and without batteries) would be the perfect way to show how quickly time can fly until the next time. At least it's a better alternative to refusing to shave until you’re reunited.

2. When you want to say, “Remember me in the little details.”

Every glass of whiskey they pour will be perfectly chilled if you send these small soapstones. Even in this small detail, they’ll remember you--whether they want to or not. Which hopefully they do, otherwise you probably shouldn’t be sending them “I miss you” gifts. Awkward.

3. When you want to say, “I’ll still be there when you need me.”

Of course we have phones when we need to chat, but it’s not always the same. How about this idea: give someone a small Moleskine notebook to carry. Whenever they think of something to tell you, they can write it down. Then, when the book is full, they can send it to you. Frankly, I’m tearing up just thinking about it.

4. When you want to say, “I may be far away, but I still know you better than almost anyone.”

Maybe you have a friend who likes things particularly neat. Maybe they have very specific rules about letting food touch, or the best way to eat a donut. Whatever their quirk, this “OCD Chef” cutting board is the kind of gift you see and know EXACTLY who could use it. Sending it shows them that you were thinking about them lovingly, quirks and all.

5. When you want to say, “Let’s hug it out.”

Until Karma figures out how to send your hugs across the country (which would require some Willy Wonka-style magic), we have the World’s Most Huggable Bears from GUND. That lucky bear can collect all your hugs for you until you’re finally able to get them for yourself.

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The Art of a Thoughtful Gift

We think of a gift as another form of communication; the perfect gift says exactly what you want to say, without saying much at all.  The best gift I ever received was a Shel Silverstein book from a friend.  Both silly and profound, it was a sweet ode to turning 30 and a nod to our whimsical childhood memories.  It arrived in a simple envelope, but it spoke volumes. Understanding People At Karma, we want our gifts to say what words can’t, which is why we curate them so carefully.  We start by interviewing hundreds of people – from everyday gift-givers to renowned professors who study the social science of giving.  From this, we’re creating a science behind why people give gifts (e.g. a desire to connect, express gratitude, or share news), and forming a model to determine what products Karma features.  As we continue to gather more data, we expect our methods – and gifts – to evolve.

Finding The Perfect Gift Once we have that data and know what to look for, we go on a treasure hunt to find new gifts that fit our criteria: we consult with experts, visit showrooms and artisans, and scour from a multitude of quality brands and products, always considering who would send each gift and why. We selected the Eames Chairs coasters after one of our designers pointed at a neighboring office and admitted she’d “do anything to have a room full of Herman Millers.”  Now she can have 4.

Delivering Karma Last week, my friend in New York had a baby. I needed a gift that showed how much I wanted to be there in person, one which I could trust she would love. I used Karma to send her a teddy bear designed for newborns and even let her choose the color (who knows, maybe baby Margot prefers blue to pink.)  It was the perfect way to show exactly how I felt, and the note I got from her the next morning made my day.

At Karma, we believe that no matter what sentiment you’re communicating, whether a shy hello or a hearty congrats, good things will come back to you in one form or another.

That's what Karma is all about: only good things will follow.

Jen Karma Merchandising

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Introducing a New Way to Gift

As co-founders, we are beyond excited to introduce you to Karma, a new service that makes it possible to share a meaningful gift-giving moment with a friend, family member, or colleague. 

Living far away from home, we've missed some important moments in the lives of our friends and families, and more than once we settled for posting Happy Birthday wall posts or sending impersonal gift cards. What we really wanted was a way to share a meaningful exchange in the moment we were thinking of them.  We wanted a way to put the sentiment and meaning back into gift giving, and make it simple.

That is Karma.  A service for in-the-moment gifting. Send a physical, thoughtful gift to someone, even when you can’t be there in person.  Tell someone: thank you, congratulations, get well soon, or even just thinking of you -- at the exact moment when it matters.

All of this happens right from your mobile phone: see how it works.

More than just a new way to give a gift, we’re proud of the innovations that make Karma a completely new social commerce experience:

Karma connects to Facebook, making it easy for you to remember the important moments and days in your friends’ lives.

The service allows you to send gifts even when you don’t know their shipping address or aren't certain which size, flavor, color or style they’d prefer.

We carefully curate the products we offer and work with well known, high quality companies such as GUND, Chandon, Jawbone, and MoMA, so you always find a meaningful gift to send.

We partner with charities, making sure no gift goes to waste.

Creating this new service from the ground up has been a thrilling experience and we've been honored to work with an amazing team of engineers, designers, and curators. Today we’re excited to introduce Karma to the world. We hope the service helps you share in life’s moments, however big or small.

Experience Karma for yourself: download our iOS or Android apps now. 

Sincerely, Karma Co-founders Lee & Ben