A look at the GiftOff service (formerly known as Pock.io)
So with Bitcoin Black Friday happening there recently, we had been saving up our bitcoins that we’ve been generating from our mining pool reviews to splash out on a few things. We had hoped to try both Gyft and eGifter, but both of these stores only support North American Gift Cards. While looking for alternatives that could let me buy an Amazon.co.uk voucher, I stumbled across a nice little site called Giftoff
The site accepts bitcoin, and lets you convert this into gift cards for a wide variety of UK high street and online stores. While this reviews covers Amazon.co.uk, they cover a wide range of stores, which are listed below the article. Their range is impressive, with many recognisable names to choose from. There’s also the likes of Ryan Air, meaning you can now book a holiday in or out of Ireland with bitcoin.
Once you have selected a store you want to buy a card with, you then enter the amount you want to buy. This will give you a bitcoin value, and you send this and your network transaction fee to the specified address. After a couple of network confirmations, the transaction is confirmed, and you will receive an email informing you that your code is ready to be collected. Simply log back into the site, and you are presented with your code, and from there you can redeem it in the store for whatever you want.
In review, the process of buying the card was simple, it took me less than half an hour to go through the whole process, and the site really does have a fantastic range of shops to choose from. I wish there was something like this for Irish stores, but as there isn’t, it really is the next best thing for anyone looking to spend their bitcoins in shops that will ship to Ireland. It does what it says, and I highly recommend it.
27/12 Update – List of supported gift cards UK (Some of these should work for Irish shoppers for their online stores):
ActivityGifts.co.uk, Adventino, Agent Provacateur, Amazon (UK/FR/DE), American Apparel, American Golf, And Dutch, Animal, Anthropologie, Apple Store (UK), Argento, Artfinder.com, ArtSupplies.co.uk, ASOS, B&Q, Bags of Love, Bannatyne Spa, Beermerchants.com, Belgo, Belle Italia, Bliss World, Blurb.co.uk, boardshop.co.uk, Boots, Brastop.com, Bravissimo, Bronzemoon, Build a Bear Workshop, Burton, BuyAGift.co.uk, Cafe Rouge, CG Discount Gold, Chain Reaction Cycles, Charity Voucher, Cineworld, Clarins, Clogau, Cloud 9 Vaping, Cowshed, Crib Online, Cult Beauty, Debenhams, Decks.co.uk, Denby, Dorchester Collection, Dorothy Perkins, EA Origin (UK), EthicalBabe.com, Etsy, Evans, Evans Cycles, Facebook, Figleaves, Finicky, Firebox, From Britain With Love, Games Workshop, Google Play, Great British Pub Card, Greggs, Guest & Philips, Hart Fly Shop, Harvester, Hilton Photographic, Honesty Cosmetics, H Samuel, Hush, Illamasqua, iSubscribe, Itchycoo, iTunes (UK), Jack Willis, JAM Percussion, Jason, Jaycotts, Joe Browns, Joules, JustGive,org, Kathmandu, Kent Diving, LEGO, Leusire Lakes Bikes, LendWithCare.org, Liberty London, Live & Love Crafts, Lollipop Lane, Long Tall Sally, Lush Locks, Luxury French Lingerie, Machine Mart, Made.com, Mamas & Papas, Margaret Howell, Marks & Spencer / M&S, Miss Selfridge, Monster Threads, Mothercare, Mr Porter, National Rail, New Look, Nintendo, Notonthehighstreet.com, Nuxe, O’Neills, Oliver Bonas, Orvis, Paperchase, Paul Smith, Pet Planet, Pizza Express, Playstation Network, Playstation Plus, Pro Bike Kit, Raddison Blu, Ralph Lauren, Rapha, Ray Mears, Red5, Robinsons Brewery, Rock Bottom, Royal Academy of Dance, Royal Albert Hall, Rutlands, Ryanair, Sally Mitchell Fine Arts, Scottsdale Golf, Sea Shepherd Store, Simply Cigars, Simply Rooms, Simply Seed, Skype, Snap Fish, Sous Chef, Spafinder Wellness365, Sportfish, Spotify Premium, Squibbly Biskit, Starbucks, Steam, Sticky 9, Strada, Sweaty Betty, Terrier Play Net, Tharpa Publications, The Carved Angel, The Folio Society, The Lavender Fields, The Protein Bakery, Ticketmaster, Tipsy Feet, TK Maxx, Toms, Topman, Topshop, Ultimo, Upper Street, UR Cheeky, Urban Outfitters, Volksbits, Wallis, Watersports Warehouse, Waterstones, What Kate Did, When Skies Are Grey, Whittard, Wiggle, Windhorse Publications, The Woseley, Woolovers, Xbox (UK), Xbox Live (UK), Zara, Zizzi, Zynga,