out of 5 stars by
AppAppeal Editor
Lottay.com is a social network for giving cash gifts via PayPal. Users can use the site to send a cash gift via PayPal, including an eCard, to anyone. The user builds a custom web page for the gift on the site, which can be shared via email or Facebook. Gift cards are available for all occasions, including Birthdays, Anniversaries, Holidays, Graduation and others. All the user needs to send a gift via the site is a PayPal account. The recipient must sign up for a PayPal account to receive the gift.
The site is also a social network with Profiles, Friends and a Wishlist, where users can create a list of gifts they would like to receive and share the list with friends. Friends can then begin to donate cash towards the gifts on the user's giftlist. Users have a home page, which shows their wishes, gifts they have given, gifts they have received, and their friends on the site. The site promotes the idea that cash makes the best form of gift to give, even better than gift cards, which often charge a fee and are not always fully redeemed.
Ventura, CA-based Lottay.com was founded in March 2008 by Ross Hale, Andrew Elliot, Alex Rabiee and Adam Olsen. Andrew Elliot is currently CEO, while Alex Rabiee is CFO.
Competition to Lottay.com comes from sites such as WishPot and Wish Listing. Both of these sites allow users to maintain a wish list of gifts they would like to receive, but are not necessarily limited to cash gifts. These sites concentrate on allowing users to add gifts to their wish lists from popular online stores, while Lottay.com concentrates on allowing the user to collect cash gifts in order to purchase the gift for themselves. Wishpot.com has a larger userbase than Lottay.com, while Wish Listing is newer and has a smaller userbase.
The Lottay.com site has a very Web 2.0 look and feel. The site is clean and uncluttered, and navigation is intuitive, with a convenient top menu bar for navigation. The site is quite responsive, and page loads happen quickly. All of the features of the site work well, and the integration with PayPal is seamless.
Registration to Lottay.com is free and is required to use the site. The registration process asks for first and last name, email address and password. Validation of the email address is not required.
A free account at Lottay.com provides the user with access to all features of the site, and no premium membership to the Lottay.com site is offered.
Lottay.com is recommended to anyone who would like to send an online cash gift along with an eCard. The user can upload photos along with the gift, which go on a custom web page created for the gift. The site is also recommended to anyone who would like to maintain an online wishlist, and raise money in the form of cash towards purchasing the gift.
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