For a Few Clicks More

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Don’t have enough money for a new iPad? Maybe a friend can chip in. That’s the concept behind FriendPay, an application from L.A. startup Friendgiftr that lets people ask for donations toward purchasing items online.

Rob Carpenter, chief executive of Friendgiftr, said he created FriendPay when he realized that many people were walking away from their online purchases before checkout.

“People are getting to websites, putting items in the shopping carts and then abandoning them,” Carpenter said. “They do that because they can’t afford it.”

FriendPay launched last month and works like this: When a person shopping at an online retailer clicks away from the shopping cart screen, a FriendPay pop-up appears and asks if the customer wants her friends to contribute to the cost. The customer can then advertise that she needs help buying the item to her friends and family via Facebook, Twitter and e-mail. Those people can then go to the FriendPay website and make a donation. The service also lets people go on the Friendgift.com online store and select items that they want help purchasing.

Friendgiftr gets a referral fee from the e-commerce websites for each sale. The motivation to donate? Givers can get between 5 percent and 20 percent off a purchase of their own.

While that might not be enough motivation for some people, Carpenter said FriendPay could be a good tool for birthday or holiday gifting.

“What if you could have your own Christmas registry that’s broadcast out to your family and friends?” he said. “You’re guaranteed to get exactly what you want and they can contribute any amount they want.”