A reader humbly let me know that my wish list strategy of pasting URLs into Google Docs is outdated. Instead, the reader says, use Wishpot.com (thanks JaneG23!). I tried it out over the weekend, and now must tell everyone that Wishpot is the greatest.
All you have to do is put the Wishpot button on your internet browser's toolbar. And then, whenever you shop around on a Web site, you click it and the item you're looking at automatically shows up on your wish list.
How simple is that? One click, instead of copying and pasting and typing into a Google doc. You can share your list with friends and family (hello Christmas!) and also watch the prices change.
The visuals are the best part. As I was updating my list, I saw that some items I thought would look great together, in fact, looked terrible together. I happily crossed those items off my "needs" list.
Another perk is tagging. You can tag each item, so that when you look at your house list, you'll only see home décor &mdash not all the clothes and movies you want.
You can see from a screenshot of my list that I really need the salt chairs from Design Within Reach for my dining table, as well as a fancy camera for work and orange Orla Kiely hand and face towels. Santa, are you watching?

Comments (22)
I totally agree. I am in love with wishpot too. What a great idea.
http://portlandsunshine.blogspot.com/2008/07/wishpot.html
I like Stylehive. Same concept. http://www.stylehive.com
So, which one do people like the best?
that's cool. exactly what I am lookin for. Thank you!
Wishpot is way better. I mean Stylehive is cool but if this is a wish list & registry debate then it is clear Wishpot is ahead. Stylehive just seems to have too much stuff and not a really clear focus compared to Wishpot which seems more straight forward for someone like me who isn't great with computers.
What does everyone else think...?
Amazon does the same thing with their universal wishlist button.
We're using Wishpot for one of our wedding registries. It works great! We've had no complaints thus far :)
i agree with heatherkneely - i LOVE wishpot! so user friendly and it's fantastic for registries.
No import button? Sigh.
who has no import button? I think I used one on Wishpot to move my Amazon stuff over...
I've loved http://www.kaboodle.com/ for years now.
It does have an auto import from amazon.
I like the Universal Wish List from Amazon. My friends and family know I've had a wish list on that site for years, and now I can add things that Amazon doesn't sell.
Whatever wish list function used, it is a great thing!
wishpot definitely has an import button. it's on the same tools page as the browser button.
one of the awesome features of wishpot that kaboodle and amazon lack, speaking to the spirit of the original post, is that it has price alerts. so if anything goes on sale, you're automatically notified. it's fabulous. i've snapped up several great deals.
I use Amazon universal wishlist. It made sense because I had an Amazon wishlist already. I like the interface.
thanks for sharing! i've just signed up :)
@bfootnovellista: On Wishpot? Supposedly there is one (browser add-on), but I'm doing it manually.
Fantastic! I would have loved to use this during our wedding preparations, but since it's exactly one month ago today, I think the registry for that occasion is out :)
But come christmas, people will start asking regarding presents again, so why not have a clever answer for once instead of "Oh, I don't know, you decide!" and risk receiving yet another item that doesn't make me happy?
And the best thing about this site is that the currency can be put in euros or pounds too. Just great!
Evernote is brilliant too. It's private, not public, but it's my favorite widget.
I found the wishpot button here - http://www.wishpot.com/public/tools/buttons.aspx
I use Amazon and it's "Add to Amazon Wish List" extensively. I have a public wishlist, as does my cat, for things I know I want. (Yes, he has received gifts off his list.) I also have private lists that I use for um... window shopping. So, for instance, if I were going to be buying dining chairs in several months, I might title a separate private list Chairs, then just collect images and prices for a month or two before I even started test-sitting and inspecting in the real world.
I think I just confessed to a bit of OCD.
Oh! If an you add to your list something that Amazon sells to the list and then it becomes one of their "gold box specials" they'll send you an email alert. Oh yeah, I've got a problem.
I like myregistry.com. They have all of the features you mentioned, plus an option for a cash gift. When my husband and I used it for our wedding registry we set up a cash gift fund for our honeymoon. This year, we are going to put a cash gift option on our christmas list since we really need cash more than anything right now. I will probably still add a few regular gifts though (they also have a button you add to your toolbar to add gifts from any website). I definitely recommend checking this website out...we love it!
wishpot also has that cash feature and a chipin one that works with paypal
I tried the Amazon universal wishlist but I'm a tad disappointed because a) it doesn't work smoothly outside the US (and I live in the UK) and b) it does treat the non-amazon items as less important, which makes sense from their perspective but it's not necessarily my best interest.
I tried many services and I'm now convinced by Wishpot, which just added British Pounds and Euro as supported currencies - yay! :)