About GiftScout

GiftScout is a hosted reminder service for people who buy handmade gifts. You keep a list of the people you buy for — the occasion, the date, their interests and what you want to spend — and GiftScout emails you before each one with gift ideas that are listed on Etsy at that moment and inside your budget.

How it works

• You sign in with Google. GiftScout reads your email address and nothing else.
• You add the people you buy gifts for and, if you like, save specific listings against them.
• A scheduled job runs once a day. For everyone whose occasion is 14, 7 or 2 days away it runs a fresh search on the Etsy Open API within your budget, checks whether the items you already saved are still available, and sends you one email covering all of it.
• Every item links straight to the listing on etsy.com. Buying happens on Etsy, as usual.

What it uses from Etsy

Only public endpoints of the Etsy Open API v3, authenticated with an application keystring: the public listing search and the public listing detail batch. There is no OAuth flow and no access to any Etsy member's private data — not orders, not messages, not shop admin. GiftScout is a buyer-side tool and never asks anyone to connect an Etsy account.

How it is paid for

It isn't. GiftScout is free to use, carries no advertising, and has no affiliate links — the links in the app and in the reminder emails are plain links to the listing on etsy.com. If that ever changes, this page and the reminder emails will say so before it does.

Who runs it

GiftScout is built and run by one independent developer. It is not affiliated with Etsy, Inc. Questions and problems go to the support page.