eBay GroupGifts helps friends and family chip in on gifts

Coming together with a group of people to buy a group gift should be an easy and straightforward task, but ask anyone who has been in charge of a group gift and you'll learn that it is anything but. eBay GroupGifts is a new tool that the auction website hopes will make it easier for friends, family and co-workers to come together in communal giving.

The new GroupGift tool allows the gift giver to select a recipient, occasion and a Buy It Now item from eBay, and with a few clicks invite a group of people to chip in on the gift. eBay GroupGifts is free to use, and while the organizer needs a PayPal address, contributors don't need an account. When it comes to inviting others you can use Facebook, connect to your address book in many popular e-mail services, or manually enter e-mail addresses.