Frequently asked questions – click the links to find the answer.
What is Oxfam’s online shop?
What are Oxfam Unwrapped gifts?
How does the Oxfam Unwrapped scheme work?
Can I find out more about the people/projects my Oxfam Unwrapped gifts have funded?
What do we/my recipient get if we purchase an Oxfam Unwrapped gift?
Can you send me a catalogue?
Will my money fund the actual Oxfam Unwrapped gift I choose?
Why have your delivery charges gone up?
What else is included in the price of my Oxfam Unwrapped gift?
How do you choose the Oxfam Unwrapped gifts that are sold and how do you price them?
How much do you spend on the marketing and production of Oxfam’s Online Shop?
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What is Oxfam’s online shop?
It’s the answer to all your shopping needs. It combines our funusual Oxfam Unwrapped gifts, Fair Trade and ethical food and gifts, as well as unique goods donated to our High Street shops – from books and music to clothes and homeware. You can place an order of any combination of these gifts and products and then sit back and wait to receive them. Or send them directly to a friend or family member to celebrate any occasion!
All the money raised supports Oxfam’s work to fight poverty and suffering overseas and in the UK.
What are Oxfam Unwrapped gifts?
Oxfam Unwrapped offers a range of famously funusual solutions to every gift buying dilemma, whether it be for Christmas or other festivals, special days such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, birthdays, anniversaries or weddings. Whether you build a bog, get green-fingered planting an allotment or help to start a business… all of the gifts available will help Oxfam to overcome poverty and suffering all over the world. There are over 50 great gift ideas, and prices start from £5. These can be bought on-line, by phone, post or through your local Oxfam shop.
How does the Oxfam Unwrapped scheme work?
You buy a gift from Oxfam Unwrapped; you receive a card and a fridge magnet (and/or e-card) that represents the gift that you have chosen to give to your friend or family member; someone in the developing world receives this gift. Whether it be an alpaca to earn a living from, the means to plant an allotment, or safe water to drink – the result is that their lives are much improved!
Can I find out more about the people/projects my Oxfam Unwrapped gifts have funded?
Please view the ‘My Gift’ pages to see where your gifts have been used and what impact they have had on the lives of countless people. Unfortunately, we are unable to tell you exactly where the particular gift that you have bought will have gone, as this would be too costly, and mean that less money would be available to use where it is needed most.
What do we/my recipient get if we purchase an Oxfam Unwrapped gift?
You will receive a gift card with one of 11 designs on the front (or the picture of the gift you are giving, if that is what you would prefer), together with a fridge magnet that represents your gift. You can also choose to send an e-card on its own or in addition to the gift card and magnet.
Can you send me a catalogue?
Yes, you just need to complete your details on our request a catalogue form and this will be despatched by first class post within three working days. This catalogue just contains the Oxfam Unwrapped gifts.
Will my money fund the actual Oxfam Unwrapped gift I choose?
Read about how your gift works and how we spend your money.
Why have your delivery charges gone up?
We have had to increase our delivery charges from £2.85 to £3.50 in order to ensure that we are covering as much of our direct postage costs as possible. We aim to be as transparent as possible about postage charges, and at the previous rates we were making an overall loss. We are working on a tiered sytem of postage charges for different products, but do not currently have this functionality.
All profits from Oxfam's Online Shop go towards our mission of overcoming poverty, and we hope that, despite this pricing change, you will continue to support our work by shopping with us online.
What else is included in the price of my Oxfam Unwrapped gift?
We include transport, coordination, and training in the price of the gift. We are also legally obliged to include a proportion of the cost of producing the Oxfam Unwrapped catalogue and posting the cards and vouchers in the price of each gift. Our aim is to make the best use of our supporters’ money by making the biggest possible difference to the lives of people living in poverty around the world.
How do you choose the Oxfam Unwrapped gifts that are sold and how do you price them?
We design our Oxfam Unwrapped catalogue around the needs of the communities who we work with, and all the gifts have been identified as essential by these communities. The pricing of gifts is based on the average costs of buying the items around the world. The cost includes the costs associated with delivering and maintaining the item or service. For example the price of a goat includes transport for the animal to reach its destination, vaccinations, training in animal husbandry, a project coordinator, market awareness training and the costs of Oxfam Unwrapped.
How much do you spend on the marketing and production of Oxfam’s online shop?
Oxfam Unwrapped has proved a very cost-effective way of raising lots of money for Oxfam’s work around the world. We have provided over 1,000,000 gifts to 47 countries already. Our aim is to make the best use of our supporters’ money by making the biggest possible difference to the lives of people living in poverty around the world.
For every £1 invested in the marketing and production of Oxfam Unwrapped we get nearly £7 back. We recover the production and distribution costs of the catalogues and gifts by including this in the price of the gifts. And although the catalogue costs only 21 pence to produce, our average order is over £40. We are constantly working to minimise the costs and maximise the amount going overseas, and this margin is getting better with each catalogue we produce.
It’s early days for the rest of the shop, but we have high hopes that this will be as cost effective as Oxfam Unwrapped has been.
Overall, for every £1 given to Oxfam, 80p is spent directly on our emergency, development and campaigns work, 10p is spent on support and running costs, and 10p is invested to raise more money.