Amazon wishlists work. That is the honest starting point — they are free, they handle purchase tracking, they let you set a priority, and the people you send them to already have an account.
They also have one hard constraint, which is that everything on the list has to be sold by Amazon. For a lot of wishlists that is not a constraint at all. For some it is the whole problem.
When the constraint bites
- The thing you actually want is from a small maker with their own website
- You want to compare across stores — the same item at three retailers, so whoever buys it can pick
- You are wishlisting from a specialty retailer: a bike shop, an art supplier, a tool supplier
- You would rather the people buying were not all pushed to one retailer
- You want a wishlist someone can open without an Amazon account, on a page that is just the list
If none of those apply to you, keep using the Amazon wishlist. Genuinely. This post is for the case where they do.
What a store-independent wishlist looks like
On MakerManifest you build a list by pasting the URL of any product page. The title and picture come from that page. An item from a big retailer and an item from a one-person shop sit side by side and look the same, because the list is the container and the store is just where the link points.
Then you publish it and get a link. Whoever opens it needs no account, no app and no sign-in — it is a web page with your things on it.
The honest comparison
Where Amazon wins:
- Purchase tracking. Amazon tells buyers what has already been bought. MakerManifest does not — every visitor sees the same list. It is on the roadmap; it is not here yet
- Price and stock changes are live on Amazon's own list in a way a link-based list cannot fully match
- One-click buying for someone already logged in
Where a link list wins:
- Any store, one list
- No account needed to view, which matters more than it sounds for older relatives
- Your own note on every item — size, color, "the blue one", "any of these three"
- You control the order, so the thing you most want is at the top
- It is a page you can send anywhere — a group text, an email, a printed invitation
Things that make a wishlist get used
- Have a price spread. A list where everything is $150 is a list nobody buys from
- Be specific. Link the exact size and color. Ambiguity is how you get the wrong thing politely
- Say when something is a "one of these" set. Note it on the item: "any one of the next three"
- Keep it current. Delete what you have bought yourself. A stale wishlist is worse than none
The practical bits
A free account holds 10 lists at 25 items each, which suits the way wishlists actually get used — one for birthdays, one for Christmas, one for the ongoing "things for the house" pile. Lists are drafts until you publish them, so nothing is visible while you build. Basic raises the limits if you outgrow them.
One transparency note: product links may carry an affiliate tag, and every public list shows a disclosure saying so. It changes no prices for whoever is buying, and it is stated on the page rather than buried.
Make a wishlist free — from any store, for anyone.