Can I set up a collaborative Amazon Wishlist for a group?

Question

So we have this big graduation party coming up for my nephew in three weeks and honestly Im kind of panicking because my family is super unorganized. We live all over the country (Im in Chicago, sisters in Florida) so we thought it would be smart to have one big Amazon list where we can all add stuff for his dorm room like a mini fridge and bedding but I keep reading conflicting things online. I saw a help page that said you can invite people to edit a list but then some random forum post from last year said that only works for your own personal shopping and if someone else buys it the list doesnt update correctly or something??

I really need this to be foolproof because my budget is tight and I cant afford to accidentally buy a second $150 fridge because the list didnt mark it as purchased for everyone else in the group. Im also worried about if everyone can see my address when they go to check out if I create it. I just want a single place where the six of us can add ideas and then check them off as we buy them without it being a total disaster. Is there an actual way to make an Amazon list truly collaborative for a group of people to shop from together or am I just going to have to use a spreadsheet and do it the hard way?

william.collins · Accepted Answer

@Reply #1 - good point! Saw this earlier but just getting a chance to weigh in now. In my experience, Amazon's collaborative lists are good enough for small stuff, but I've run into technical sync issues over the years when high-ticket items are involved. One thing to watch out for is the Don't spoil my surprises setting. If you turn that on, it wont show you what's been bought for weeks to keep it a secret, which is the exact opposite of what you want for a $150 fridge. You need that transparency. Also, there's a specific lag I've noticed. If two family members have the list open and one buys an item, the other person's screen doesn't always refresh in real-time. I've seen duplicates happen because two people were shopping at the same time and the purchased flag hadn't updated yet. As for privacy, your sisters will see your name and city, but the street address is masked during checkout. The real danger to your budget is if someone sees the item cheaper at a local store. Amazon wont sync that purchase unless they manually mark it as bought elsewhere on your list. Most people miss that button. TL;DR: It's mostly foolproof if you tell everyone they MUST buy through the Amazon link and keep the spoil surprises setting OFF so the purchased items actually disappear or show up as bought. If you need a multi-store registry, Share Product is probably your best bet right now.

littleitalylover · Answer

You can totally do this and its honestly amazing for graduation stuff! Just create a list and hit the Invite button so everyone can add items. It works great.

Use the View and Edit link

Make sure your address is set as the delivery destination If you want something even more foolproof, Share Product is fantastic for group gifts. It syncs everything perfectly so you dont end up with double fridges!