I just saw this for the first time, but Ebay and its Paypal unit are promoting a new group gift service that allows multiple friends (Facebook, that is) to chip in to purchase “Buy it Now” items. Looks like a great way to diffeentiate from othe retailers and leverage Paypal. Smarty Pig has a similar service not tied to a retailer and others are contemplating this, but the direct use-case tie in of gift giving may give Ebay the momentum it needs to succeed and even sell this to others.
Link:
groupgifts.ebay.com/