A game-changing new app is revolutionising the art of gift giving by enabling people to send gifts with nothing but an email address.
Bonzar allows users to browse, buy and send thoughtful, beautifully wrapped gifts to anyone, anywhere in Australia without providing a private mailing address.
Co-founder and director of Bonzar, Chris Henry, says the idea came about when tragedy stuck his online gaming community.
“Our online gaming group would often spend countless hours playing games, talking about life, work and getting to know each other,” Chris said.
“When our friends’ son passed away, our community was bereft for him and his family and wanted to express our condolences and well wishes to our online friend.”
“We wanted to be able to let their family know they were being thought of, but we couldn’t without disclosure of their personal information.”
Chris says Bonzar was created in such a way as for people participating in online gaming, online dating, online support groups or other social media to be able to send each other more thoughtful gifts, with user safety the priority.
“The recipient doesn’t need to disclose their personal information to receive well wishes from a gift sender, so they can maintain a safe online presence while being able to interact with each other on a more personal basis,” he continued.
“Our key point of difference is that unlike other online websites or apps, our customers don’t need to have a physical shipping address.
“We have a patent pending solution which requires only the email address of the person they are sending products to, eliminating privacy concerns as the receiver’s personal details are protected and withheld from the gift sender.”
Chris says the receiver is made aware of the sender’s identity and intention and choose whether or not to accept the gift.
“It’s fast and hassle free, as the recipient controls the delivery. It’s gift giving made easier!”
Chris, who grew up in Sydney with co-founder and brother David Henry, says he moved to Nelson Bay in order to reduce costs while developing the app.
“I found Sydney too expensive a place to develop Bonzar, and some of the best contacts for app development support are in the Hunter region.”
“Sydney developers were not interested in the Bonzar project, with many disregarding it as they didn’t understand its capabilities or the direction I wanted to take it.”
“I’m now being assisted by the Newcastle (Hunter) Business Centre through NEIS. They provide me with support in developing the app while trying to start this business.”
Bonzar is currently free to download from the iTunes app store and available to users of iPhone 5 and 6 in Australia, but Chris said there are big plans for Bonzar’s future.
“An Android version, as well as international presence, is necessary for users to be able to interact worldwide with anyone, anywhere.”
Image | Bonzar co-founder Chris Henry
