Unwanted presents hit Trade Me

As Kiwis recover from too much ham, pavlova and bubbly, thousands of unwanted Christmas gifts are being listed on online marketplace Trade Me.

More than 12,000 items have been added to the website since 4pm on Christmas Day, with the majority of these from people seeking to cash in unwanted gifts.

Trade Me spokesman Paul Ford said listings were up 20% on 2009 with most items added to the site between 8pm and 11pm last night. “People had their dinner, did the dishes, put the kids to bed, then listed some of those presents that were double-ups or missed the mark completely. In particular we saw a lot of women selling presents from men.”

Last year, Trade Me ran an online poll and 65% of people thought it was acceptable to regift. We’re not on our own either, with a recent American survey finding 68% of people have regifted or considered regifting an item.

Mr Ford said while some sellers were blatant about the fact they were selling unwanted gifts, a taboo around regifting still existed. “Trade Me’s an appealing option for people who want to avoid getting snapped selling unwanted gifts as it’s highly likely you’ll sell your item to someone way outside your regular social circle.”

The items most likely to be regifted included women’s clothing, cosmetics and jewellery. “This indicates plenty of Kiwi blokes out there aren’t particularly good at guessing what the ladies in their lives actually want to unwrap on Christmas Day,” he said.

"If you take a quick trawl round the site you'll find a bunch of women’s perfumes that have failed to delight the receiver, and some adventurous lingerie deemed impractical by the recipient. Also popular this year are women's necklaces and pendants, proving that many men really don't have taste."

Other traditionally high frequency regift items included linen, stationery, electric shavers, CDs and DVDs, ties, chocolates and kitchen appliances.

Regifting: 3 hot tips

1. Only sell new items, accompanied by as much of the undamaged original packaging as you can muster.
2. Never regift or on-sell a handmade item: the knitted tea cosy and the homemade marmalade must stay.
3. Don't regift items with inscriptions or personal messages.

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