Unwanted presents emerge on Trade Me

Unwanted presents emerge on Trade Me

Thousands of items have appeared on Trade Me in the past 24 hours as Kiwis seek to sell items that missed the mark on Christmas Day.

More than 18,000 items had been added to Trade Me since lunchtime yesterday, and Trade Me spokesman Paul Ford said there had been a surge in listings between 7pm and 11pm last night.

“Lots of New Zealanders kicked back at the end of the day and worked out what they had two or three of, what didn’t fit, what they didn’t like, then spent some time listing these items online before they went to bed,” he said.

He said gift items most likely to be on-sold included linen, stationery, electric shavers, DVDs, ties, chocolates and kitchen appliances. “Items intended as thoughtful gifts for women are also regular contenders, and this year we’re seeing plenty of clothing, sunglasses and handbags that were off the mark.”

He said “clearing the decks” of unwanted gifts is something many people would not talk about openly. “People don’t want to offend the giver, but selling on Trade Me reduces that awkwardness factor as you’re getting it in front of a much wider national audience, not just the handful of people in your social sphere.”

Earlier this month, a poll by research house TNS found that 29% of New Zealanders thought it was acceptable to regift a Christmas present.

“Our take on that is it seems pretty low,” Mr Ford said. “We did a poll online in 2009 and 65% of people said it was OK to sell unwanted gifts. Maybe wrapping it up and passing it along to someone else is less acceptable than simply selling it?”

People listing unwanted presents should make it easy for buyers who were looking for a post-Christmas bargain. “Last December, ‘unwanted gift’ ended up being one of the most popular searches on Trade Me so consider adding those words into the text of your listing.”

Regifting: 3 hot tips

1. Only sell new items, accompanied by as much of the undamaged original packaging as you can muster.
2. Remove the Christmas card.
3. Don't sell items with inscriptions or personal messages.

ENDS

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