'Tis the season to regift

Don't like what Santa brought? Pop it on Trade Me. Photo / Supplied

Resourceful Kiwis spent Boxing Day finding a solution to unwanted presents - reselling them on Trade Me.

More than 10,000 listings were added to the online auction site yesterday, with spokesman Paul Ford estimating half were from sellers cashing in their gifts.

Those who labelled the item "unwanted gift" were probably just the tip of the iceberg, he said, as guilt often prevented many sellers revealing they were offloading unwanted presents from friends and loved ones.

One Trade Me member was happy to vent her anger at her husband for an unwanted gift on the site's message board, but was not going to resell it.

"Have said many times how i dont like the things, but oh no he thought he was so clever buying me one cause i did not have one," wrote margyr.

"I would like to sell it, but of course i wont."

According to a Trade Me poll the week before Christmas, 65 per cent of respondents thought reselling gifts was okay.

Ford reckons the trend was becoming more acceptable partly because of environmental concerns.

"People are realising it's better to recycle presents than chuck them in the rubbish."

Unwanted gifts for sale yesterday ranged from the high-end - a $889 camera and a $600 laptop - to the more modest - a $5 notebook and a pair of socks selling for $3.

More bizarre gifts up for grabs included a framed collection of Michael Jackson photos for $70, a new diver's mask for $50, a United States Navy throw for $25, and a kite in Waikato colours for $25.

Some sellers felt obliged to explain why they weren't keeping their present. For clothes, the wrong size was a common excuse, while a Spiderman towel was being offloaded because the seller's kids had "outgrown" the superhero.

One woman was selling a golfing GPS system for $575.

"Unwanted Christmas gift I thought hubby would want and now I can't return", was how she described the item.

Another seller listed a "passionate game for two" called Lust. This never-used item was described as an "unwanted present (don't ask)".

The most common presents were clothing, perfumes, cosmetics, DVDs, video games and books. Tickets and vouchers were also popular.

Despite the surge in presents being listed, Ford said Christmas Day was still Trade Me's quietest of the year.

"But it's still quite incredible that so many people are going online so quickly to list their unwanted presents."

Ford said an American study commissioned by eBay found most people received a Yuletide gift they did not want. "The finding was that 83 per cent of Americans get an unwanted present at Christmas - I think that probably indicates that the other 17 per cent didn't answer the survey truthfully."

10 unwanted Christmas gifts listed on TradeMe

Kitesurfing voucher
Cookies
Clown earrings
Golf GPS
Socks
Camera
Kite
Singstar: Abba
Cookbook
Kenny Rogers CD

TradeMe's golden rules of regifting

1. Remove the card and don't recycle the wrapping paper.
2. Don't resell handmade items.
3. Don't sell it to the person who gave it to you.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY