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The credit crunch is being blamed for the sell-off of thousands of unwanted Christmas presents. Hundreds of people - at the risk of offending Uncle Jim or Aunt Joan - are selling presents to earn a quick buck in these tight times.
By noon on Boxing Day, about
6000 items were tagged on the online auction site Trade Me as being "unwanted" or an "additional gift".
Second-hand stores such as Cash Converters have also reported a brisk trade.
"We have been really busy," said Rachel Rippey, manager of the Cash Converters' store in Wanganui. "I think many were unwanted Christmas presents and people just wanted the money."
Trade Me spokesman Mike O'Donnell said his company had noticed a post-Christmas spike in "re-gifting" - the practice of passing along or selling a present to someone else - over the past five years.
This year re-gifting could be driven by the economic downturn, as people looked to make a quick buck by wheeling and dealing on the website.
"It's absolutely a factor. Some people are hard up for money at the moment; they get a gift but they need to pay off their Visa bill, their car registration, whatever, so they start selling their gifts," said O'Donnell.
The most popular re-gifted items on Trade Me include DVD players, cosmetics, digital camera equipment, linen and ties. Vouchers for books, music and the shopping mall have also been popular.
Among the more peculiar items being sold are a pair of contact lenses ($80), two tickets to the Who concert at North Harbour stadium (bids at $380) and a replica WWE wrestling championship belt ($11).
But "re-gifters" are steering clear of selling that extra set of underwear or socks.
For many, the thought of selling a gift is a Christmas crime and O'Donnell said "re-gifting" etiquette should be followed.
Selling home-made presents is "frowned upon".
All personal labels and name tags should be removed from the gift.
Most importantly, presents should not be sold back to the person who bought them in the first place.
But sellers beware - it was "inevitable" that some of Trade Me's 2.1 million users would come across gifts they had bought for others, up for sale on the site, O'Donnell said.
