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Home / Lifestyle

Car 'in the wrong colour': Kiwis list thousands of unwanted Christmas presents on Trade Me

NZ Herald
25 Dec, 2020 07:45 PM4 mins to read

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The wrong colour car. Photo / Trade Me

The wrong colour car. Photo / Trade Me

A Mazda Demio in the wrong colour and a "piece of s***" toy are among more than 4000 unwanted Christmas presents already for sale online.

New Zealanders are wanting to offload the presents, posting them for sale on Trade Me in a bid to get rid of them.

By 8am on Boxing Day, more than 4400 presents that had apparently missed the mark had been listed on the marketplace.

"It's become a Kiwi tradition to jump on Trade Me on Boxing Day to browse all the unwanted Christmas presents," Trade Me spokeswoman Millie Silvester said.

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"If you're thinking about listing an unwanted Christmas gift on Trade Me, make sure to tick the 'unwanted gift' box when you're listing your item onsite.

"A good backstory always goes down well and be sure to avoid any items that are personalised or easily identifiable - you never know, the giver could be hunting for a bargain on Trade Me too."

Illustration / Rod Emmerson
Illustration / Rod Emmerson

One of the items for sale includes a pair of Apple Airpods Pro from a parent whose daughter preferred to have the standard version.

"Failed Christmas gift! Box opened, but not even put in ears," the description says.

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"My daughter doesn't want the noise-cancelling feature and is adamant she would prefer the standard AirPods."

A spinning ring from a Christmas cracker has also found its way online and as of 9am it had no bids from its starting price of $1.

The description of the ring doesn't do too much for the seller, one would imagine.

"Yet again a piece of S#£% plastic toy from crap Xmas crackers ... Even the hat is crap, and the joke is a joke," it says.

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"This time next year we will all be doing this again and I hope we buy something a bit better! This may however be a limited edition, and it maybe collectable. My loss is your gain, as I also got a plastic tennis racket, and I can only keep one!

"Viewing welcome, however due to demand I'd prefer you hold off if you can. Take my word this is a never to be repeated chance to own this ring. Note, ring is small, and doesn't even fit my pinky correctly."

The spinning ring for sale online. Photo / Gotrentus, Trade Me
The spinning ring for sale online. Photo / Gotrentus, Trade Me

And an orange 2004 Mazda Demio bought only a week or so ago is up for sale. The sellers' spouse gave it to her as a Christmas present.

"In my world not a big deal, but 'Venus & Mars'. So here's a slightly premature 'Unwanted Christmas Gift'," the description reads.

The marketplace uploads after a recent survey revealed millennials were far more likely to resell or regift Christmas presents than any other generation.

Research commissioned by LayBuy has revealed close to half of New Zealanders are comfortable regifting or selling unwanted Christmas presents.

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Millennials are the worst offenders of the generations, with 53 per cent trading unwanted presents compared to just 34 per cent of baby boomers.

And Kiwis are much more likely to trade unwanted presents at 43.6 per cent compared to Australians at 38.4 per cent.

Retail NZ chief executive Greg Harford said it was common to see an upswing in second-hand sales after Christmas Day.

"Part of the joy of shopping for a gift is thinking hard about what makes the perfect present for an individual," he said.

"So, if you're planning to regift something you've received, it's always a good idea to think hard about who you're giving it to."

On Boxing Day last year, close to 5000 Christmas gifts surfaced on Trade Me, nearly 2500 identified as unwanted presents.

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In 2018, there were 20,000 unwanted presents listed and 100,000 searches registered on Boxing Day as opportunistic sellers and bargain hunters jumped onsite.

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