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Home / New Zealand

Unwanted Trade Me presents: E-bikes, movie vouchers and tools

NZ Herald
24 Dec, 2021 09:19 PM3 mins to read

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More than 4000 gifts are up for sale. Photo / Paul Taylor

More than 4000 gifts are up for sale. Photo / Paul Taylor

From e-bikes to movie vouchers, Kiwis didn't wait an hour - let alone a day - before listing "unwanted Christmas gifts" on Trade Me.

By Boxing Day morning there were more than 4000 unwanted Christmas gifts listed on the site.

Frustrated partners posted things like a washing line – a second time gift which surprisingly still wasn't a hit.

The poster said her husband thought the gift was "hilarious".

"This is the second time he has done so as he thinks it's so funny please bid so I can get something a little more meaningful for my children and me."

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Another person put a watch from an ex-partner up for sale.

"Ex put minimal thought or care into this gift, much like the relationship (I don't wear watches)."

A full suspension e-bike was one of the first items to pop up by 9am after the present didn't come with a throttle, the Porirua seller said.

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"Our loss is your gain, save $600 off the retail price." It was posted for $7000 buy now.

Further north, a Tauranga family were gifted movie vouchers from UK-based friends but there was the only cinema nearby was Rialto, which "the teenagers weren't into", so they chose to sell.

The three cards, each worth $50, were on for a bargain price of $40 total.

One Aucklander posted a $50 Spark voucher and slapped $10 off the price - selling for $40.

One of the more out there "presents" was 1 cubic metre of "builders mix" - which to the untrained eye looks very much like gravel.

"Unwanted Christmas present left by Santa in the middle of my driveway," the Tauranga based seller wrote.

"This is a chance to get hold of one most un-demanded presents on Christmas day ! 1 meter + of the stuff dreams are made of. Think of the possibilities ... Oh, what to do?"

In the south, a Cantabrian was gifted an "all in one electric sharpener" for $45 which was "unwanted".

A recent Trade Me survey of over 1500 Kiwis found 49 per cent receive at least one unwanted gift every Christmas, and 8 per cent of admit to selling them – and 57 per cent say they would have no problem with a gift they gave someone being resold.

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