Unwanted gifts a hit on Trade Me

BAD SANTA: Unhappy with your Christmas gifts? List them, or look for something better, on Trade Me. PHOTO/THINKSTOCK

Before the ham had even been carved on Christmas Day, thousands of New Zealanders were flogging off their unwanted gifts on Trade Me.

As of midday on Boxing Day, more than 2500 items had been listed on the auction website containing the words "unwanted gift".

From slug guns, to Susan Boyle CDs, to sunglasses, disappointed Christmas recipients have flocked to Trade Me in a bid to make a buck out of a bad situation.

Trade Me spokesman Jeff Hunkin said there was a flurry of activity on the website yesterday as bargain hunters trawled through the listings.

"Boxing Day is a massive shopping day for New Zealanders online and offline, and on Trade Me we see things go berserk after the pre-Christmas lull.

"The Kiwi tradition of checking Trade Me for surplus presents and great deals is in full swing - last year we saw 208,000 searches for unwanted gifts on Boxing Day."

Mr Hunkin said he expected to see similar levels of activity this year.

Items included socks, DVDs, perfume, books, phone accessories and tea towels.

"A recent UK survey showed more than 70 per cent of adults would be disappointed to unwrap socks on Christmas Day, followed by bubble bath and soap sets at 66 per cent.

"Socks consistently feature in crap gift lists so take note if you're guilty of adding these to your shopping cart - especially if they have cartoon characters on them."

Research showed that givers often focused on the gift receiver's personality, instead of what that person might like, Mr Hunkin said.

"People sometimes rush or don't quite get their research done so they go for a blunt option.

"It's also worth remembering that scientists reckon gift givers get a bigger kick out of buying gifts and handing them over than the recipient does - so there's no need to stress out about being the world's greatest gift-giver.

"A boring but safe fall-back option is to opt for a gift card - but we do see these getting cashed up on Trade Me too."

Trade Me had set up a dedicated unwanted gifts section for those wanting to look through the treasures, trinkets and disasters that missed the mark on the big day trade.me/unwanted2014. NZME.