By Brian Schultz
A new survey finds that three in 10 Canadians (30% of the population) received a re-gifted gift this holiday season.
The numbers are part of research from eBay Canada, collected by Leger Marketing.
“While Canadians may be reluctant to repurpose holiday gifts, there is nothing wrong with re-gifting or re-selling the item as long as it is done properly,” the study says. “It’s an environmentally- and budget-friendly option for making the most out of unwanted items.”
“Even though the gift may be unwrapped, unwanted holiday gifts don’t have to go unused,” according to Cathie Mostowyk, eBay Canada’s budget expert and editor of the Shoestring Shopping Guide. “Don’t store the item in the back of a closet or hide it under a bed. Rather, look at ways to make the most of unwanted holiday gifts by re-gifting or re-selling the item. It’s a great way to recoup some of the costs.”
Putting up unwanted gifts for sale online isn’t anything new, but it does renew the calls to get rid of unwanted goods and make some cash to go out and buy what you really want.
PayPal Canada — eBay’s payment processing partner — says that half of online Canadians planned to make at least one Boxing Day purchase on the Internet Saturday. 90% of Canadians surveyed said they would avoid the madness found in stores and shopping malls the day after Christmas.
Besides eBay, shoppers are logging onto sites like Kijiji for selling their items locally and Amazon.ca for purchasing retail items. Amazon says the top-selling music CD this holiday season was “I Dreamed a Dream” by Susan Boyle, with the top DVD being “Planet Earth: The Complete Series.”
