RSS Feeds
fix
Regift Without Guilt (or Getting Caught)
Posted by Kevin Purdy at 7:00 AM on August 31, 2008
The Wise Bread blog has a few tips for anyone who's received such a nice thought from far-away relatives or friends who aren't quite hip to their tastes. If Craigslist, eBay, and same-store returns can't achieve equilibrium, you can turn it around, but not without taking a few precautions against getting caught. For example:
Don't wait too long to regift. ... The older the brand new item becomes, the more obvious it becomes that this is a regift. If you can no longer find the product in the stores, if the packaging has been updated or if the company that made it went out of business ages ago, you're stuck with that item. By all means try to sell it or give it to charity, but as a regift it stinks of "here's an old thing I found in my basement, but hey, it's never been used!"
For more regifting tips, and a few laughs about regifting horror stories, check out Regiftable.com. Photo by tornatore.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
Mr.Purple
Posted 7:49 AM 31/8/08
Of course, if something is old enough (say 15/20 years), it can be rather cool. I mean, a friend of mine gave me a collection of tissues (empty boxes) once, which was cool.
Mr.Purple
FatalisticDread
Posted 7:44 AM 31/8/08
I rarely give gifts outside of my family or close friends, so regifting is a rarity. When it does happen, it's usually pretty quick (got a desktop calendar for Secret Santa at work, gave it to family member).
Other than that, I think my family is so surprised that I remembered to get them gifts, they're fine with something that I've had in a box for the past 3 years.
FatalisticDread
FatalisticDread
Posted 8:00 AM 31/8/08
@Mr.Purple: ...better old than used, right?
FatalisticDread
asl4u
Posted 8:53 AM 31/8/08
I buy gifts as I find them (for good prices - nothing over $15.00) - rather than when I have someone in mind. So I have a closet full of "things"... all new - in package - waiting for Christmas or birthdays... then when the time comes, I go shopping in my closet - and rarely do not have a nice gift that will fit someone - even last minute.
asl4u
WomanWithManyHats
Posted 12:20 PM 31/8/08
We had a cheap soap dispenser that made the rounds at white elephant Christmas parties in the family for years...horrible cat-shaped thing with a poor paint job that looked like it was vomiting the soap. I finally got stuck with it and decided to put it to use, and it was a conversation piece in my house until it broke.
My kids loved it. Their friends thought it was hilarious, and I guess from the standpoint of a seven-year-old, it was.
I could've used these tips back then. But I would have missed out on having the only orange-spewing cat statue in the neighborhood.
WomanWithManyHats
MaxGhost
Posted 12:46 PM 31/8/08
Heh... that's funny... I have the exact same clock as in that picture (at least it seems like it) in my basement. It's not functional tho.
MaxGhost
takeoutphoto
Posted 3:27 PM 31/8/08
@asl4u: With all due respect--and I'm sure this doesn't apply to you in particular--that sounds like precisely the kind of method that increases the potential for a regifting experience.
takeoutphoto
martinpolley
Posted 4:01 PM 31/8/08
And make sure the card that accompanied the gift wasn't left inside the box.
One of our wedding gifts had a card inside "To grandma...".
martinpolley
Taco Del Marcel
Posted 12:16 AM 1/9/08
Maybe I'm just a curmudgeon, but this is one of the reasons I don't like receiving or giving gifts. Especially when it's a nicety done out of social grace or expectation (souvenirs, Valentine's Day, Father/Mother's Day, even Christmas) and not out of serendipity. If it's not something you created or is unique, chances are I would have already bought it on my own (or plan to). I instead send cards, give phone calls or give something consumable that doesn't add to one's guilt-laden "junk pile"...think homemade cookies, cake, etc.
Taco Del Marcel
HellTempest
Posted 11:00 AM 2/9/08
Holy crap, I have a clock that looks exactly like that.
HellTempest
MameDennis
Posted 4:54 AM 3/9/08
My former stepmother once regifted me a scarf.
I know this because I was the one who gave it to her.
MameDennis
dragynphyre
Posted 4:41 AM 3/9/08
I'm not afraid to admit that I've done this. Particularly candle or bath gift sets that I didn't like the scent of get put aside, for those occasions when a last-minute gift needs to be scrounged up. For friends and family, I generally put more thought into it.
dragynphyre
bdgbill
Posted 12:15 AM 4/9/08
A friend of mine got married last month and received an espresso machine from a relative. The box contained an instructional video on VHS tape. It's been at least 5 years since I held a VHS tape in my hand. It felt like an artifact from another century (which I guess it was).
The friend that gave it to him almost certainly recieved this item at her wedding in the early 90's.
bdgbill