Aunty's unwanted gift goes straight to eBay

Published on Friday 25 December 2009 21:38

MORE than £700 million will have been spent across Britain on unwanted Christmas presents this year.

New research, carried out by eBay and TNS, has found that the average person will snub one in 11 presents they receive on Christmas morning.

One in four people are believed to recycle unwanted presents by giving them to someone else as a gift. A fifth of those surveyed under the age of 35 admitted they would try to "rehome" unwanted gifts by selling them on after Christmas.

The least-wanted presents are said to be power tools or other DIY equipment, home appliances or an experience, such as a hot-air balloon trip.

And it is aunts and uncles who are said to be the worst culprits.

EBay spokeswoman Julia Hutton-Potts said: "Whether it's the wrong size, a duplicate or it's just not for you, 'rehoming' an unwanted present means it will find a new owner who appreciates it, as well as allowing you to buy something you really want with the money."

Among the most likely unwanted Christmas gifts to end up on eBay are sat-nav systems, DVDs, saucepans, paintings, kitchen appliances and perfume.

A mobile phone is said to sell every 16 seconds on the site, while iPods are snapped up once a minute.

An unwanted sat-nav sells for an average of 62 on eBay, while the average laptop sells for 116.38. Saucepans sell for an average of 17.62 and Chanel No 5 perfume sells for an average of 49.49.

The top-selling toys on eBay this year were Go Go Hamsters, Lego, Scalextric, Playmobil and Thomas the Tank Engine.

The vampire epic Twilight was the most searched-for book on eBay, while episodes of Only Fools and Horses were the most in-demand DVDs.

Ms Hutton-Potts said: "Christmas gifting trends are already becoming apparent, particularly in the toys category, where the retro classics Lego, Scalextric and Thomas the Tank Engine are all currently in the top five most searched-for toys on the site."