Re-Gifting to Re-Homing
By Bernice Hurst, Managing Director, Fine Food Network
People have probably ditched gifts since time immemorial. There have always been long lines at return counters in the days following Christmas. Then came re-gifting; saving the unloved object to pass on to some other unsuspecting recipient - always provided you remembered not to send it back whence it had come.
Or you could consign it to some deserving poor soul through a charity collection. But apart from satisfaction, what would you get for giving away a gift?
This year, eBay has provided a welcome alternative. Close to a million items were listed between December 26 and 30. New listings rose by about a third after the company introduced a discounted rate in the UK of 10p, giving the original recipient not only a chance to make someone happy but also the wherewithal to purchase something they themselves wanted.
An estimated £1.2bn was spent on unwanted gifts in Britain this Christmas with hundreds appearing for sale on the internet within 24 hours. The average cost of the "turkeys under the tree", as The Guardian said they have been dubbed, is £20 a person, according to a survey by YouGov for eBay, the auction site.
Richard Kanareck, spokesman for eBay.co.uk, was quoted as saying, "Whether it's the wrong size, you have it already or it's just not for you, re-homing a present means it will find a new owner who will really appreciate it."
Some unopened gifts were hyped with assertions that the givers were likely to have spent generously, according to The Times. As one seller said, "This is a pot luck lucky dip. I do not have poor friends so the gifts should be good." Another rejected something from his father, saying that knowing him, "it will not have been cheap." Yet another seller said an easy-to-knit scarf kit was "a lovely idea [but] I cannot knit and really don't have time to learn." And a father was selling a mobile telephone given to his son that was just "too complicated."
Re-homing means that unwanted, unloved gifts become wanted and appreciated. Friends and relatives can stop dreading re-gifts and both original and new recipients can enjoy the gift giver's largesse. Happy ending or what?
Discussion questions: How do you think this growing opportunity to re-gift online changes the holiday season for consumers and retailers? Could it work, for example, to reduce the number of returns that retailers see after the holidays? What effect do you think eBay's re-homing service has on the company's relationship with consumers?