Planning to eBay those unwanted Xmas gifts? Think again
Print storyAngry Brits take offence to present on-selling
Posted in Music and Media, 19th December 2006 12:17 GMT
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Women in their 20s from the South East are most likely to take umbrage at seeing their lovingly-selected gifts up for auction, though in the North East the majority of the population (88 per cent) will take offence.
The survey of 431 people comes from The London Gift Consultancy, and shows that only 1.6 per cent of respondents would be happy to see their gifts sold on, while 7.2 per cent would be "broken hearted".
Teenagers seem to be the age group most easily upset, but sulking is more-or-less what teenagers are for. Middle-aged men know that Christmas isn't about gifts, it's about getting a snog at the office party, so are least likely to be upset at seeing their gifts online.
Despite all this, other research shows that 15 per cent of UK online shoppers plan to sell their unwanted gifts online, with another 35 per cent considering it – presumably waiting to see what the gifts are before deciding.
The London Gift Consultancy offers useful advice to avoid seeing your carefully-chosen presents ending up on eBay, though it seems a little late to tell people to "plan ahead" or "allocate time" with the big day less than a week off.
The best advice would seem to be, if you want to avoid getting upset, just avoid eBay for a few months after Christmas and maintain that illusion that your girlfriend really wanted that phone-holster-garter, or buy all your gifts from El Reg instead. ®
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