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What People Do With Their Unwanted Gifts

According to a new study from ThatSweetGift.com, one in five Brits put their unwanted gifts on ebay without the giver ever knowing. 

The findings revealed that many people pretend to like the gifts they’re given, no matter how disappointed they may be. Only 8% tell the giver that they were disappointed, while over a third lie and tell the giver that they liked it when they didn’t.

Above: One in five people put their unwanted gift on eBay.
Above: One in five people put their unwanted gift on eBay.

One in three people keep the unwanted gift and leave it sitting in a cupboard unused/unworn; almost a quarter of respondents (23%) said that they had rewrapped a gift and given it to someone else; one  in five has returned or exchanged a gift without the giver ever knowing, with 7% admitting to having sold an unwanted gift on for more than it was worth.

The most popular gifts women would like to receive from their partner or spouse is jewellery (55%), with clothing second (48%) and chocolate getting 43% of the vote.

Clothing topped the list for men (40%), with footwear polled in second place (32%), and chocolate coming in third (27%).

For both men and women, traditional gifts trumped technology. Some 28% of women and 24% of men said that they would like to receive physical books;
20% wanted to receive CDs and 21% of women and 22% of men wanted to receive DVDs.

Above: The average spent on gifts.
Above: The average spent on gifts.

The survey also identified that Brits will give an average of 11 gifts each Christmas and will receive 7 in return.

In terms of how much people are prepare to spend on members of their family, the findings showed that an average of £96.64 is spent on gifts for a spouse or partner; £24.56 on a best friend; £49.30 on mums; £40.65 on dads; £64.21 on an adult son; £64.27 on an adult daughter and £23.60 on grandparents.

Top: Brits will give an average of 11 gifts each Christmas and will receive seven in return.

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