Unwanted Christmas gifts being sold on eBay and Gumtree – and some presents are still wrapped
UNGRATEFUL Brits have started selling unwanted gifts on eBay and Gumtree and some presents are still wrapped up.
The gifts have been listed under "unwanted Christmas gift" on the auction and listing websites.
Presents being flogged include bath sets, smartphones, gift cards, perfumes, speakers and socks on eBay.
While other gifts have been listed still wrapped up, one seller wrote: "We decided to have a no unnecessary sustainable Xmas this year. A distant older relative didn't understand and bought us these.
"For man, woman and female teenager. Have not been opened so unsure what they are (won't be designer or expensive!)."
There is currently 7 bids on the listing, which is selling for £8 - but there is still four days to go before the auction closes.
Another wrote: "Women's wrapped Christmas presents. All brand new. Gift sets, bath, body and more.".
On Gumtree sellers have listed board games, trainers, books, perfumes, aftershaves, decorations, smartphones and CDs.
How to sell gift cards
IF you've been given a gift card you're unlikely to use, then you can unlock its value by selling it or swapping for a gift card at another retailer.
It could come in handy as research a few years ago estimated that retailers pocket £300million every year in "unused" gift vouchers.
There are several websites you can use, including Cardyard and Zapper.
Just keep in mind that you generally won't get the full value in cash, so consider this beforehand.
To sell a gift card on Cardyard, you'll just need to provide some details of the card gift and send it to the firm to validate it.
It takes a 19 per cent fee cut on gift cards if you decide to sell it for cash, or just under 15 per cent if you sell it for credit to buy another gift card.
For example, a Topshop gift card worth £20 will give you £16.20 in cash or £17.01 in credit.
Similar to Cardyard, Zapper also offers a set price for your unused gift cards.
Last year The Sun wrote about how unwanted presents had appeared on eBay just hours into Christmas Day.
Whereas in 2017, we also reported on wrapped gifts being flogged online.
If you're scouring online to find unwanted bargains then you need to follow simple sales shopping rules.
The key to getting a bargain is only buying and item you really wanted in the first place - otherwise you're spending money needlessly.
Remember to check the price of the item online before you commit to a bid, otherwise you could end up paying over the odds.
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Online selling rules mean sellers must describe the item correctly - but if the item is still wrapped you could end up buying something you don't want, or worse, an empty box.
Think about the risks of bidding on a wrapped present before you commit to buying.
For more tips on how to make money from your unwanted gifts - read our guide.
Top tips for selling on eBay
- Download the app: eBay has focused on making selling even easier and faster, especially when it comes to the app which benefits from seamless integration with your phone’s camera.
- Think like a buyer: Fill the title with as many key words as possible, take photos and write a description that really sells your product.
- Pick your price: Price for success by comparing your items to ones sold in the past 90 days – even see the likeliness of a sale for some listings
- Pick your duration: You also need to consider the duration: a seven-day auction that ends on Sunday gives more time to garner interest and watchers, but if you’re selling a unique item you might want to select ‘good til cancelled’ which gives you plenty of time to get your item in front of buyers with no end date.
- Consider allowing offers: To attract more buyers, allow shoppers to make offers on your listings. You can choose to accept, decline or make a counteroffer.
- Use eBay delivery: When it comes to packaging up and sending your parcel, eBay has secured great prices on tracked services that can be dropped off at thousands of locations nationwide. You’ll save money, be protected and can do it all through the eBay site.
- Go free: Increase your chances of selling by offering your buyer free shipping, you can always include the cost in your price.