What To Do With Those Unwanted Christmas Gifts
Your BBB® is here to help you out in case you got stuck with a bad present. Even though the average American will spend 14 hours picking Christmas gifts, 3 quarters of the population will hate their gifts, according to Time magazine.
If we are to believe the online retailer Rakuten, a third of the people will re-gift their unwanted gifts, 27% will donate them to charity, while 14% will sell them. Here are your options:
If you don’t like the gift, have another one just like it or simply think the money would work better for you, don’t open it! If the package is not damaged, you can still exchange it for store credit, which means you can pick your own present. Another idea would be to look for a gift or a regular receipt- if you find one, you are lucky- that’s your chance to get rid of the unwanted gift and get money for it (win-win!).
A trickier idea would be to ask the giver for the receipt- but make sure not to hurt anyone’s feelings. Once you have the receipt in your hands, look up the store’s exchange policy and take your item back before the period expires. In their annual report, Consumer World estimates that most retailers extend their return policy during the holidays for this exact reason.
If you don’t have a receipt, you can still return your item. Just take it to the store- they usually keep records of each item sold, from SKY number to the way it was purchased. You may not get money in exchange for your gift, but you can still get store credit- which never expires, so you can take your time picking a new item. And don’t forget to bring your ID with you!