honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, December 6, 2007

ARE YOU BUYING THIS?
The gift that truly keeps on giving

By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Columnist

StoryChat: Comment on this story
Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

A survey conducted for eBay found that 83 percent of adults in the United States receive unwanted Christmas gifts — and that 47 percent of them either regift the items or sell them online. A shopping expert says that makes good environmental sense, because somewhere out there, someone would be delighted to find a hula girl soap dispenser under the tree. Fruitcake, though, might be another matter.

JOAQUIN SIOPACK | The Honolulu Advertiser

spacer spacer

'TIS THE SEASON TO THINK GREEN

The green Web site www.treehugger.com has put together some suggestions that don't include weaving your own clothing but offer practical ways to boost your holiday green.

1. Be sure your material gift will get used. Give material possessions only if you know the recipient well enough to pick out something they might get for themselves, or they really need and will enjoy using.

2. Give a consumable gift. Your friend will love your consumable gift twice: once while enjoying the organic teas, fair trade coffee, fresh flowers, fruits and nuts, or other consumable gift; and again when they appreciate having no guilty conscience about a gift left unused in a closet.

3. Share a piece of yourself. Offer your services to baby-sit while your friend enjoys a cozy date with their partner, give a gift certificate for a relaxing massage, or some other service around the house (in which case you just save that massage for yourself).

4. Make a gift of a green service. You can buy a green service. Consider a gift of carbon offsets for a commuting colleague.

5. Make a gift of any service. You will still reduce material consumption by giving a service of any kind.

6. Give a gift where it is needed on behalf of someone better off. Make a child smile when they get a card describing the child in another part of the world whose life will be improved by the gift of a llama or a sheep on their behalf (for example via World Gifts or Heifer).

7. Creative gifts show you care. The baby sweater you knit yourself is more likely to become a family heirloom and preserved for years.

8. Buy a local gift. A gift made or grown locally can tell a story or share a unique product you have discovered in your own stomping grounds.

9. Buy high-quality goods. Sometimes a little extra care or money invested will result in finding a high quality gift that will have a long lifespan. Try flea markets or vintage and second-hand shops for quality goods you can afford: then make the gift "new" with a personal touch like a special paint job, or some ribbon around the edges.

10. Think about your packaging. Use packaging that will not go to waste. Your packaging may be part of the gift itself, such as wrapping the gift in a scarf or enclosing it in a box that can be reused for collecting life's odds and ends. Reusable wrapping, such as a gift bag, will pass on the fun. For family and close friends, use the Sunday funnies.

spacer spacer

Not a fruitcake lover?

The folks who sell all year long online at eBay or Yahoo have found a creative way to salvage a well-meant but under-appreciated gift.

You can regift or even sell the gift online, according to shopping expert Marsha Collier, the author of "Santa Shops on eBay" and "eBay for Dummies."

And, yes, it's true that fruitcake makes up a 15 percent slice of the food-and-drink items that people would regift. Love it or loathe it, fruitcake stirs strong feelings during the holiday season and there already are some available for sale.

A regifting survey conducted by Harris Interactive for eBay found that 83 percent of U.S. adults receive unwanted gifts during the holiday season — and that nearly half of those (47 percent) typically regift or resell such items.

Even those ill-matched gifts — the stockings that would look more at home in a bordello or the hula girl soap dispenser — may be someone else's treasured find. You may not appreciate a Disney ornament but lots of folks collect them.

ANONYMOUS IS BEST

Collier suggests you do some homework: "To determine whether an unwanted gift is reasonable to sell on eBay, check out the site and see how and if similar items are selling. Track these items to see if they are selling and, if so, for how much."

She said that helps you price the item right. If you know your gift-giver won't mind, Collier said you can say that you appreciate the gift but feel it would be more appropriate for someone else. More likely, you can post it anonymously and risk fewer hurt feelings.

Collier also offers some regifting tips. Don't rush to give it away right away, but wait until you find the match for it. "Keep the unwanted gift in a dust-free closet with a Post-it note, indicating who originally had given you the gift."

And be careful to avoid leaving gift card evidence. She said, "Nancy doesn't need to know that George wished you happy holidays in 2002 with matching his and her reindeer aprons."

And it turned out in the survey that even those who didn't like what they got appreciated the gesture. The survey said that nearly one-third of all adults (32 percent) would rather get a present that they could regift or resell than not get a present at all.

So what do these people admit to regifting? Food and drink tops the list (35 percent), followed by beauty and bath products (23 percent) and trinkets or collectibles (18 percent).

Most likely to be resold? Electronics and appliances (18 percent); DVDs, CDs and books (11 percent); and event tickets (11 percent).

Want to simplify your holidays? There are lots of ideas for that, including a whole list from the eco-friendly folks at tree hugger.com.

They range from giving such services as a massage or yardwork, or donating to charities or other worthy causes in a gift recipient's name.

And on to practical suggestions such as using the Sunday newspaper comics for wrapping paper, and giving edible gifts that won't get shoved into some closet.

The Environmental Defense Web site has some good ideas, from donating time or money to a charity in honor of the gift recipient. Or the gift of a membership to a botanical garden, aquarium or other eco-friendly organization.

SOMEONE WANTS IT

Collier said reselling gifts on eBay actually complements the green movement because it is the ultimate way to recycle.

"By reselling your misfit gift, you ensure that someone who really wants it/needs it/has to have it gets it in the end," she said.

And even Collier has some other "green" tips:

Use creative wrapping materials. Buy a blank roll of newsprint to use for all your gift wrapping. Then get kids or friends and relatives into decorating it with markers, glitter or stamps to create festive drawings such as snowflakes, candy canes and snowmen.

Save gift packaging. Bubble wrap, Styrofoam peanuts and boxes can come back year after year.

Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2429.

• • •

StoryChat

From the editor: StoryChat was designed to promote and encourage healthy comment and debate. We encourage you to respect the views of others and refrain from personal attacks or using obscenities.

By clicking on "Post Comment" you acknowledge that you have read the Terms of Service and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Be polite. Inappropriate posts may be removed by the moderator.