Is it rude to sell unwanted Christmas gifts on Trade Me? Kiwis are torn

We’ve all been there. You unwrap a Christmas present, slap on a grateful smile, say thank you very much, then quietly wonder where on earth you’re meant to put this thing.

The gift then sits in your room, cupboard, or garage for years. Gathering dust. 

So what’s the move? Is it bad form to flick it off to a new home, or is that just practical adulting?

One Kiwi shared a marketing email they received from Trade Me, encouraging people to list their unwanted Christmas gifts. They asked, “Does this feel wrong to anyone else?” 

The email was headlined “Your ick could be their pick”, with Trade Me suggesting users list unwanted gifts to “make some extra holiday cash”. 

The company also claimed they surveyed 2,000 Kiwis, with less than 5 percent saying they’d be upset if their gift was sold.

The comment section was immediately split. 

A good chunk of Kiwis saw no issue with this at all. 

“I’ve felt guilty about getting rid of gifts, but what’s the alternative? Keep them like an albatross around your neck for the rest of your life?” one user wrote. 

“People wasting their money buying each other plastic crap they didn't ask for feels wrong to me,” said another. 

One person pointed out that this was basically the original purpose of Boxing Day anyway, so “at least you're getting a little something out of it this way.” 

Others weren’t so relaxed about it. 

“Idk why so many people on here are ok with this ad,” said one user. 

“Someone cared enough to buy you a gift,” argued another, adding that advertising it the day Christmas encouraged overconsumption, a rampant issue in NZ.

Another reckoned people should wait longer and “have the respect to not list a gift you literally just got given.”

Some were more so on the fence. 

One said people have always sold unwanted gifts and Trade Me is just running their business, but the word ‘Ick’ felt “tactless”. 

Another admitted it “felt… morally wrong”, but “putting the emotion aside, we are all good”. 

“I think people listing unwanted gifts has always been a thing,” another Kiwi wrote. “But I'd prefer they kept it a little more subtle.” 

Trade Me has chucked up a guide on their site called ‘The Unwanted Gift Guide,’ and the numbers suggest this isn’t slowing day anytime soon. 

According to RNZ, 4,500 unwanted gifts were already on Trade Me by 8:30am on Boxing Day. 

Last year, there were 60,000 searches for unwanted gifts on Boxing Day, and this year, 10,000 were already typing in those words before Christmas Day was over. 

So what do you reckon? Sensible decluttering, or a bit stink?