Many unwanted presents are 'recycled'

PJ Gartin

Autumn leaves end up blocking or clogging the Lowcountry's storm drains so they would be better in the compost pile.

There you are, cash strapped but rich in unwanted gifts. You've been worrying about not having money to buy presents this holiday season. Sharing all those extra candles you've received with others just seems like the enlightened thing to do.

With the drastic downturn in the economy and the gift-giving season on the horizon, many people may be tempted to recycle gifts they have received from others, a practice called regifting, especially when it's passed off as a new gift.

Is that an OK thing to do?

Maybe. Maybe not.

A November 2007, a Harris Interactive poll conducted for eBay found that 83 percent of adults receive unwanted gifts, and 47 percent of those usually regift or resell them. It also found that 35 percent of adults most likely would regift food and drink, 23 percent bath and beauty products and 18 percent trinkets and collectibles. Additionally, 69 percent of those polled viewed regifting or reselling as a form of recycling.

Regiftable.com, a site from Texas-based Money Management International, offers guidelines on regifting. The company has designated Dec. 18 as National Regifting Day in honor of all the regifting done at holiday office parties.

Jerry Seinfeld generally is credited with coining the term "regifting."

"I really don't recommend it," says Lois Hearn, etiquette consultant and owner of yourmanners.com. The person who gave it to you might see it in another's home, especially if it's a very unusual item. What's worst is that it can wind up back with the person who gave it to you."

A gift can be a token of appreciation and love, says Hearn, who recently moved from Chattanooga, Tenn., to Charleston. Good manners dictate that the recipient honor the spirit in which a gift was given.

"If the donor is someone who visits your home and never sees the gift, it can be hurtful," Hearn says. People who feel they must regift should do so to someone who lives out of town so the original donor won't see the item on another's mantel.

Cindy Grosso, owner of the Charleston School of Protocol and Etiquette, has a different view.

"It is certainly OK to regift," Grosso says. It's particularly acceptable when you receive something that you will not use. Regifting an item is better than letting it go to waste.

"This year, you really can't afford to let gifts go to waste. People are going to be more aware of not sticking something in the drawer as they may have done in the past. But I would not regift something that is expensive, monogrammed, made just for you or passed down through the family."

Those who choose to regift should unwrap the gift and remove all gift cards and tags, Grosso says. In addition, they can tell the people they regift to that it's being regifted because it is not needed.

"Sometimes you can just say, 'I've got a million of these.' "

Reach Wevonneda Minis at 937-5705 or wminis@postandcourier.com.