The inevitable will happen. In despite of your clear instructions, you’ve been given the wrong Christmas present – whether it’s a smartphone, laptop, tablet, eReader or something else. Hopefully you’ve managed to nod and smile like everything is okay to avoid embarrassment and hurt feelings, but you don’t need to chuck the unwanted present in a drawer to be forgotten about. That’s just a waste.
If you did get given something you really don’t want then you can sell it and use the money to buy what you actually wanted. There are various options so read below to see how to sell your unwanted Christmas gifts.
See also: How to make extra money online.
How to sell unwanted gifts: Sell to a friend
By far the best option is to sell to someone you know (friend, family member or colleague) – as long as they want what you’ve got. It’s the simplest method with the fewest complications and almost nothing can go wrong. Agree on a price and do the deal – job’s a goodun’.
How to sell unwanted gifts: Use Gumtree
If you can agree on a price then the buyer will probably collect quickly and be chuffed with their find. If you don’t know anyone to sell to then Gumtree is a good shout. It’s a free and easy way to list something for sale on the internet. Set a good price for it (higher than you actually want) and expect buyers to offer less than advertised. However, make sure you check the cash you’ve been given as Gumtree offers no security and it is easy to get conned.
How to sell unwanted gifts: Use eBay
Gumtree is good, but if you don’t like the lack of security or don’t want people coming to your house then list your item(s) on eBay. You’ll be advertising the item to millions of people so you’re likely to find a buyer quickly. Consider listing as Buy it Now if you want to make sure you get a certain price, but more people will be inclined to bid if you use the auction format.
The down side is that eBay will take a 10 percent cut of your final value (as well as on the postage cost if it’s not local collection) and if you take payment via PayPal there are fees involved there, too.
Read: How to sell on eBay – 30 tips and tricks for making more money.
How to sell unwanted gifts: Amazon Trade-In
It’s fairly niche but Amazon offers a Trade-In service for books and video games. Simply search for the item you have and in the bottom corner of the page should be a box offering you an exchange for a gift card. The postage is free and you can even drop items off at a post office or local pickup point like newsagents.
How to sell unwanted gifts: Sell to a shop
One option is to sell your item (depending on what it is) to shop. High-street stores such as CEX, Cash Converters and Cash Generator will buy things from you. You might not get a great price for it, but it’s worth a look and you can often check how much you’ll be offered online.
Speaking of online, if you’re trying to sell something like a smartphone or tablet (perhaps you got a new one for Christmas which isn’t unwanted but you want to sell your old model), there are hordes of sites which will recycle it and pay you money. Do a search online at sites like Sell My Mobile to compare prices. Like the high-street stores, you might not get a great price but it’s worth a shout.
