NJ, can we admit that it’s not terrible to do THIS at Christmas?

Every year around this time, the topic of re-gifting is brought up. The people who are against it act as though you might as well just set the Christmas tree on fire because the holiday is now ruined.

But should it be as stigmatized as it is?

There’s more than one way to re-gift. The traditional “rehoming” is a gift that misses the mark by giving it as a gift to someone else.

There’s also selling a gift you don’t want (which is becoming increasingly common).

Badcredot.org did a survey on regifting, and they found so many people are turning their unwanted gifts into profit that the phrase ‘regifting economy’ was created.

New Jersey's regifting economy also turns out to be substantial - when interviewed, 38% of New Jerseyans say they plan on profiting from gifts received this festive season, equating to 2,766,981 re-gifters in the state.

This means that New Jersey's regifting/reselling economy is worth over $289 million!

As big as that regifting economy is, we are far from the biggest.

Thirty-three states are in front of us for a percentage of selling off unwanted gifts.

The worst state for this is Rhode Island. 83% of Rhode Islanders sell unwanted gifts. Because their population is much smaller, theirs totals a bit over $77,000,000, but more than double the amount of residents do this compared to the Garden State.

The state that resells unwanted gifts the least is Delaware. Only 14% of Delaware residents do this. The state making the most money from reselling unwanted gifts is California. Their regifting economy is nearly $1.4 billion.

Is it that much worse to get rid of an unwanted gift by selling it than it is to find a new home?

Is either scenario truly evil at all? I would argue that it’s practical and that people need to calm down about it.

Enough people do it that it shouldn’t seem like an issue. 71% of us know instantly when a present is not good for us. Why let it go to waste in a closet or throw it in the trash?

Whether you regift or sell it off, don’t get caught. 48% have been. The awkwardness must be tremendous. Full disclosure: I’m sweating just thinking about it.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5's Kylie Moore. Any opinions expressed are Kylie's own. You can follow Kylie on Instagram.
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