To Regift or Not to Regift? New Yorkers Say Absolutely!
Thrift stores have changed a lot since I was a kid. It used to be that the only exciting thing a person could find in a thrift shop was a cute top or like-new pair of jeans and both for under five bucks.
These days, thrift stores are trendy spots where a person can pretty much anything imaginable and sometimes, even un-imaginable things.
Not long ago, my family went on a mini road trip and say a sign for Goodwill and decided to check it out because we've learned the places with the most interesting things tend to be in rural areas. To our happy surprise, all items with a red tag were priced at 39 cents that day, and let me tell you- we walked away with a good-sized haul.
Two items I found in the 39-cent price category were band new and still sporting their original price tags. One of the items was a Williams Sonoma holiday pancake mold set which regularly retails for $25.00. The other item was a Winter Cheer guest napkin tray which also normally costs $25.00. Did I buy them? You bet. Am I planning to regift them to someone next Christmas? Absolutely!
I see nothing wrong with buying things in excellent or brand new condition at thrift stores and regifting them. What I do have a hard time with is regifting something that has been given to me, even if I’m not crazy about it because of guilt.
However, if I were to give someone a gift and learn they regifted it to someone else, I would be fine because I’d rather the gift go to someone who will like it rather than in the trash bin.
I started wondering just how many people regift and was actually surprised how many people don’t. According to a Marist Poll, 36 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 29 are big into regifting. The second-largest group of regifters are 30 to 44-year-olds at 27 percent followed by 20 percent of 45 to 59-year-olds and people over the age of 60 are the least likely to regift at 17 percent.
Guess where the majority of regifting takes place? According to DNA Info, right here in the Northeast, specifically in New York. So, if you've been considering regifting a gift but have been plagued with worry that it would somehow be inappropriate, stop worrying and just do it - apparently everyone else in New York is!