Though Christmas may be the season of giving, some gifts may not be much of a pleasure to receive. Even though your great-aunt’s heart may have been in the right place when she sent you that oversized, shapeless sweater or pair of ugly reindeer socks, let’s face it, you’re never going to use them. You are left with two choices re-gift or return. Re-gifting or re-giving is the act of taking a gift that has been received and giving it to somebody else, sometimes in the guise of a new gift. While re-gifting is a great way to save money and declutter, don’t re-gift something for the sake of re-gifting it, as it may be frowned upon.
Several rules of etiquette are proposed in popular media regarding re-gifting including rewrapping the gift, not using the gift before re-gifting it and not giving the gift back to the original giver. Returning is the process of a customer taking previously purchased or gifted merchandise back to the retailer, and, in turn, receiving a cash refund, exchange for another item (identical or different) or store credit. Many retailers have had to tighten up return policies as a result of items being fraudulently returned, so make sure you have the receipt and check the stores’ policies before rushing to the counters.
