Under the Gumtree

Guest Blog Post – Dom Joly

Actor and comedian Dom Joly’s top tips for dealing with Christmas bloopers

It happens every year. We all know the forced smile, the shaky tone and the hesitant gratitude. Unwanted Christmas gifts can be embarrassing, painful or outright hilarious but when the pine needles have fallen and the tinsel is boxed up there’s no need to grin and bear those festive gift gaffes.

I’ve had some shocking gifts in my time, from a three inch porcelain donkey to a supposedly artistic piece of weathered wood! While these may require a buyer of unique taste, Gumtree.com has released research showing that Brits are sitting on £2.4 billion of unwanted Christmas presents. According to the research, mothers (21 per cent of Brits rate them as the worst), aunts (16 per cent), and mother-in-laws (18 per cent) are the top three culprits for getting Christmas presents wrong.

The findings show that every adult in the UK will have received up to two Christmas present bloopers this Christmas, each worth an average of £48.41 each.  The most unpopular gifts are clothing and accessories (42 per cent), beauty products and toiletries (27 per cent), jewelry (13 per cent), and trinkets and ornaments  (13 per cent).

I’m a fairly disorganised Christmas shopper, usually leaving it to the last minute and spending a lot to compensate. Bad hats in particular seem to find their way to me at Christmas time and this year I’ve received two which will I’ll be offloading soon- I usually make around £100 a year from unwanted gifts!

 Some top tips for a quick sale of unwanted presents

• Describe your unwanted gift accurately
• Include photos of the item from several different angles
• Try to keep it boxed or in its wrapping if possible
• Include the original RRP if you know its value
• State that it’s an unwanted gift in your title and description – this implies that it is new so could result in a higher value sale
• Be realistic with your price expectations
• If swapping an item, ask questions about the product you expect to receive