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Gift Advice
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| Yes | 41% | 72 votes | Total: 176 votes | |
| No | 59% | 104 votes |
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Add to FavoritesThis really depends upon how long you have had the gift. Let me explain that later. With that understood, I am going for the side that says that this is impolite. If I gave someone something, and then a few days later I heard that they had sold it to someone else, I would be slightly offended. I would feel like they accepted my gift as a way to get money. I might start to wonder if they were desperate for money. I personally spend at least a little while thinking about what I want to give someone as a gift. I give gifts to those who are important in my life. If someone sold a gift that I had given them, I would feel like I wasn't important to them, and I would feel like the person was being disrespectful to me. I would feel pretty hurt that my gift didn't mean more to the person.
What should someone do with a gift they don't want? We all get them at least a few times in our lives, and we don't want them taking up room in our houses. You really have three opinions. For one, you can keep it and deal with it. Second, you can keep it for a while and then give it away. Third, you can exchange it. The third option is often the best, especially if a friend has told you where the item was bought and possibly even suggested you exchange it if it is not something you want. Of course, there's still the issue of dealing with it if the friend finds out you didn't keep the item or you kept it but will never use it. This can create hurt feelings. Still, at least this is better than getting monetary gain from a gift someone else gave you. There's just something strange and wrong about that to me.
Now onto the issue I addressed at the beginning, the length of time you have had the gift. Sometimes people have things for years. They use them and maybe for some reason just eventually outgrow the items, or they want something newer. Then they want to sell the item/s in a garage sale, in the newspaper, on E-bay, or somewhere else. Maybe the person doesn't even remember that this item was a gift from their cousin eight years ago. I don't think the person should have to go through all the items to try and remember what was a gift and what was not a gift. That's just ridiculous. In this case, I would have to say that the person is not being rude or inconsiderate in any way by selling the item/s. The person used them and is now, years later, getting something out of them. Of course, to completely avoid this problem, people could just give everything they no longer want away instead of bothering with the whole issue of if it was a gift or not.
Learn more about this author, Shilo Dawn Goodson.
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No
No, I do not think that it is impolite to sell something you received as a gift. If that was the case then there will be no wonder in the fact that your houses will be crammed with lots of useless junk.
And also when a gift is give to you, it becomes yours and you, of course, have every right to do what you will with it. So how does it become impolite to sell something yo received as a gift? Further how and when is the giver going to know that you have sold what he or she has given you? If you think about ir reasonably you will come to the conclusion that this is exactly what all your friends and neighbors are doing.
Just like gift giver has every right to give you the gift he/she wants, even if they know what your situation is then why should you alone think that it is impolite to sell something given out of love. A real gift is based on love and when there is love you will have it in your home for quite some time, before you feel that such useless things (they become useless over years) will be better off at a garage sale, preferably in your garage.
All of us have heard of family heirlooms which have been kept in the attic for years suddenly being passed on as treasured vintage to other unsuspecting members of your family or being sold outright for its vintage value. The latter happens when the owner has come to the conclusion that the valued gift should really fetch something if it is really of value.
Though there is nothing wrong in selling a gifted item, some might find this odd given the fact that they are getting money for something in which they did not invest. To overcome this, always remember that the gift becomes yours, to do as you will, and so there is no need to harbor guilt feelings when you either plan to or really sell it.
Just as family heirlooms are kept for sometime, in fact years, before it is sold, so also you can also keep a gift given to you for some time, before selling it. This way you pacify the guilt feeling in you at selling something you have received. The giver is also happy that he has seen the gift he gave, in your house, so much so that he does not bother if and when you sell it.
So the bottom line for all reading this article is, if you have been given a gift, stick on it for some time to please the given and receiver and then sell it if you feel that it will occupy space which can be better utilized.
Learn more about this author, Tharian Mathew.
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