When many happy returns pay the bills

Unwanted gifts are sold as post-festive frugality bites Drummed out Time waster Poor signal Not stoked

AFTER the season to be jolly comes the season without any lolly.

As “Januworry” begins to pinch, cash-strapped South Africans are flogging unwanted Christmas gifts and household items to help see them through to payday.

Retail stores and online selling sites say they have seen a spike in the number of people returning December purchases or selling them online.

Karla Levick, OLX South Africa’s head of marketing, said January was one of the online marketplace’s busiest months for posts or adverts.

“This is due to a couple of reasons — people are short on cash because of holiday overspending, and people are clearing out old items they no longer need.

“Unwanted Christmas gifts are a smaller percentage; however we still see them every year. It’s a fairly simple way to get rid of a gift you don’t want in exchange for cash. As the item is generally new, if a good discount is given on the retail price, these items sell very quickly,” Levick said.

Gumtree recorded a 10% increase in listings using the term “unwanted gifts” in January so far this year compared to last January.

Gumtree head of communications Estelle Nagel said: “We all tend to overspend slightly over the holidays, and when January rolls around, extra cash is needed to cover the shortfall as well as necessities, such as school fees. And of course, there are always gifts that aren’t useful or liked, and in general, people would rather sell them than hoard them.”

A Cape Town single mom said she was selling her 32-inch Sony Bravia TV set on Gumtree because she had to pay for back-toschool supplies for her children.

“I’m selling to provide for three children whose father pays no maintenance. January is specifically bad because of going back to school,” said the woman, who did not want to be named. “Each child costs around R5 000 for school things, but January is bad in general, as school holidays are more expensive.

“I’ve had a good response on Gumtree. I’ve sold electronics, my old phone — not just because it’s January but in general to provide for my kids.”

Angelo Neil, from Ballito in KwaZulu-Natal, said he had sold his surfboard, which was a Christmas gift, online because the retailers would refund him only half of the original price. “I sold the board because it was the wrong size. It was small and I wanted a longer size,” he said.

Other unwanted Christmas gifts being sold on Gumtree include an Apple Watch, a GoPro Hero 5 Session camera with 4HD video capability, Clinique perfume and an unopened PlayStation 4.

Cash Converters MD Richard Mukheibir said the company usually saw a 15% spike in people pawning and selling their goods each January. The group’s microlending department also did more business, noticeably in the last week of January.

“We see people selling electronics goods such as cellphones, musical instruments and flat-screen TV sets.

“This is when people are short of cash and need money to survive, while the retail side of the business — where sales are 50% up during the Christmas season — declines.”

Spokespersons for Edcon and Woolworths said that returns as a percentage of turnover had increased slightly in January.

South African National Consumer Union chairwoman Ina Wilken said: “We all know this period of the year is very tough. Some might be selling because they want money to buy school clothes.”

As the item is generally new, if a good discount is given, these items sell very quickly