Re-gifting: Taboo, Tight-wad or Totally Fine?

I was listening to the radio today and the topic of re-gifting came up. Is it cool or uncool? Well, blog-buddies, what do you think?

As a faithful Seinfeld follower, I remember the episode in which Jerry got a labelmaker that Elaine had given to Whatley. He was immediately named a 'regifter.' We have used the word ever since. Love those Seinfeld terms!

One of my fave sites is Wikipedia. Here is their definition:

Regifting
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Regifting 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. One example of a formalization of this activity are the white elephant gift exchanges, in which items can be regifted from year to year.
The term originated on an episode of Seinfeld (The Label Maker). In the episode, the character Elaine Benes calls Tim Whatley a "regifter" after he gives Jerry Seinfeld a label-maker that was originally given to Whatley by Elaine, although the practice pre-dates the term substantially.

Can you believe that they actually cited the origination as being from the Seinfeld episode!?! I always thought so, but I am a little Seinfeld-obsessed and figured that it was just me!

So back to the issue. Is it okay, taboo, or somewhere in between?

I have to say that I have re-gifted a few times, and have felt weird about it each time. My advice: if you are going to re-gift you have to have the courage to stand behind it and feel good about it.
If I received a regift, I don't think that I would mind. We have a lot of gift-swapping going on and it can be a bit taxing on the old pocketbook. Some of us have really neat things on our shelves that need to find homes-- and I might actually like to give them a home! Can I come and look in your closets?
I am waffling, can you tell? Either way, don't give junk. If you hated it, don't pass it on. If it is junk in the store, don't spend your $$ on it and give it as a gift. Feel good about a regift and fess up if it makes you feel better. ie: "I got this great thing from my mom, but it doesn't match my kitchen at all. I thought that it would look so great in your house!" I heard once on Oprah that it's okay to regift if you tell the person and if it is a nice item. That is my feeling on it.

My Research:

If you decide that you are going to regift, there are a few precautions that you must take. {taken from regiftable.com}

Is the gift regiftable? Never regift handmade or one-of-a-kind items. Signed books and monogrammed items are off-limits. Do you have to be told not to regift free promotional items? Some gifts that are good candidates for regifting include good (unopened!) bottles of wine, new household items and inexpensive jewelry.

How is the condition? Only new, unopened gifts in good condition should be considered for regifting. Never give partially used gift cards. Don’t give items that you have owned for a long time. A general rule of thumb: if you have to dust it off, it is not regiftable.

Is this going to work? Successful regifters use common sense. If you are going to regift, be sure you know who gave you the item, so you don’t return something to the original giver. Only regift items to people who are not likely to see the original giver.

Do you have good intentions? Don’t just give a gift to give a gift. Be sure that the recipient will appreciate the item. Remember, if you feel that an item is undesirable, the recipient probably will too. If you are regifting simply because you ran out of time, gift cards are simple to obtain and always well received.

How does it look? When it comes to gift-giving, go for show! While gift bags in good condition can be reused, wrapping paper is a one-time thing. Always spring for a new card or gift tag.

Can you handle it? If you don’t plan to announce the gift as a regift, ask yourself if you can keep the secret. Never feel guilty about regifting once you’ve done it.


Strange things do happen, though. Even the mighty Tim Gunn has made an etiquette slip. Do tell.

Tim Gunn on regifting:

"A situation that still makes me cringe: A colleague at Parsons was leaving to accept a position at another institution in another city. I had forgotten about her farewell party. I scrambled though the stuff in my office searching for an unopened box, the contents of which would be appropriate to re-gift it. (Why I have lots of unopened gifts is another story…) Voilà! I found a sterling silver Tiffany pen that had been presented to me after judging a city-wide design competition. I relished her gush at the sight of the signature blue box and white ribbon. She opened it, and looked at me tearfully and said, 'You even had it engraved.' Oh, no. 'Best wishes from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.' Re-gifting can be very dangerous, indeed."

OUCH!