Can you help with the best ways to turn my presents into something I can use? Via email
Linda Mckay of This is Money replies: Oh haven’t we all been there with cries of ‘Just what I wanted’ when in actual fact it is just what you didn’t want – or expect. So now, without sounding ungrateful in the season of giving here are our options for recycling for 2013.
We could start with the site we have all heard of: eBay. If you have ever tried in the past to sell something online, this may have been your first port of call.
It is it free to register with the site, it has an average of more than 14 million auctions going on at any one time. So if you want to reach a lot of people with that rubbish bin or whatever it is you're selling, it's worth a go.
More... Beat high post charges: The trick to sending Christmas presents that could save you a packet Forget the sales, hundreds flog unwanted Christmas gifts on eBay (including wrapped presents, brussel sprouts... and even a free mother-in-law)If you are selling something priced at less than 99p then you won't be charged a seller's fee, but anything above that and you will have to pay. Fees from private sellers (as opposed to people with an eBay shop) start at 15p, and can go up to £1.30.
You'll also have to hand over 10 per cent of the winning bid to eBay, and if you want additional features to help sell your item, like extra photos or scheduling exactly when your product will be available for bids (up to three weeks in advance) then that will cost you as well.
You should also be aware you would need to accept payment via PayPal which needs setting up in advance of your auction.
Selling via eBay has some negatives and the fees can rack up but the site has a large audience. So we looked at some of the alternatives.
There is a challenger in the online auction market called eBid. With an average of one million auctions taking place at any time on eBid, it is much smaller than eBay, but that is still a healthy level of activity. And your sale items may be less likely to disappear amidst other people's auctions. But, it's the fee side where eBid looks like an attractive alternative.
It is absolutely free to list your item, no matter how much it is being auctioned for. It then only costs you 3 per cent of what you receive from your buyer (unless you want your item to be one of the 'featured' deals, which will cost an additional £1).
It also offers different forms of auctions, like a Dutch auction. This comes in handy if you are selling a number of identical items, and is also great for buyers – all buyers pay the lowest successful bid price. There's a good explanation of how it works on the eBid FAQ section.
If you're trying to get rid of unwanted gifts, you aren't solely limited to auction sites.
Sellers can list items on the Amazon Marketplace website and not pay a penny to do so, which is a bonus.
However you will face a referral fee of 17.25 per cent on the price of any items you manage to sell, as well as a variable shipping fee depending on what you are selling and where it is being shipped.
Another option you might want to consider is Gumtree. It is an online classified website, which covers around 60 different cities worldwide.
It doesn't cost you anything to list an item, but you don't pay online so you will need to meet with the buyer and perform the exchange in person. Gumtree has a Stay Safe guide on its website full of tips on how to do this as smoothly as possible.
If you can't find a new home for your gifts, you could always recycle them for the next time you need to get a present or give them to charity.
A car boot sale is another option (once the weather improves) if you've got a lot of unwanted gifts and local newspapers have classified pages where adverts can be placed very cheaply in sections relevant to your unwanted gift – there may even be a spot to advertise your rubbish bin!