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New Year & Christmas

French rush to resell Christmas gifts floods online marketplaces

According to Ouest-France, eBay had already recorded 500,000 listings by the morning of December 25 and expects the total number of posts to rise by 400%

PARIS, December 25. /TASS/. French residents posted nearly one million listings offering a wide range of items on major online platforms on Thursday morning as people began unwrapping Christmas gifts.

Christmas is celebrated in France on December 25.

While not all listings specify the reason for the sale, media outlets note that the sharp surge in activity suggests many sellers are parting with unwanted or unnecessary gifts.

According to Ouest-France, eBay had already recorded 500,000 listings by the morning of December 25 and expects the total number of posts to rise by 400% in the days following Christmas. Another major platform, Rakuten, had registered 390,000 listings as of 11:30 a.m. local time (10:30 a.m. GMT), up 2% from the same time last year. Rakuten forecasts that the number of new listings will exceed one million in the coming days.

An Ipsos BVA survey commissioned by Rakuten shows that reselling unwanted gifts has become increasingly socially acceptable in France. According to the poll, 71% of the 1,500 respondents said they would react positively or neutrally if friends or relatives resold Christmas gifts, while 31% said they were willing to sell gifts they received this year. Last year, respondents earned an average of €100 from reselling Christmas presents.

"This evolution in traditions highlights one key trend: the French are organizing celebrations that better reflect their preferences, combining the pleasure of giving gifts with careful selection and a desire for more responsible consumption," the survey authors said. "Despite budget constraints, the pleasure of giving remains the primary motivation (36%), well ahead of budget concerns (22%).".

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France New Year & Christmas

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