Unwanted Christmas presents: will you return, regift, resell or donate?

This year, according to Groupon, we're expected to receive an average of 14 Christmas presents each, costing a total of around £500 a head.

Some will be the perfect gift - carefully chosen, imaginative and the right size - but not all. Last year, we returned £223 million worth of unwanted presents, and this year it's likely to be even more.

So what can you do if your Christmas presents aren't exactly what you wanted?

Return them to the store

Unfortunately, you'll need a receipt to get a refund or exchange. However, many retailers now routinely offer gift receipts, which can be enclosed with a present as they don't show the amount the item cost. If you're lucky, you'll have one of these; if not, you'll need to ask the giver for the receipt. If they don't have it any more, a bank or credit card statement can work as a proof of purchase - but that's quite a big ask.

Some retailers will allow products to be returned without a receipt, but this is very much at their discretion. And when they do, be warned you'll only get a credit note or exchange for the current price, which may well of course be a sale price.

And stores don't automatically have to accept returns unless the item is faulty - although the vast majority do. And while refunds or exchanges are normally given only within a month of purchase, most stores extend that at this time of year, giving people until the middle or end of January. John Lewis goes one better, allowing anything to be returned for any reason within three months of purchase.

If there's nothing actually wrong with the product, retailers only have to allow you to return goods if they haven't been personalised, and if they are still in their original packaging. Perishable items aren't generally returnable, and nor are CDs, DVDs and computer software if the seal has been broken.

If goods are faulty, that's the legal responsibility of the seller, not the manufacturer - and despite what they may say, you do have the right to a refund or replacement under the Sale of Goods Act 1979. In theory, you have six years to do this - although the later you leave it, the harder you'll find it to prove that the problems weren't caused by wear and tear.

If the gift has been bought on a credit card and it's faulty, the buyer's card company is jointly liable. As long as the item cost more than £100, it's obliged to reimburse you.

Return them online

Things are a little trickier when it comes to returning unwanted presents bought online. First, there's no equivalent of the gift receipt; second, the giver will have to do the returning, rather than you. And many online retailers will make the buyer pay for the postage.

And while you have the right to return goods 'no questions asked', this applies only for 14 days from purchase - which means that it'll often be too late to do it by the time you open your presents on Christmas Day.

Amazon, though, has introduced an Extended Christmas Returns policy which means that items sent out after November 1 can be returned up until the end of January.

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Resell them

Every January, millions of unwanted presents appear on eBay and other sales websites; and while you won't get the full value of the item, you may come close. And you can assuage your guilty conscience by donating all or part of the same price to the charity of your choice, through eBay for Charity.
http://charity.ebay.com/

Regift them

According to games maker Orchard Toys, half of all parents expect to re-wrap and pass on unwanted presents this year. Just make sure you don't give it back to the same person - or to somebody else in front of them!

Give them to charity

With some exceptions, toys and games will generally be welcomed by the children's wards of local hospitals. Books can often go to libraries or schools, and clothes to homeless shelters - or simply take your unwanted pressies to the nearest charity shop.

Swap them for something better

Plenty of other people find themselves in the same boat, and numerous websites exist to let you swap your unwanted presents for something more to your taste. Readitswapit.co.uk and bookmooch.com let you swap books; Swishing.co.uk does the same for clothes and accessories; and SWAPR.co.uk handles DVDs, games and music.