Choose the right answer Title: Secondhand emotion: is it OK to give pre-owned Christmas gifts? (The Guardian, Osborne H., 20/12/2011) Created by Dariia Dziuba
Choose the right answer
A couple of weeks ago I went to a nearly new sale. I wanted to buy my son a wooden kitchen for Christmas (I was days ahead of Hamleys on this one) and wanted to see if I could get one secondhand – they are pretty expensive brand new and I liked the idea of getting something I could re-paint lovingly myself. (Paragraph 1)
Sadly, there was nothing doing, but I did spot something I thought would be perfect for my baby nephew. It was a plastic activity cube – so very cleanable – and when I went to pay for it, it turned out one of my friends was selling it. So I know its provenance and that with a bit of a wash it would probably be cleaner than one bought in a shop. (Paragraph 2)
Yet I still can't bring myself to wrap it up and give it to him as a Christmas present. Instead, as I am lucky enough to be able to afford to buy him something new, I will give it to his parents as an add-on and tell them where I got it from. For some reason, while I am happy to give my own child a secondhand present, it seems wrong to do so with someone else's. (Paragraph 3)
My colleague Lisa spotted a blog where another mum was talking about the stigma around buying secondhand toys (it offers some useful tips if you do decide to go down that route). She quotes other mums who have no problem with buying secondhand for their own children, and who make very good cases for doing so, but doesn't tackle the idea of buying for others. (Paragraph 4)
I think my problem stems from the fact I feel you should admit when an item is secondhand – if it has been used it may not be as safe as when it was first bought (although I wouldn't give something that had bits missing or looked dangerous), and they can't take it back if they don't like it. Announcing to someone as they unwrap a gift that it's not new does somehow seem to spoil the magic, but perhaps I shouldn't worry about it. (Paragraph 4)
What do you think? Would you give a secondhand gift to someone outside your immediate family, and if so would you tell them where it came from? What would you think if you received a secondhand gift? (Paragraph 5)
1. The author of the article claims that:
it is inappropriate to give pre-owned gifts
she always presents second-hand gifts to her friends and relatives
she finds it difficult to present pre-owned gifts to other people but finds it ok to give them to her own kid
she has never given any second-hand gifts to anyone in her life
The word “spotted” in Paragraph 4 means:
found
received
read
was given
It can be inferred from the text that:
secondhand goods never make a good present
a lot of fathers buy used goods for their own immediate families
mums don’t mind getting secondhand games and other stuff for their own kids
parents are horrified with the fact that they might buy some pre-owned items
The author of the article states that:
pre-owned goods are always safer than the new ones
you should always admit when an item has been used
she would even present an item with pieces missing
you can always get a secondhand item back to the shop
The author wants to know all of the following EXCEPT:
if other people buy only brand new gifts
if they have ever received second-hand gifts
if the readers would tell other people whether the gifts are second-hand
what the readers would think if they received a secondhand gift