Sitting on a Pile of Unwanted Christmas Gifts? Here's How to Turn Them Into Cash

At this point, the holidays are in a lot of people's rearview mirrors. But there may be one remnant of the holidays you still have to face: gifts. Or, more specifically, the unwanted gifts you received that are now taking up precious real estate in your closets.

It can be frustrating to be the recipient of items you really have no use for -- especially if you're short in the savings department and a pile of money could work wonders for your personal finances. Recent SecureSave data finds that 63% of Americans are not equipped to manage an unplanned $500 expense. If you're in that boat, getting even $60 or $80 for all of your unwanted holiday gifts could pad your savings account in a meaningful way.

The good news, though, is that you have different options for unloading your unwanted gifts and converting them to cash. Here are a few to consider.

1. Sell them online

Larger items, like a coat or bulky sweater, aren't so conducive to being sold online because the cost to ship them might be substantial, and that could eat into your profits. But if you have smaller items like electronics that are easy and cost-effective to ship, consider advertising on sites like eBay, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace to see if you can find a buyer.

Before you do, though, it's always worth posting the items you have for sale on your own social media profile and asking your contacts to help circulate that information. If someone local wants to buy an item you received, you can potentially meet them at a public place and do a handoff rather than pay even a small shipping fee.

2. Sell them in person

Sites like Facebook Marketplace can also be used to facilitate the sale of items you don't want to ship. Your town social media page might also allow you to advertise items you're hoping to sell locally.

That said, be careful when arranging to meet someone you don't know to sell an unwanted item. Your best bet may be to meet at a public location like a Starbucks or even a supermarket where there are bound to be people around.

Another thing you can do is see if there are any upcoming town-wide yard sales happening in your area. If you know someone participating, you can ask them to try to sell your unwanted holiday items for you -- though in that case, the nice thing to do would be to share your proceeds in some way.

3. Convert store credit to cash

Maybe you're sitting on holiday presents that came with a gift receipt. In that case, you can't bring them back to the store for cash. Usually, the best you can get is a store credit equal to the purchase price. But you can then convert that store credit to cash.

Let's say you received a handbag from a local business that wasn't your taste, and returning it gives you a $55 credit to that store. What you can then do is advertise that $55 credit on your social media page, or your town's page, and try selling it to a buyer for $45. Someone who shops at that store regularly might be happy to buy your credit from you at a discount.

There's no need to let unwanted holiday gifts take up space in your home when you could really use money instead. So it pays to do what you can to convert those items to cash -- even if it's just a modest amount.