San Jose, California - (Website Hosting Directory) - December 22, 2006 - According to the third annual Holiday Re-Gifting Survey commissioned by e-commerce company, eBay, a significant increase of Americans believe they will either return, or ''re-gift'' holiday items received, this season.

According to the report, 57 percent of the vast majority of Americans, will receive holiday presents they aren't fond of. Sixty-nine percent of Americans believe they will ''re-gift'' and that it is socially acceptable, while 49 percent felt it was acceptable to secretly unload unwanted gifts. In fact, 34 percent said they are likely to do it themselves this year, versus the reported 21 percent from last year. Of those respondents who said they plan to dispose of an unwanted present this year, 40 percent said they would sell it on eBay to help offset their holiday expenses.

One key reason disposing of unwanted gifts is popular: people are getting away with it. The survey found that 85 percent say they have never been caught in the act. However, about one-third of all respondents admitted they have knowingly received a re-gifted item.

The survey also revealed:

• Of the 55 percent of respondents who admitted to re-gifting, the recipients are most often friends (62 percent) and co-workers (42 percent).
• Only a tiny percentage (5 percent) of people say they’ve re-gifted to Grandma or Grandpa, but even Mom and Dad may not be spared, as 18 percent say they’ve re-gifted to their parents.
• Most popular re-gifted items include: knick-knacks (32 percent), bottles of wine or spirits (26 percent), DVDs, CDs or books (23 percent), bath products (22 percent) and fruitcake (17 percent).
• Some presents are resistant to re-gifting. Safe bets include technology and electronics items, as only 3 percent of respondents were likely to re-gift these; and jewelry and handmade gifts, as only 5 percent said they’d want to unload these items on someone else.