Here’s What Happens To All Those Unwanted Christmas Presents

Every year roughly $260 billion worth of stuff bought at retail is returned, 25 percent of which is returned after Christmas, according to industry estimates — everything from ugly sweaters and ill-fitting pants to that thoughtless hot plate and pingpong table that just won’t fit in the basement. Total annual returns equal 7 percent of everything sold in the US in a year, not counting autos and car parts. “The return season is in full swing,” said Eric Moriarty, vice president of B-Stock Solutions, which operates an auction Web site that connects retailers like Walmart, Costco and Amazon with resellers. “Retailers don’t want returned merchandise, because they don’t have room on their shelves for it, and they don’t have the resources to determine whether something’s been damaged,” Gina Barker, owner of Quick Discount, a no-frills, 25,000 square-foot store in Fort Smith, Ark., that sells everything from vacuum cleaners to sports equipment and toys to lamps, and resembles a flea market, told The Post. Read more at New York Post.