In a splendid display of consumerism that might leave etiquette experts exasperated, online auction sites are encouraging users to get rid of their unwanted Christmas gifts and "get what they really want."

Yahoo launched an "unwanted gifts" showcase on Tuesday (http://auctions.yahoo.com/phtml/auc/us/promo/announcements.html). Users are taking advantage of the promotion by ridding themselves of such items as Christmas ornaments in the shape of tires and crocodiles.

On December 21, eBay released results of a survey it commissioned showing 64 percent of respondents admitted to "regifting," or secretly giving unwanted gifts to others. "The online reselling trend represents a new twist on regifting that allows people to turn tepid gifts into cold cash," eBay's press release stated. Some are now calling online reselling of gifts, "degifting."

A visit to eBay's home page on Tuesday revealed a large advertisement, "Get what you Really wanted" along with a link to ten product categories on eBay.

In an email to subscribers, Overstock Auctions encouraged customers, "Don't return it, re-sell it at Overstock.com Auctions."

Auction sites Bid4Assets and Bidville made no suggestions on their home pages for users to resell gifts, either missing out on the trend or taking a more demure stance on regifting and degifting.

Some regifters use a secondary, private ID to list unwanted gifts so they won't get caught by loved ones who might be hurt to know their gifts were not appreciated.

One trend that might help auction sites is the increasingly restrictive return policies of brick-and-mortar stores. If consumers can't return items to retailers, they may consider selling unwanted items online. (The New York Times ran a piece about the return-policy trend on Tuesday, free registration required to view the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/28/business/28returns.html).

And Reuters reports an increase in gift cards purchased as Christmas presents and being sold online by recipients (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=reutersEdge&storyID=7194283).

Three-hundred-and-sixty-something days until Christmas: if you are an early holiday shopper, there's some ornaments on Yahoo you might be interested in.