What to do with prizes you don't want?

dadsgoneshopping

I have sometimes sinned and not really paid attention to the comps that I have entered and have won some prizes I have no use for, ( large lingerie etc). I know we can't give it away on here, but I don't want to just donate to a charity shop by default. I have given some things as gifts, donated to the church raffle and of course the charity shop. What do others do?

mjm3346

a good use for prizes you can't use

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1653607


(possibly not lingerie)

ChamomileTao

I came here with just the same question, I have in the past hauled things to the nearest charity shop or given some away. I'm also pretty sure there are Facebook groups where people swap prizes but I can't remember their names, I seem to remember swapping some hair care stuff for I can't remember what a long time ago lol.

I now have something very nice and pricey but a little bit too big which I'm not sure what to do with.

Oh, and of course there's always Ebay or Amazon where you might be able to sell things too.

toniq

mjm3346 wrote: »

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1653607


(possibly not lingerie)

Postpals as mjm has linked to above, they do so much good work it is humbling.

If the prize isn't suitable for them I often do charity Ebay auctions for last chance animal rescue who save dogs from welsh dog pounds, in Wales if dogs not claimed within a week they are put down.

Last Chance do weekly trips to rescue them and rehome them. So Ebay auctions with all profits to them I often do.

stefalfie11

Having recently discovered postpals through this forum, they are my first port of call for "unwanted" prizes. There are so many children on there who deserve presents, I sometimes find it hard to choose who to send it to but often the prize "chooses" the child. The children have bio's where it says what they are interested in so it's easy to match what you have to a child that way.

If the prize is not suitable for postpals, I sometimes take it to my local air ambulance charity shop or donate it for a raffle or to a school/hospital/homeless shelter.

I've never had a prize that I couldn't find someone who could make use of it and the feeling of bringing a smile to someones face by giving it away is brilliant

WeAreGhosts

Re PostPals, you can search in the search bar on the top right of the list of children for interests.
So if I had, for example, a Star Wars prize, I could put Star Wars into the search and it brings up children with that interest.

Blueyez

My sister's girl guides are regularly volunteers at a food/clothing bank and they accept a lot of things- Toys, personal hygiene products, blankets, crockery ect. They ask for unwanted seasonal items hats, scarves and glove, sunhats ect. As well as everyday things, t-shirts, trousers, pyjamas, shoes(in a decent wearable condition), pieces of school uniforms. things for adults and children. I think each bank differs on what it will accept but always worth a consideration.

serenity2012

I'm not sure how its sinning. I enter everything i want or can sell. This is comping and the word competition in itself explains what it is. The ones i can't use, I sell, as do a lot of others. The whole point is to save or make money. If i can't use it I sell it and so get the use of it in cash instead which helps my family.

dadsgoneshopping

I hear what you are saying, but I only want to enter comps where I or a friend actually wants the prize. If I don't want it, I would rather it went to somebody who did, maybe I have a weak belief in Karma.

hdh74

I don't have time to enter for stuff I don't specifically want but I still get some stuff that is not what I thought or a runner up prize, or a duplicate of the same prize etc that I then sell or gift.

aspella

If the large lingerie is a voucher code then I'd reply to the company and forfeit the prize. If it's a gift card for a well known company then you could try selling it on Zeek. If you have already received a physical item then you could try selling it on eBay, Preloved as both have clothing categories.

Some other suggestions for various items if you're looking to declutter and make room for your new items and help others in your community are:-

Food, Drink, Toiletries you receive in a hamper but don't like you could donate to a local food bank. Items the food bank won't accept for instance alcohol you could list on the app Olio.

Noticeboard in corner shop, post office, staff room at work, church, college. Some charge a fee but not all. There are people out there that don't have internet access and find it hard to purchase gifts as more and more retailers shut up shop.

Books, DVDs, Games and CDs - you could box them up and post them to Zapper, Ziffit, Musicmagpie, Webuybooks. Game and Cex have physical shops so you can just pop in and there is no minimum threshold. Price Penguin app allows you to take an informed decision of where to trade-in your used games, books, CDs and DVDs as it compares prices across 8 sites. I've not used any of these sites so I don't know if they are any good but I've seen them mentioned on boost income thread and on the debt free wannabe thread.

If you have a variety of things you could do a car boot sale or donate them to school fair at Summer/Xmas. If you just want to give them away for free then you could list them on freecycle, facebook selling page or Preloved have a free section.