The $50 gift card that came with a $15 activation fee made me rethink gift giving

I was helping my aunt clean out her attic last month and found a box labeled "Dad's old stuff." Inside was a set of electric hair clippers from 1987 that still had the price tag on them. They were $19.99 at a drugstore that no longer exists. I asked her why she never opened them, and she said they were a gift from her mother-in-law who thought she should cut my uncle's hair at home. Thing is, my aunt was a professional hairstylist for 30 years and had much better tools already. She told me she kept them in the box out of politeness for 37 years because it hurt her feelings that her mother-in-law never knew what she actually did for a living. I ended up posting a photo of the clippers on eBay for fun, and someone bought them for $45 as a vintage novelty item. Made me wonder how many other gifts are sitting in attics because the giver missed the mark.

2 comments

2 Comments

grant.sam20d ago

...but @knight.mason at least my aunt's gift just sat there, not actively mocking her career choice like my uncle's homemade coupon book.

knight.mason20d ago

And here I thought I was bad at gift giving because I once bought my mom a bread maker she never used. At least your aunt got 37 years of polite storage out of hers, sounds like a solid return on investment for a $20 clipper set. Guess the real vintage item was the family tension.