CHRISTMAS is a time for giving and Boxing Day is a time for giving away, with 14.3 million unwanted presents received around the country this year, says classifieds website Gumtree.

The value of unwanted gifts has soared to $475 million, says Gumtree spokesman Nat Thomas.

"It's so much money that people spend with the best intentions for buying gifts, and unfortunately not all of those gifts find a loving home," he told AAP.

"So we're seeing increasingly people are choosing to sell those gifts rather than hiding them in a cupboard and gathering dust."

In the second year of Gumtree's annual Christmas survey, Mr Thomas said one million more people will head online this year to sell items via classifieds websites.

In 2011, 16.7 million unwanted gifts were received, and Mr Thomas said the decrease could be accounted for by people spending more sensibly.

"Maybe people are getting smarter with what they give - a lot of people are giving gift cards or donating to charity and you're giving a bit of goodwill, which is quite a nice way of doing it," he said.

Mr Thomas noted that 27 per cent of survey respondents were actually hoping to receive gifts they didn't like so they could make money online.

Considering the average unwanted gift was worth about $65, and 18 per cent of people had sold an unwanted item for $100 or more, it was no surprise that more people were heading online this year to convert unwanted gifts to cash, he said.

UNWANTED PRESENTS - THE FACTS

* 14.3 million - number of unwanted presents received this year

* $475 million - value of unwanted Christmas gifts received

* 54 per cent of Australians are guilty of re-gifting an unwanted present

* 10 per cent of Australians have been caught regifting

* 13 per cent of unwanted gifts are from distant relations

* 12 per cent of unwanted gifts are from work colleagues

* 9 per cent of unwanted gifts are from friends

* 27 per cent - the number of people hoping for unwanted gifts they can sell online

* $65 - average cost of an unwanted gift

* 18 per cent - Aussies who have sold a previous unwanted item for $100 or more

(Source: Gumtree GALAXY Christmas Survey 2012)

WEIRD AND WACKY CHRISTMAS GIFTS:

* Inflatable underpants

* Bath plug

* A brick

* Worm farm

* Male chastity belt

* Toilet roll holder

* A ceramic taco holder

* Belly button brush

* A toilet seat

* Plastic bag holder

* Nose hair trimmer

* Soap on a rope

* Divorce papers

(Source: Gumtree GALAXY Christmas Survey 2012)