My husband and I were recently given a belated wedding gift, for which we are very grateful. The gift is an electronic item that we are excited to own and is much needed.
The problem is that the gift's manufacturer recently ceased operations in the US, thus rendering the item, which requires frequent updates, to be next to useless. I believe that the friend who gave us the gift is unaware that the company has gone bust.
On one hand I feel I should just write a nice thank you note and then file the gift in the junk drawer, but I really feel that that is a terrible waste. Or should I somehow tell the giver and perhaps they can return it or something? I don't want to make them feel embarassed or obliged to replace it with something else, yet I dont want to see their gift wasted.
(This post was
edited by TWQadmin on Jun 3, 2009, 9:16 PM)
Just imagine what they would do with it. Could they return it if the company has dissolved? And, is that a polite thing to do to someone who has given you a gift in good faith? What could you even say when returning the gift? "I can't update this, so take it back?"
It is best to keep the gift and use it as best you can and write a heartfelt thank you note thanking them for the gift.
I completely understand that this item is now mostly worthless to whomever has it, so if the giver were to take it back, probably they will be stuck with it, however there is a chance that they may be able to return it to the place of purchace.
My concern is that the giver has alread asked after the gift a few times (`do we like it`, `do we need help setting it up` `can they show us how it works` etc), so far i`ve lied and said we`d not opened it yet, but I cannot continue to lie to such a good friend. Further, it is an object that the giver will expect to see around my house when they visit.
In this situation should I just continute to fudge the truth indefinately for the sake of etiquette? We are NOT looking for a replacement gift or anything of the sort (and would make that very clear), but I feel badly for my friend who spend a large amount of money and if there is a chance they could get some of that back then I feel its fair to offer.
Unusable wedding gift
