Newlyweds 'get rid of two thirds of wedding presents'

Debenhams found that couples were most likely to get rid of gifts they did not want by selling them online

Brides are told to stop pinning at a certain point in the process (Getty Images)

Newlyweds keep just one in three of their wedding presents and sell lots of the rest online, according to new research.

Among the gifts most likely to find their way onto eBay was exercise equipment, advice books and ceramic ornaments. The top spot was taken by art work given to the happy couple, according to Debenhams Wedding Service.

Research from the department store also found that up to £25.4 million was wasted on presents that would be sold or gifted on by newlyweds. The average price for a present was £44.

More popular gifts proved to be vouchers, personal items or money, as were presents specified on a wedding list. Asking for contributions to a honeymoon fund was also increasingly popular as an alternative.

Other unpopular gifts were unwanted kitchen gadgets, baby wear and a download playlist of supposed favourite songs.

Debenhams said it carried out the research in order to better train advisors who help couples making a gift list, the Daily Mail reported.

Among the gift givers, Debenhams found that couples asking for charitable donations to be made on their behalf were not a popular request. Generally, gift lists were received well by wedding guests.

Just over 60 per cent of couples who had relieved themselves of unwanted gifts said that they had done so online.

Fifteen per cent re-gifted them as general presents and four per cent admitted to having given a gift they received at their wedding to another marrying couple. One in five asked said they still had gifts in boxes five years after their big day.