My Opinion on Gifts and Surprises

So when it comes to gifts (except on glamorous occasions like weddings and celebrations), I prefer that the "gifter" should ask "what do you want?" or send a gift card for me to get what I need. If I am asked (by a close friend or relative), I will most likely send the person a list of books and ask the person to choose and purchase what he or she can afford (which is far less expensive). 

Has someone ever surprised you with a gift and you just think to yourself, "Damn it! You should have just given me the money."

Except if a person is extremely skilled to know what I want, many gifts just fail at appeasing me. I have received some gifts that I never used, never wore, or never did anything meaningful with and it just makes me slightly pissed and a little unappreciative to know that a person will spend so much on such things.

Another annoying thing is getting the same gifts from different people. For example, in a situation when it is someone's birthday and all the "gifters" happen to buy from the same shop where that one shirt is on sales, as if they planned it.

Worse still is when people remove the price tag of the gift, especially on clothes and they leave the white thing that holds the tag hanging there. I happen to be a very inquisitive and curious person, so when you remove the tag, it insults my curiosity. I want to know the cost and the designer of the product or at least, where it was purchased from. I also feel that removing the tag unprofessionally (instead of asking the store assistant to pack it as a gift; without the price info) means that the person has something to hide or the person is ashamed of the cost. I don't mind cheap things, as long as they are useful and valuable.

So when it comes to gifts (except on glamorous occasions like weddings and celebrations), I prefer that the "gifter" should ask "what do you want?" or send a gift card for me to get what I need. If I am asked (by a close friend or relative), I will most likely send the person a list of books and ask the person to choose and purchase what he or she can afford (which is far less expensive). 
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Recently, someone gave me a sensible idea to putting unwanted gifts to use; "re-wrapping." Wrap the gift and give it to a person else that needs it or will appreciate it and put it to use.