Achiever, that story about the pressure cooker is very funny--I hope the store is still in business!
Unfortunately, it's not....through a series of mergers and acquisitions it's now Macy's. At the time of this story, it was a Midwest family owned store where the owners went out of their way to satisfy the customer. Now, not so sure.
Back to the original question of regifting. As a general practice, I don't regift. Like Wants to Retire, if I receive something I really don't want/need or like, it goes on the shelf and ultimately is donated to a charitable organization.
Except for one time. I received a "Veg-a-Matic" chopper from my SIL. For those of you who might be unfamiliar with this "appliance", it was one of the original Ronco gadgets sold on tv..."It slices, it dices, it makes julienne slices"...it could also sever your finger with the spring loaded guillotine blade that made short work of cutting vegetables. I know some people throught it was the greatest gadget ever made, but I thought it was just dumb.
Sooooo, when my neighbor was getting married, DH and I gave them a check rather than buying a gift...and as a gag, wrapped the check with the Veg-A-Matic. After the wedding, I noted that the check hadn't cleared the bank and when I got their thank you note, I knew why. They said they were crazy about the Veg-A-Matic, used it every day, and thought it was the best gift they received -- but they never mentioned the check. Apparently, they threw away our check with the wrapping paper. Well, since they were so thrilled with the stupid re-gift, we waited a month or so and did a stop payment on the check. Go figure.