Would this be an inappropriate gift?

[TealDragon]

I have a Nikon 1 camera. It is a very nice camera that retails for around $400, I believe. I got it for free in a raffle though. It's very nice, however, I already have a digital camera that I prefer. I've only taken around 100 pictures with it, but I never use it. I have a friend who is very interested in photography but her only camera is her older model cell phone, so this would be a significant step up. However, it is used and I don't have the original box anymore (although I do have the instructions and all accessories), and it is worth way more money than I will be spending on any of my other friends, and certainly more than this friend would be spending on me. I have a certain friend who is much better off financially than I am and is always surprising me with what I consider to be somewhat pricey gifts and her birthday/Christmas gifts to me are always pricier than what I give her and it sometimes makes me uncomfortable that I can't reciprocate equally to her, so I don't want to do that to this friend. But I also know it's one of the cameras that she really wants to buy but can't and it seems silly that I have this perfectly good camera that I'll never use and she wants this exact camera but would never buy it for herself. Do you think this would be an inappropriate Christmas gift? This friend is also due to have a baby in January so I thought it would be really nice if she had a good camera to take pictures of her new baby. I know most of our friends plan to buy her all baby related things for Christmas and I've heard from other friends that being pregnant at Christmas means that you normally don't get any gifts, only baby items, which can be nice, but...sometimes mom needs something for herself.

edit: left out a word

[NyaChan]

I don't think it is inappropriate to give someone a previously used item in general.  Personally, I don't like giving a used gift for an occasion like a holiday or a birthday, so I would probably give her the camera but pair it with a new item like an accessory that goes with the camera (memory card, a stand, a case, etc.).

[Moray]

I think this would be incredibly thoughtful, and second NyaChan's idea to pair it with a smaller, new item, like a memory card.

[Redneck Gravy]

I would give it as a gift with a note saying that you know it is used but you just thought it would be perfect for the new mom. 

I agree with pairing it up with a new accessory or even a gift card to an online photo printing store. 

I assume you are giving this as both a Christmas gift and baby gift?  That would help you justify the dollar amount if you need to.

[TealDragon]

I wasn't going to do it as a combined gift, but I like that idea. I won't be seeing her around Christmas anyway, she is moving in with her mom for the month of December, and her mom lives a couple hours away, so we'll either exchange gifts much before Christmas or a bit after, and I'd probably give her a baby gift then as well, so I guess combining makes sense. And I definitely planned on giving her some memory cards, there's a great discount electronics store near me that sells them at nearly half or a quarter of the price of other stores, and they can really get expensive, so I buy them in bulk from this store. I was going to make an amigurumi toy for her baby, maybe I can make the animal hold the camera and then wrap the memory cards so it's cute + she still gets to unwrap part of it.

[Danika]

I think it's fantastic, as long as you tell her all of what you told us. That way, she'll know it's used, but really not that used - just barely out of the package. And she'll know not to feel like you went out and spent $400 on her so she won't feel indebted. Also, I think you should give it to her sooner, rather than later, otherwise she might find a way to spend money on another camera and start using it to get familiar with it when this is what she really would have prefered to have. In that case, she couldn't return the other camera that she would have just bought.

When I was pregnant, I had a friend see an expensive baby book on my registry and offer to just give me her old copy. I was just happy to have it.

[CrazyDaffodilLady]

I give unwanted items to friends and family, and they give unwanted things to me.  No one thinks twice about it.  No one keeps score.  I gave a camera to a friend when I upgraded.  No big deal, just "I don't need this any more.  Would you like to have it?"

[Margo]

I think it would be completely appropriate to give this to her as a gift. I would explain that it is used, as that way, she if less likely to feel embarrassed or uncomfortable about the value compared to what you would normally give/ receive.

I personally would not feel I needed to add anything to it. It is still a generous gift even though you didn't buy it ( you could probably sell it, if you wanted, so it's not as if you're giving her something valueless)