I don't like having obligations thrust upon me without my consent. A gift is an obligation: I need to find a use for it, or at least find somewhere out of the way to keep it until I can get rid of it.

The way I read your comment, you're trying to replace one obligation with another (find somewhere to give it away). You're telling me that this absolves the first obligation ("they'll understand"), and that I'll enjoy the second one ("it's a bonus to..."). I'm skeptical of both of those things: you don't know me and you don't know my family and friends. But even if you're right, I don't want the second obligation.

If I want to get out in the community, I can do that without waiting for someone to give me a gift I don't want.

(As it happens, in my case, I often like the gift more than I dislike the obligation. Maintaining an amazon wishlist is helpful for this. But not everyone is the same, and "spare me" is an unkind reaction to them.)