I've played this game a few times (with the 'stealing' rule) - the first couple of times were ok, the rule was explicitly "something you already own and want to get rid of - no buying any plastic tat" and hosted by friends who are openly and strongly environmentalist, so it was definitely played more for "let's see if we can move stuff around to where it'll be wanted more".

I ran a game of it at a party in our house with a different mix of people, and unfortunately it caused quite a nasty argument between two couples who had different interpretations of the rules about stealing and both wanted the same thing. I found the greed-induced nastiness pretty unpleasant and very unlike my previous experience of the game, and so I've not felt inclined to host another attempt at it. A real pity because when it works, it can be really nice (as indeed my first couple of experiences of it were).

Most years there is an opt-in secret-santa at work, with a strong rule of "no more than five pounds to be spent" and a reasonable undercurrent of "buying from a charity shop is fine and makes the money stretch further". I usually join in and try to choose something reasonably suited to my recipient, and I've usually been happy with what I've got.