Screen Shopping
I'm a sucker for a good deal on marketplace platforms.
Kleinanzeige, Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Marktplaats. I could look for lenses, cameras, rackets, classic jerseys, bikes, skateboards, consoles, some random stuff that I only knew exist after I saw it in the marketplace, and so on and so on. Most of the times it will be a peer-to-peer kind of deal, but not seldom it will be business-to-customer. Lots of smaller companies specialising in older, secondhand stuff have their storefront in those marketplaces.
And I've bought lots of stuff through marketplaces. I bought my first bike in Germany for what, 12€ or something. That bike needed some work, yes, but it was cheap as heck. So I bought it happily without suspecting anything. Turned out it was cheap for a reason. When I brought the bike to a Werkstatt/repair shop, they straight up refused to work on the bike because, and I quote, "It's a trash". Dude. What. They added, "We won't work on that bike even if you paid us hundreds". Okay stop I know it's trash, but that's harsh. Well, at least they were honest. I ended up leaving the bike on the train station, unlocked. Leaving it to its fate. A man's trash is other's treasure, I hope.
I've also bought lenses and cameras through marketplaces. And so far the experience is beyond pleasing. The sellers are usually passionate about photography and take care of their gears so it's always in, at least, good condition. Plus, they are very pleasing to chitchat about photography and camera, and sometimes throw some extra discounts or even freebies if you sound like someone who also passionate about photography. A bit different for analog camera, where the seller is either the old, owner of the camera itself, or the descendant of the original owner. Either way, sometimes they would tell stories upon stories about themselves, about their ancestor/forbearer, about the camera itself, about their family, or other interesting things that flew through their head at the time. In the end most of them will say that they hope that I will have fun with the camera and lens as much as they did and hope that I will take care of them as they have done so far.
When dealing with used, secondhand stuff people are selling, sometimes I wonder, why do they sell them. Monetary might be the biggest motivation for some, but not for others. Some might fall out of love. Some might declutter. Some might be bored of it. Some might try to save themselves from the rage of their partner. Some might have been done with it. Like, done done. Found no use anymore. End of story.
And every listing tells a different story.
Just like one day, when I did my daily screen shopping. Oh interesting bike there. Hmm I think I need a new laptop for another unfinished mini home server project. Oh how about that guitar, looks so pretty and well maintained. Oh no it's 3000€, forget it. How about that badminton racket, nah nah hairline crack. Let's scroll down a bit more. Hmmm nothing here, nothing there. Oh nice jersey, but not Manchester United though, so forget it. Okay scroll down again. Nice oximeter there, I might need one. Or nebuliser maybe, in case of nasal congestion. Wait wait, why there are couple of healthcare device being sold by, I assumed, same person.
"Opened but unused".
"Opened, used twice".
"We don't need them anymore".
Every listing tells a story. And these listings tell their story. A story that, I sincerely hope, ends in a good way. Best way for everyone involved, with a closure that left little to no regret.
Be as nice as you can, as much as you can. For we don't know what kind of listings they just posted.