Ask any avid open-air or online marketplace hunter and they will happily tell you about the treasures they’ve found for a fraction of the retail price. No wonder markets are having a kind of renaissance, with people opting for ways to consume more sustainably and budget-friendly.
Facebook marketplace is one such popular destination. The goods are reachable from the comfort of your home, a single message to the vendor away. But the truth is, this kind of shopping often takes a weird turn after people occasionally spot a ridiculous, plain weird or absurdly hilarious item put on sale.
Listen beautiful relax classics on our Youtube channel.
Luckily, there’s a safe place to gather for all those who get frustrated with such bizarre ads. Known as “That’s it, I’m FB marketplace shaming,” this Facebook group is home to 81.7K members coming in for either a chuckle, a vent or random entertainment. Below, we wrapped up some of the funniest examples, so enjoy!
Also, scroll down for our interview with Sean Fowlow, a professional thrift hunter and seller, as well as the creator of “Ridiculous Thrifter“, who shared some insights into online marketplaces, the reasons why they’re so popular, as well as whether they will replace good old open-air markets.
#1
Image credits: Brionna Chantel
#2
Image credits: Samantha Frye
#3
Image credits: Phoebe Nagle
Sean Fowlow confirmed that lately, online marketplaces have become immensely popular. “It’s my belief that most people would rather browse through locally available items for sale online from the comfort of their own homes… than driving around their area looking for flea markets and garage sales,” Fowlow adds that this takes a lot of time and energy.
“There is a large community who still enjoy doing this but I would bet there’s an even larger one growing who are frequent online marketplace shoppers, mainly Facebook Marketplace,” the professional thrift hunter said.
#4
Image credits: Haley Embleton
#5
Image credits: Marielle BV
#6
Image credits: Ella Grace O'Moore
According to Fowlow, we are certainly heading in the direction where everything is being done from our smartphones. “As a seller of used items myself, it’s much easier to list all of my garage sale items on Facebook Marketplace than it is to set out a table in front of my house or in a public market and wait there for hours. This way, people can then come get the specific item they want at an arranged time with ease… not having to rummage through hundreds of items set out on tables.”
#7
Listen beautiful relax classics on our Youtube channel.
Image credits: Nancy Witt McDonald
#8
Image credits: Shantae Carter
#9
Image credits: Jessi Sansom
Fowlow agreed that there are definitely a lot of weird, funny, and fake items for sale on online marketplaces. According to him, “Most of them are people just having fun… and it is indeed funny to see these items. For instance, I remember seeing someone selling a stainless steel toaster on Facebook Marketplace where the reflection in the toaster was the seller in his underwear taking the photo for the listing. It was done totally on purpose and I highly doubt there was an actual toaster for sale.”
Having said that, Fowlow explained that “even though there are a lot of listings like this, they only make up a very small percentage. The greater deal are legitimate sale items.”
#10
Image credits: Nicola Casey
#11
Image credits: Abigail Bryant
#12
Image credits: Lisa Čmelik
Fowlow himself shops on online marketplaces often, but he mainly uses them to sell. “As I stated before, online marketplaces (like Facebook) make it so easy for me to sell my items and I get tremendous value and time saved because of the mass exposure the platform provides. It’s completely free to list, and they do not charge any fees… like eBay does.”
Another good thing about selling on online marketplaces is that the buyer shows up at your door (or at an arranged location) to purchase the item. Plus, “there are no shipping charges involved. It’s a near-perfect system…”However, Fowlow warns, “there are a lot of questionable people out there… many interested buyers waste my time, failing to show up at the agreed time/place, backing out at the last minute.”
#13
Image credits: Belle Clarke
#14
Image credits: Group member
#15
Image credits: Krystal Johnson
Moreover, Fowlow explained that “oftentimes, people will just simply block your account rather than just say, ‘I’m no longer interested in your item.’ As well, the ‘lowballers’ can be ridiculous. These are the people who will offer you but a fraction of what your item is worth. Factoring all of this into the process of buying/selling on Facebook Marketplace, it’s still tremendously worth it!”
When asked whether online marketplaces will ever drive out open-air markets, Fowlow believes that may be probably if we have another pandemic. “Almost everything is online now. But there is still that old-fashioned crowd who love a good open-air market and will make time and space for them. These markets usually take place in the daytime.”
Meanwhile, “anyone can browse through items on Facebook Marketplace day or night. It’s so easy,” the professional thrift hunter and seller concluded.
#16
Image credits: Rachel Parks
#17
Image credits: Tina Bales
#18
Image credits: Elexis Keele
#19
Image credits: Shelby Alexander
#20
Image credits: Ashley Campbell
#21
Image credits: Bex Emerson Ridgewood
#22
Image credits: Jo Muehlemann Braun
#23
Image credits: Jasmine Rowley
#24
Image credits: Kelly Forrester
#25
Image credits: Ahri Snow
#26
Image credits: Keely Herrmann
#27
Chomp chomp. Only tried on a few times according to comments. Don’t pass this deal up
Image credits: Niki Lea
#28
Image credits: Tina Graeser
#29
Image credits: Rebecca Jennings
#30
Image credits: Elijeanah Monroe
#31
Image credits: Rebecca Willtrout
#32
Image credits: Kelsie Murphy
#33
Image credits: Kerry Mulligan
#34
Image credits: Katie McNeil
#35
Image credits: Aeron Orsie
#36
Image credits: Shelby Koppenhaver
#37
Image credits: Brionna Chantel
#38
Image credits: Pryse Montgomery
#39
Image credits: Group member
#40
Image credits: Jasmine Versluis
#41
Image credits: Bailey Wilson
#42
Image credits: Jamie Grandy
#43
Image credits: Emily Hicks
#44
Image credits: Isabella Gulotta Hansen
#45
Image credits: Hannah Crockett
#46
Image credits: Tiff Marie Long
#47
Image credits: Elyse Nichole
#48
Image credits: Alex Johnston
#49
Image credits: Marissa Beilby
#50
Image credits: Breanna Patton
#51
Image credits: Group member
#52
Image credits: Ceairah Worden
#53
Image credits: Gracie Auge
#54
Image credits: Andrea Dersch
#55
Image credits: Neve Lamb
#56
Image credits: Anastasia Gustafson
#57
Image credits: Megan Phipps
#58
Image credits: Kristen Leftwich
#59
Image credits: Connie Wynn
#60
Image credits: Maizy Grace
#61
Image credits: Devyn Lugo
#62
Can’t believe they were even allowed to keep their old pacemaker generator, let alone sell it.
Image credits: Halley Bennett
#63
The caption reads “In search of a person that wants to fly to Miami with me on July 5th”
Image credits: Alondra Martinez
#64
Image credits: Emily Erin Gaudet
#65
Image credits: Emily Wenneborg
#66
Image credits: Christine Harris
#67
Image credits: Elsie Dickerson
#68
Image credits: Nadia Syed
#69
Image credits: Danni Shearer
#70
Image credits: Beth Roy Mahan
#71
Image credits: Jasmine Anderson
#72
Image credits: Nancy Witt McDonald
#73
Image credits: Morgan Derr
#74
Image credits: Kaitlyn May Higgins
#75
Image credits: Emily Hicks
#76
Image credits: Jess Marie Patrick
#77
Image credits: Ace Smith
#78
Image credits: Andrea Jade
#79
Image credits: Emily Hicks
#80
Image credits: Cali Estep
#81
Image credits: Carrie Hatch
#82
Image credits: Morgan LaShae Leger
#83
Image credits: Sophia Cabral
#84
Image credits: Emily Renee
#85
Image credits: Alissa Lairmore
#86
Image credits: Andrea Dersch
Source: boredpanda.com