Funding the challenge part two

Thinking about other opportunities to raise funds for my Seventy before 70 challenge I lighted upon the Facebook Marketplace. Although I've used social media for a long time it has never been for buying and selling. I was only aware of the marketplace because friends had sold things there. Perhaps it was my turn to give it a try?

I photographed one of my necklaces, and a large turquoise blue Kipling handbag complete with monkey keyring I'd bought not long before the Covid pandemic lockdown, with the intention of using it to carry quantities of books to and from the various writers' groups I belong to. That didn't work out, and nowadays I prefer to put books into a separate tote bag, to distribute the weight, rather than hanging everything on one shoulder. I listed bag and necklace in two categories in the Facebook Marketplace and waited for buyers to form an orderly queue.

What actually happened was my social media inboxes began to overflow with pictures of things I might want to BUY. That wasn't the plan! (The logic seems to be that if you show an interest in a Marketplace as a seller you must, obviously, also want to become a buyer. Well, I might. But not today.) The bombardment continued for a few days.

Finally, somebody contacted me to ask if one of my listed items was still available. I replied to say it was. After that nothing happened. So maybe I was supposed to send another message? "Do you want to buy it?" I asked (virtually). A reply: Yes. Then nothing more. This particular customer was extremely good at hiding their identity. I felt uneasy, but asked where s/he would like to meet me. No response.

Let's say the whole experience was stressful and rather unnerving.

On the television news that evening there was a major report about the cost of living crisis. Families struggling to pay basic bills, not having enough to eat, or keep warm. My funding project seemed trivial alongside what other people were going through.

Later I took down all the online marketplace posts.